April, 21 - Moab, UT

Yes, Moab really warrants it's own trip, but it's too close to Fruita to pass up. Moab is one of the meccas of mountain biking and is home to many legendary rides. However, it was a Saturday and when we got the Amasa Back trailhead, it was slammed. Bikes and motos (that's dirt bikes, Mom) everywhere, and the vibe was aggressive.

So we bailed, and as it was nearly noon anyway, we hit Milt's Stop and Eat for burgers and fries. Milt's has been around since 1954 and they still peel fresh potatoes and hand-form their own patties every morning. They have also been using the same chili recipe all that time. Comfort food at its finest.

After waiting for the heat of the day to subside, we set out for a different ride and lucked our way into the only empty trailhead in all of Moab. The ensuing slickrock adventure turned out to be our favorite ride. I don't know how many times I said, "This is so awesome" or some variation thereof.

On the way to Moab - La Sal Mountains in the background:

More pics after the jump.

April 20 - Fruita, CO

Having remembered how to ride bikes the day before, we set off to ride the classic Fruita ride Mary's Loop/Horsethief Bench, which offers sweet singletrack, unique terrain and stunning views of the Colorado River. Not that it put a damper on our good times, but we were stunned by how many folks were out riding. At the busiest trailheads in Montana, you might see a dozen cars. Here there were more like 50 and they were all mountain bikers. We followed up the ride with pizza and beer, again. In Fruita, there's really nowhere to go but the Hot Tomato. We mixed things up by getting a salad and calzone. Katie accidentally ordered a large calzone, but we finished it anyway.

More pics after the jump.

April 19 - Fruita, CO

In the interest of avoiding the shoulder season doldrums, we took off for some prime time spring riding in Fruita, CO and Moab, UT. Traveling with mountain bikes is kind of traveling with children. You need to bring all kinds of special equipment with you to take care of them and keep an eye on them at all times. The difference is you can strap the bikes to the back of the car. With kids, you only do that when they misbehave. Anyway, the weather and the scenery were beautiful, and the beer was cold and delicious.

We had spent the night in Green River, UT and drove directly to the trailhead in Fruita that morning.  Our playground for the day -- yeah, it's pretty okay:

More pics after the jump.

Much Ado About Muffins

Alternate post title: I love the smell of muffins in the morning, it smells like victory.

These are corn muffins with blueberries in them. Katie was skeptical, but she has now been converted. We used the plain corn muffin recipe in the Cooks Illustrated compendium -- one of the greatest books of all time -- and added blueberries and some lemon zest.

Farewell Bridger Bowl

It was a crazy season. Winter was essentially three weeks long in mid-February. Massive avalanches ripped through Bridger Bowl in late March, so devastating that no one expected the upper mountain to re-open. Of the five best days of the year, Katie missed two and I missed two. On the final weekend of the season, it snowed, the snow pack stabilized, and we were there to reap the benefits.

Listening to...

It seems appropriate that the first post should reveal the inspiration for the title, lest anyone accidentally think I'm clever.