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| Day 1, England - Denver |
| Day 2, Denver - Grand Junction |
| Day 3, Fruita |
| Day 4, Fruita |
| Day 5, Fruita |
| Day 6, Fruita |
| Day 7, Grand Junction - St George |
| Day 8, St George |
| Day 9, St George |
| Day 10, St George - Flagstaff |
| Day 11, Flagstaff |
| Day 12, Prescott |
| Day 13, Sedona |
| Day 14, Phoenix |
| Day 15, Phoenix |
| Day 16, England |
| Colorado - Utah - Arizona 2006 |
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 Thunder Mountain out and back singletrack Mountain Bike Ride (Utah)
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I packed up and had my last breakfast at the La Quinta. I checked out and then headed down to the Safeway to get water and food for the journey, and then headed off on I70 west towards Utah |
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I drove 239 miles to the junction to US 89, the drive it self was ok the Interstate was very fast and the scenery interesting to look out. I almost ran out of petrol though as I was hoofing it along at high speeds not realizing how much gas the suv guzzled, I stopped right on empty at Salina and then continued along the I70 to the 89. |
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After driving another 65 miles I arrived at the car park for Thunder Mountain. Keen to get going I unpacked my bike and headed for the trail. I realized when I got to the trail head I didn't have a map for the route, it was still in my suitcase, but I just followed the signs for Thunder Mountain. Weather west great it was about 68f with a fairly strong warm wind. |
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I started riding up hill and it was only at mile 1.5 when I met bikers coming the other way I realized I was riding up the trail. I decided to carry on anyway as I had read about other riders go up and the down the trail, rather than taking the bike path. |
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The Trail was great there were amazing views of the red rock hoodoos like in Bryce canyon, and the trail it self was good singletrack, and I only found my self pushing my bike up at 2 points on the ride. The views were excellent and the wind kept things cool. |
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Eventually the trail climbed right above the red rock and into a pine forest, and then started to go down and up , around where drainage channels cut into the mountain sides. At this point in the ride I didn't see any other riders and had the trail to myself. |
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I stopped at the top and munched some power bars, and then turned around to ride back down the trail. As I mentioned before this trail is not 100% downhill there are quite a few climbs to do before you reach the red rock hoodoo area. |
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The ride down was great, and very fast as I knew the route from riding up it |
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The ride was superb due to the amazing views while riding it, but my favorite section of the trail was the last part where you hurtled down some singletrack back to the trail head, lots of little jumps made the trail great fun. I'd rate the trail as a must do ride, and would go out of my way to ride it again if I'm ever in Utah again. The ride was 17 miles out and back. |
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I then packed up my stuff, and headed off down SR14 towards I15 I drove 60 miles to I17 , the road went quite high in the mountains and there was lots of snow on either side of the road. |
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I eventually got to St George at about 8:00PM, the drive from Thunder mountain had been very scenic, and the traffic had been quite light. I found my Hotel the St George Hampton Inn and checked in.
The hotel had 2 small pools and 2 hot tubs, but due to my open wounds from my previous crash I was unable to use them 8-(
I went out at 9.45pm to get some food at the takeout Mexican restaurant Cafe Rio - which was ok, and got myself an ice cream from Nielsen's which was very good.
Then I hit the sack feeling very tired |
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DAY 8 |
