Lost in my backyard

Last evening I got a view of Durango that was completely new to me.  Sorry, didn't have the camera in tow...  Last weekend Walker mentioned the new singletrack heading up Missionary Ridge that starts under the Edgemont sign up Florida road, so it was time to probe something new.  To my surprise, this new trail extended roughly half way up the Durango Hills climb, cutting out much (almost all) of the residential riding and pops out onto FR 071.  Bumpy as new trails tend to be, but a great singletrack climb just 10 minutes from my front door.  Ah...it's good to be back!

But wait, there's more.  This is the route commonly ridden to reach the Haflin descent or Missionary ridge trail, but the ridge top is still a bit wet/snowy above 9500' (it should still be 5 feet deep in snow, be scared, very scared).  Rather than hit one of those trails, I looked for another route down along the southbound edge of the ridge.  That's where the big views came into play - the LaPlatas, Weminuche, Animas Mtn, Animas river, my house - all in plain view from new perspectives.  Evidently it's mostly private land - the amount of development up there was STAGGERING.  Most of that terrain is 20-30% grade too, they will develop anywere around here.

In other news, Lynda and I are doing a Kokopelli Trail recon this weekend.  Tomorrow is Moab to Dewey, Sunday is Dewey to Loma.  Really looking forward to this weekend, it'll be a lot more fun than the unsupported 142 mile backcountry race in 2 weeks ;)  Goals for this weekend:  determine where water access lies (but will they still be there in 2 weeks???); get a read on tire choice; figure out how to carry all the stuff needed for this race; get more acquainted with my new Hyper 2.5 Wingnut pack (review forthcoming).  Those are the strategic goals...on the training front, the weekend will finalize my base 2 (no, not Friel speak...first base ended Jan23, I prefer a 3 month repeating cycle for much of the year) with CTL 140 and a 30 day rolling of 5000.  I've been here twice before, but never felt this fresh - weird!

Pics, report, water source info to come.  Stay tuned.

Published Friday, April 28, 2006 4:53 AM by Dave

Comments

# @ Friday, April 28, 2006 7:54 AM

What bike for the KTR? Seems like the terrian would be pretty fast and open. Dos? Or sticking with the Trek/sponsor? Either one should be fast. Have a good time. JM

Jason M.

# @ Friday, April 28, 2006 8:03 AM

That's the million dollar question. Considering 3 of the top 4 last year were on 29ers...should be the Dos, right? Then again, this ultra whackjob enduro crowd leans towards 29ers period, so that statistic is a wee bit skewed.

The big issue for me is fatigue. Given that I'll be hauling a lot more than I'm accustomed to, it will be an even bigger issue at KTR. Full suspension delays fatigue in a big way for me...that's why at Moab last year I came to prefer my Sugar 292 for pretty much all laps past 2am. The Dos was just a bit too edgy, especially that lap I forgot to unlock the Reba ;) I'm 99% certain I'll be riding the Fuel.

I'm really looking forward to the forthcoming Supercaliber from GF...that'd be a great bike for KTR.

Dave

# @ Friday, April 28, 2006 9:20 AM

Wait 'till you see my KTR set up - you'll laugh. I've started to tape and velcro things all over my frame. It looks like a moving yard sale! I've figured out how to get three bottles on there too. I'm off for a wee spin up Paradise Canyon now to see if things fall off while I'm on the trail. I'm taking some extra tape with me. I think my bike is up to about 35 lbs now.

...and bring on that GF Procaliber - I'm going weight weenie on that bike.

Lynda

# @ Friday, April 28, 2006 1:12 PM

Damn 29'er enduro wackjobs!! What do they know anyway? ;-)

Looking forward to your impressions and thoughts on the course Dave and Lynda. That first section will be fun. The good thing is that you will be doing the ride during the day and you'll get to see some of nice views - while sweat is blinding you.

Ed E

Ed

# @ Sunday, April 30, 2006 7:27 AM

I can see leaning towards the Trek for the race. Once fatigue sets in it's nice to be able to let the susension pick up some slack. Good luck. Look foward to hearing all about it. JM

Jason

# @ Sunday, April 30, 2006 10:43 PM

man..I missed out! 3 weeks, I'll be back. lets do this ride.

j

# @ Monday, May 01, 2006 1:08 PM

Fatigue?!? What is this you speak of? I know of no such things!

Dave I am looking forward to your report. If I thought this race had consumed my thoughts before, it is really consuming me now. With just under 2 weeks to go I am constantly going over every little detail I can think of. But don't tell Mike C. he will accuse me of over thinking :P

I can't wait to get down there and get this race underway!

Adam Lisonbee

# @ Tuesday, May 02, 2006 9:19 AM

Well I see some KT pictures were posted yesterday so we know they made it back anyway :-)

But no words. The ride must have been beyond words.

Ed E

Ed

# @ Tuesday, May 02, 2006 9:31 AM

More words forthcoming...but here's a sampler: no matter how hard you think this race will be, it will be harder. How much harder depends on your planning, luck, and execution.

Dave