This trip will meet at 7:30am MST at the Clarion Inn, 755 Horizon Dr, Grand Junction, Colorado, 970-243-6790. You will need to spend the night before in Grand Junction.

After meeting in Grand Junction we will head thirteen miles west to Fruita and stop in at the famous Over the Edge Sports shop. We may as well begin at the place that started it all, get our coffee on, ogle some pretty bikes, soak up some atmosphere and get in the mood for some world class singletrack. Before heading out we'll pack a tasty lunch and then shuttle west another seventeen miles to Rabbit Valley, the start of our ride and home of an extensive dinosaur dig. A short climb brings us to our first singletrack which will take us back under the highway to the Zion Curtain Trail. We'll climb steadily on singletrack to our lunch spot which has spectacular views of the Colorado River Valley. After lunch, we'll stay on the Zion Curtain skirting the border between Colorado and Utah which will set us up for a big descent! We'll descend on a mixture of slickrock and sinewy singletrack complete with steep pitches and some good technical moves. The Zion Curtain Trail ends here and we pick up the Kokopelli Trail for a short, steep climb up to our camp.
TOTAL MILEAGE - 18 miles

A BIG breakfast is in order as today is large! We'll ride singletrack directly from camp on the Overlook Trail which was part of the 1999 IMBA Epic Ride. This trail runs the ridge in a roller coaster of fun all the while offering a panoramic view of the valley below, all the way to the La Sal Mountains, which are near Moab, Utah. After eight miles, we reach Arches Junction, where we have the option to ride the Mesa Trail, a fantastic, technically challenging nine mile loop before having lunch. After a good feedin' we're off to descend a steep jeep road to the short "sawblade" Connector Trail. The Connector links us to the highly admired Western Rim Trail (marvelled for its flowing ribbon of trail as seen from the classic Kokopelli Trail above). The Western Rim is composed of smooth twisty sections, slickrock and sandstone ledge, making for a frolic of a desert afternoon. We finish the day on the Kokopelli Trail which leads us up to camp at the stunning Castle Rock camp. Yippee!
TOTAL MILEAGE - 27 large miles

Today we'll ride the famous Kokopelli Trail. This morning's ride offers us a break from the technical side of the trip and the chance to spin our legs out on rolling jeep road through Rabbit Valley to our lunch location high above the Colorado River. After lunch....BREAK'S OVER! We have a gnarly, techy descent down to the Salt Wash Bridge where we cross over Salt Creek. "What goes down, must go up!" This starts our grind up to meet Troy Built Trail, a true Fruita classic! Lots of swoopy singletrack, more stout climbing and some hike-a-biking connect us to the Lion's and Mary's loops. The riding here is so good that the locals from Moab travel to Grand Junction to ride these very trails! When we hit the Loma Trailhead we'll hop in the van and shuttle through Fruita to our camp out on 18 Road, located at the base of the Bookcliffs.
TOTAL MILEAGE - 32 miles

Good morning - it's playtime! Welcome to the Bookcliff Trail System, the true original creation of Fruita mountain bikers. These trails are what changed Fruita from a local secret to a national destination. Fast, twisting and full of surprises; built entirely by and for mountain bikers, all of these trails are special! Zippy, smooth and significantly less technical than the previous days of riding, it's too awesome to limit to just one day. So we will be spending two days riding in Fruita's favorite mountain bike playground. We'll hit Joe's Ridge, Kessel, Prime Cut, Zippity, Chutes...and whatever else we can squeeze into our fun filled days.
TOTAL MILEAGE - 20-35 miles

We will return to Grand Junction between 2:00-3:00 pm on the last day.

Riding Surface: Mostly singletrack. Includes packed sediment, rocky and sandy sections, some smooth dirt sections and some asphalt sections.
Technical Difficulty: Difficult. Rocky, loose, ledgy and sometimes steep singletrack.
Physical Difficulty: Difficult. Steep climbs, long days and technical sections make this ride a challenging one.
Altitude: 4,000-5,600 feet.

Please Note: This tour contains some difficult riding on singletrack trails and technical jeep roads. We will be without vehicle support during many sections of the ride. Itineraries are subject to change due to weather, road conditions, rider safety, and other factors which may affect the logistics of the adventure.

Sep 13 - Sep 17, 2010
Sep 20 - Sep 24, 2010
Sep 27 - Oct 01, 2010
Oct 04 - Oct 08, 2010
Oct 11 - Oct 15, 2010
Apr 04 - Apr 08, 2011
Apr 11 - Apr 15, 2011
Apr 18 - Apr 22, 2011
Apr 25 - Apr 29, 2011
May 02 - May 06, 2011
May 09 - May 13, 2011
May 16 - May 20, 2011
Sep 12 - Sep 16, 2011
Sep 19 - Sep 23, 2011
Sep 26 - Sep 30, 2011
Oct 03 - Oct 07, 2011
Oct 10 - Oct 14, 2011

Mountain Bike
5 Days
Western Colorado
Camping
Intermediate/Advanced
$1185
Start/End: Grand Junction, CO