Rick & Lori: October 2014

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

October 20, 2014

It was probably the most beautiful and enjoyable weekend for scenery and mountain biking yet. Amy had work and school obligations, but Vince was available for another great weekend of mountain biking. We arrived Friday night and made our now regular trip to the Western Bar for the usual: green chile cheeseburgers, onion rings, Moose Drools and coconut cream pie.

Saturday morning was quite chilly and drizzly, so we hung out at the cabin. Rick and Vince cut down a large, dead fir tree (I'll get the video attached at the end of the post along with one or two MTB videos), and I wasted a lot of time watching an unpleasant football game.

We headed out toward James Canyon by mid-afternoon and rode 20 miles on some great trails and fire roads. The trees were turning, and the weather was quite fall-like. After the ride and a nice warm shower, we headed to the ski resort for the obligatory wood-fired pizzas which were excellent as always. We, unfortunately, learned that they'll close for a while after next weekend for some remodeling and to get the lifts inspected and ready for possible snows and ski season. We'll hope for a great snow season for them and that they'll reopen soon!

There was a good chance of rain on Sunday, so we loaded up the bikes and got a much earlier start. We rode from town and headed out north to some familiar trails (including a difficult single track, the Wofford lookout climb which goes to almost 9200' elevation, and our favorite single track) and a new one that loops around a ridge near the meadow where the wild mustangs are usually hanging out. The mustangs were there again, and the stallion kind of challenged us.

We rode 16 miles, and it really felt like riding in a postcard. The trees were incredible. The temps were in the 50s, and it started raining a few miles from the end which unfortunately kept me from stopping and getting pictures of the beautiful areas of red maples and trees near town. Next year!

We headed back to the Western Bar after the ride for green chile enchiladas. Vince headed back, and we went to High Rolls for the Apple Festival and one last trip to the apple orchard. It was a great weekend.

The meadow.

Difficult 1.25 mile climb back up the fire road.

Our favorite single track.

The favorite single track. Note a large tree has fallen across the trail.

Aspens just east of Cloudcroft.

Aspens in James Ridge area.

The new trail which loops around into the back of the meadow.

James Ridge area just north of Twin Forks.

View of Sierra Blanca from Wofford Lookout north of Cloudcroft.

Sunday, October 12, 2014

October 6, 2014

Zinker Canyon climb

Amy and Vince joined us for a beautiful weekend in the Sacramento Mountains with the leaves beginning to turn at higher elevations. Rickey, Vince and I decided to attempt the round-trip mountain bike trip to town using the northern route. We've recently been scouting out the trails but had not done the Zinker Canyon Trail portion, and it turned out to be TOUGH! The weather was perfect, which was good because the 32 mile round trip ended up taking over 4 hours.

We had just enough time when we got back to the cabin to shower, change into a different set of cycling clothes, load up the bikes, and head to the pizza place for a very late lunch(?)/dinner(?) before driving down to White Sands for the Full Moon Bike Ride. It was actually about 3-4 days short of the full, full moon but was still impressive. Amy rode with us, and the 16 mile ride was her longest bike ride ever. Unfortunately, the flashing bike lights triggered her migraines and a crash onto the sand didn't help matters. It was a very long and tiring but fun day!

Needless to say, none of us were too excited about riding on Sunday, so we hiked the Osha trail and went to an art show at zenith park. After a little shopping and lunch at the BBQ place, Amy and Vince headed back home. Rick did more work on the main floor bathroom, and we returned home late Monday afternoon.