Fruita, Colorado

By Daryn York

It’s Saturday, May 12th. I’m up too darn early, my wife’s outta town, the kid has a soccer game at 10, still have 2 feet of snow on the ground, and I’m jonesin’ for dirt. Time to pack the truck and ride Fruita.

We throw in a couple of sleeping bags, a change of clothes, lighter fluid, firewood, a bag of Doritos, a box of donuts, and the bikes. Guys trip. The soccer game ends at about 11:00, we slap a few high 5’s and hit the road. Fruita by 2:00.

Driving thru Vail, we get a text. Some friends have been out on 18 Road and are leaving, they buy one more night at their campsite at North Fruita Desert campground for us. This might not sound like a big deal, but this campground is always packed this time of year, and it’s first come, first serve.

We get to the 18 Road North Fruita Desert campground at about 2:00, unload the bikes, and my tire is completely flat. No problem, I’ll get out my trusty $15-floor pump I've had for years and fill it up. Pump, pump, pump, nothing. The hose is broken. Dammit. Ok, plan B, is a portable pump. I get the tire to somewhat standard pressure, and off we go. At the top of PBR, It feels like my tire’s about to roll off the wheel, so I decided to use my one and only air cartridge. Unfortunately, it doesn't thread onto the air nozzle dealie, wrong size. Back to plan B. After a million pumps, I'm just over mediocre pressure.

This shop is the real deal, which can actually be hard to find in some places these days.

Time to bomb. We knock down a bunch of loops on PBR, Prime Cut, Joe’s Ridge, and Zippity white-knuckling the whole way afraid my tire could roll off at any second. But Luckily, nothing happens except way more fun than should be legal, and it’s only 75 degrees, yesterday it was pushing 90.

It’s dinner time, and all we have is donuts and Doritos, so we head into Fruita. We make a quick stop at Over The Edge Sports to pick up my brand-new shiny Lezyne floor pump. Real pretty. This shop is the real deal, which can actually be hard to find in some places these days. It’s got everything you need from bikes to parts to apparel. Plus they’re nice.

Wow. Now I'm famished, and when you’re in Fruita, there’s one place you go to Eat. The Hot Tomato. Great pizza. So we stroll down the block, throw open the door to the Hot Tomato, and see there’s hardly any room to stand inside. Foiled again. I have a hungry kid, and it's not gonna fly to sit and have beers for an hour or 2 while we wait for food. My second best bet is Mexican dinner. We show up at El Tapatio, walk right in, and get mega amounts of delicious food.

We roll back to the campsite, throw the tent on the back of the truck, make s’mores, play a quick game, blaze through a bundle of wood, and hit the bed of our truck.

At about 6 am, we woke up. We chuck everything into the back of the truck and head out. But first, my kid has to hit Kessel Run real quick, so I drop him off at the trailhead and pick him up at the bottom.

We crush a box of donuts and a couple of turkey Slim Jims on the way to the Loma exit in preparation for the Horsethief Bench trail. My tire is flat again. No good. A quick pump up, and 2 Hail Marys later we’re on the trail (well before 8 in the morning) Quick climb up Mary’s loop to the horsethief drop-in where we carry our bikes down. Only 1% of all riders will clean this drop-in. It’s sketchy at best, and there’s no way a kid is going to carry my broken, bloody body back up these rocks.

Horsethief Bench may be one of my favorite rides. It’s got a little bit of everything, besides shade and a big climb and we have it all to ourselves. We meander around the bench, traversing slick rock, riding drop after drop, and enjoying the beautiful vista hundreds of feet above the Colorado River. It’s one of the most beautiful rides around. A few places you’ll need to dismount, but for the most part, it's rideable. Coming around to the end, you’ll ride through a few washes and have a quick sandy-ish climb back to the drop-in where you’ll have to climb out. Have fun and ride it clockwise.

The morning ends with a drive back to Fruita and waiting for the DQ to open. Because it’s still early and everybody needs ice cream after riding and before heading back home.