Lunch loop

Ever since we moved to GJ, Chris has been biking at Lunch Loops, a small network of technical trails less than 3 miles from our house. He goes about twice a week, a short but intense ride sandwiched between dropping off Cailan at daycare and teaching voice lessons.

Today we decided to try an actual 'lunch loop' during my lunch break. Chris loaded our single bikes and our dog into the truck, then picked me up at my office. It didn't take long to get there and the parking lot was nearly empty. We started out on the trail, Utah running ahead as usual at his fast but seemingly effortless, ear-flapping lope. It was a hard trail for me. There are rocks scattered around everywhere, like the Legos in Cailan's room after a busy afternoon of playing. It seemed like I was always riding over a low rock, or dodging around a knee-high rock that jutted into a trail, or spinning out on loose rocks, or hopping off my bike to haul it over a rock... Then there was a smooth section, but it was just a narrow ledge of a trail worn into the side of a ridge of bentonite clay. The left side of the trail just kind of rolled off onto an earthen slope; it made me nervous and wary of a wrong move.

After we had climbed to the top of the ridge, it got a bit easier for me. More riding and less pushing and swearing. There were terrific views of the city, the 10,000-foot Grand Mesa to the east, the brown barren Bookcliffs to the north, the striking red rocks of the Colorado Monument in the west. There were some sketchy descents and some switchbacks that I couldn't ride, but there were some really fun stretches, too, even a few bits of slickrock.

It was only the third time I've been off-road on my single since we moved here; after all the tandem riding we've been doing I was finding it a challenge to keep the front wheel going where I wanted it to. The ability to look ahead on the trail, plan a route over and around an obstacle, figure out when to apply the necessary burst of leg strength, all of that was eluding me today. Hopefully it will come back.

I had a great time, enjoying the sunshine, the time with Chris, the exertion. All in all, we did about an hour of riding; with travel time and bike loading I was gone for nearly an hour and a half. Not the kind of lunch break I can take every day - I'll be eating lunch at my desk tomorrow - but it will be nice to get out every now and then while this beautiful weather lasts.