Mini Tour: Two-wheel paradise
Courtesy of BLM
From the Mesa to the Monument, Grand Junction's stunning backdrop inspires visitors to park and pedal
It's topography in transition, a place where snow-fed streams surge into sandstone desert and flattop peaks fall to canyon precipices. Naked cliffs, their bases hemmed with stony skirts, stretch along one side of Interstate 70. Across the road, vineyards and orchards line a tree-trimmed Colorado River. This ring of merging landforms turns the Grand Junction area into an outdoor theater of scenery in the round.
While panoramas seen from car windows can be stunning, a more intimate way to appreciate the region's bluffs, buttes, mountains and mesas is on two wheels instead of four.
The Grand Junction area offers rides for bicyclists of all levels. The land along the valley floor lies flat enough for family touring and the surrounding highlands provide hills and trails for athletes craving a leg-cranking challenge. There are wineries to visit and vistas to view. Trails are many, rural roads remain generally uncrowded and the warm climate averages 275 days of sunshine annually.
An array of shops rent everything from road racers to full-suspension mountain hoppers. Lovers craving tandem togetherness can even rent bicycles built for two.
The question is where to go. Here are some suggestions for some of the area's best rides.
Easy road biking
A day of family fun can be found on the Redlands Loop of Grand Junction's Riverfront Trail. From Riverside Park, the eight-mile paved route follows the Colorado River from its confluence with the Gunnison, the "junction" for which the city was named.
Of course, the river wasn't called the Colorado back then. Flowing from Grand Lake at the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park, it was originally known as the Grand River. Only after meeting the Green River in Utah, deep in today's Canyonlands National Park, did the combined flow become the Colorado.
In the early 1920s, Utah considered renaming the Green River. For bragging rights, they wanted it to bear the Colorado River moniker. An alarmed Colorado legislature beat Utah to the punch and persuaded Congress instead to rename the Grand River as the Colorado.
Heading northwest, the Riverfront Trail winds through cottonwood groves and past wetlands and marshes rife with bird life. After passing Blue Heron Lake, the trail meets the Redlands Parkway, veers southwest, crosses the river and returns along another channel of waterway. For an after-ride lunch, a short side jaunt leads to Main Street, a pedestrian-friendly, vehicle-accessible boulevard of shops and restaurants.
Moderate road biking
For a modest all-day ride, it's tough to beat the Tour of the Vineyards, a 25-mile loop route imbued with the fragrance of peach blossoms and the soft scent of sage. Starting and ending at Peach Bowl Park in Palisade, the ride follows rural roadways and passes at least 10 of the area's acclaimed wineries, meaderies and cellars.
Bikers often pack bread and cheese to enjoy a picnic along the way. The route passes summertime fresh fruit stands, and Colorado wineries seldom charge for tastings.
The two-wheel journey through the agrarian scenery offers just enough climbing to make riders feel they are getting a workout. The biggest challenge is figuring out the road numbering system.
"The streets that run north and south are aligned with the state line," explains local realtor Robert Bray, "so 1 Road runs north-south exactly one mile east of the Utah border. Starting at the river, they named the east-west streets with letters—A Road, B Road and so forth. You have in-between roads that are 35 1/2 or G 7/8. It's kind of comical but it works for us locals."
Extreme road biking
For a good gear-grinder, take the 40-mile Rim Rock loop through Colorado National Monument. This red-rock enclave southwest of town features 11 different canyon systems and the cliff-top views stretching across Grand Junction to Grand Mesa can be inspiring.
"It's a wonderful place to road cycle," says ranger Michelle Wheatley. "It's not crowded. It's beautiful. It has something to offer all visitors."
The roadway switchbacks up the sandstone cliffs, climbing 2,000 feet above the valley floor. The pavement is narrow, drop-offs extreme, and there are several tunnels. This is a ride best done midweek when car traffic is light.
"If you do it from the east, the Grand Junction side, you get all of the climbing out of the way in the first few miles," says local biker Mary Monholland. "Then it's around and down. If you go the other way, it's not as steep, but it's spread out for a longer climb."
Easy mountain biking
Courtesy of BLM
As good as it is for pavement pedaling, Grand Junction and neighboring Fruita are better known for their fat-tire trails. Among enthusiasts, the area is even challenging Moab as the West's best place to ride.
"We have a singletrack mentality," brags Jerry Wolf, manager of Over the Edge Sports in Fruita. "In Moab you share trails with cars, jeeps or motorcycles."
One of the best family-friendly mountain bike trails is Rustler's Loop. It features informational signs along the route that explain the ethics of riding, along with how to climb, corner and descend the terrain that follows. For those new to the sport, it's like pedaling with an instructor. Although the 3.6-mile route starts with a gravel road, the remainder of the trail is singletrack, which means it's one bike wide. It winds along East Horsethief Bench with views down to the Colorado River. The trail turns, traverses slickrock and small drainages and then heads toward a band of cliffs, which it parallels back to the parking lot.
Moderate mountain biking
A favorite intermediate riding venue lies along the Book Cliffs at the end of 18 Road north of Fruita. Here, riders can negotiate desert bluffs, gullies, ribs and ridges. A good ride is the seven-mile Chutes and Ladders loop. From the parking lot, the route descends to a cow pond before climbing a small valley. A series of leg-taxing drainages and hills follow. The return is a fast downhill run on a singletrack path complete with big air-raising berms, dips and jumps.
Camping at road's end is free, but the area features neither water nor toilet facilities. Riders are asked to keep the trails clean and never pedal in the rain or when the ground is muddy. "The dirt out here is bentonite clay for the most part, and when it gets wet, it just is really icky," says Monholland. "You'll ruin the trails."
Extreme mountain biking
While the 18 Road trailhead also accesses extreme terrain for experts, it's the hardcore Kokopelli's Trail for which the area is most famous. This 140-mile trail connects the mountain biking communities of Fruita and Moab. Between them, the land lies empty and wild.
"There are not a lot of facilities out there," says Wolf. "I've done it self-supported where I take a trailer with me on my bike. I spent four days and I didn't see another person."
Kokopelli's Trail parallels the Colorado River, detouring overland where canyon cliffs hem its banks. Juniper and piñon pine dot the landscape, and the La Sal Mountains tower in the distance. Drinking water and civilization are seldom seen. Most of the extended route is singletrack interspersed with short sections of county and four-wheel-drive roads. With climbs reaching 8,500 feet, the riding can be delightful in places and downright character-building in others.
Approaching Moab, the bike route crosses the Colorado River on the old wooden Dewey suspension bridge, a now abandoned span built in 1916. Of course, the river wasn't called the Colorado back then.
Dan Leeth is a freelance writer and photographer from Aurora who contributes to EnCompass frequently.
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