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Fruita, Colorado

Mountain Biking Mecca

story and photos by Jared Ogden

Flying down Chutes and Ladders - the sick mountain bike trail in Fruita, Colo. - relying exclusively on a white-knuckle grip and rookie instincts to control the ride, I lost it. Over the handlebars I went, getting tossed like a rag doll and grinding to a halt on my face. Lying there in the dirt amid a whirl of stars, I grinned blissfully from ear to ear at the realization that I had landed smack-dab in mountain-biking Nirvana - and spit out a mouthful of dirt.

The mountain biking in Fruita is epic and, fortunately, there are trail options that reduce the risk of acquiring my dirt-level perspective. But nothing compares to the tight singletrack trails that whip riders up and down some of the wildest terrain on the planet. For ten years Fruita has held a spot on top-ten lists of places to ride and perhaps no other place in America has become so quickly well known. There is good reason for its fast popularity. Under a backdrop of picturesque sandstone and adobe cliffs, the trails offer amazing vistas while challenging riders with a staggering amount of varied terrain ranging in difficulty from beginner to expert.

Rollercoaster singletracks with names like Moore Fun (laughingly referred to as "More Blood"), The Ribbon, Chutes and Ladders, and Prime Cut thread through rolling hills and massive uplifts for countless miles on some of the buffest, baby-butt smooth riding in the country.

This year Fruita celebrated its 10th annual Fruita Fat Tire Festival, drawing hundreds of fans and riders for events such as the 18-hour endurance race, the world-renowned Clunker Crit and a road bike tour. The weeklong event (2006: Fruita Fat Tire Festival #11, April 27 - 30; 18 Hours of Fruita, May 5 - 6) is sponsored in part by the New Belgium Brewing Company; there's no shortage of beer.

The two main riding areas - the Bookcliffs (north of town), and the Kokopelli Trail System's trailhead area (take I-70, one more exit west) - both have well-developed trail systems that offer terrain for every rider ability. In addition, the trails at the Rabbit Valley area (great singletracks that take off from OHV roads at the Rabbit Valley exit, near the Utah border (featured in the June/July 2005 issue)), the Ribbon (near Grand Junction), and the classic "Flight of Icarus" trail near Douglass Pass, provide enough additional terrain to explore for days.

With the dirt cleared from my teeth, I finished my ride breezing through meadows, pumping up whoop-de-dos, negotiating steep, technical sections, all while managing to stay on the saddle. The next day we rode trails such as Zippity Do Da, an advanced eight-mile loop with a mellow start into a hard climb and a steep descent, and an out-and-back on The Fronted with its stellar views of the valley. Our final day we hit the exciting descents and perfect singletrack on Horsethief Bench, the Lion's Loop, and Mary's Loop where we met a couple who had recently completed the Kokopelli Trail from Moab, 144 miles of both singletrack and two-track, and 4,800 feet of climbing! Just thinking about it made my legs cramp.

Fruita gets hot during the summer months but locals ride year round. Spring and fall mark the best times to ride with ideal temperatures and weather. Check out the trail conditions on the Over the Edge Sports website: www.otesports.com. For trail navigation and other beta consult the Fruita Fat Tire Guidebook by Troy Rarick or Mountain Biking Grand Junction and Fruita by Bob D'Antonio.

Of the several camping options we chose the Bookcliffs area off the 18 Road for its proximity to the multiple loops and out-and-backs. The designated sites require Leave No Trace camping to protect the fragile desert ecosystem - always a good idea, anyway, anywhere. It's primitive camping; pack out all human waste.