Beat down by the desert, the mountains, and the man!
It would seem that if there is no entry fee, no prize, no organizer, and nothing provided, you wouldn’t really have an ‘event’. Well a certain Federal Land agency doesn’t feel that way. Friday night in Loma, CO, a friend of mine received a $275 fine for suggesting a time to meet and ride a popular trail on public lands. In addition to taking one individual’s money, it looked like the ‘fuzz’ wouldn’t let anyone ride. Being a day use area and all. Well, we were an unruly mob, and it was obvious we couldn’t be contained, so after a show of driving around the parking lot with red and blue lights, the authorities left us to our outlaw activities.
The event in question is the Kokopelli Trail Race. Really more of a tradition than anything else. It’s pretty simple. Ride the Kokopelli Trail, all the way through, no support, no caches, no help of any kind. That’s it. Nothing more. Usually mid May. It’s gotten surprisingly popular. Probably 60 people last year, probably more this year.
Unfortunately a number of riders had headed out on the trail early to avoid the confrontation. Still, around thirty of us lined up at the start of Mary’s Loop trail to ‘race’ each other to Moab. At midnight, the one lighter in the wallet gave the go ahead and we were off.
The race could be best divided into four parts for me. The first part went exceedingly well. I rode with the front group, moving into the lead on the singletrack. I didn’t want to get held up behind other riders. Midnight at race pace on Mary’s, Lion’s and Troybuilt, is not exactly easy riding. I knew some would flail, and didn’t want to be behind them. This plan worked well, and I held the lead until we crossed Salt Creek. Following the hike a bike out of the creek, only two riders had passed me, although many of the early departing ‘casual’ riders were all around. Soon enough the ‘favorite’ passed me (on his way to a 12:45 time!!!), and I tried to hold his wheel as best I could into Rabbit Valley.
Part two of my race began as I dealt with a broken chain twice in Rabbit Valley. I lost a bit of time, and started to worry about being stuck in the middle of nowhere. I had no idea how many of the people riding by me were ‘racers’ vs. those who began earlier. Luckily I was able to ride with Linda W for the next 45mi or so. The company lifted my spirits, and I knew that she would be on pace for a fast time.
Fast forward to the top of the Entrada Bluffs road. Now I wasn’t feeling so hot. There were a bunch of riders around me doing a multi day tour. Not having ridden 90mi that morning, they were just a little fresher than I. Their ‘chipper’ conversation wasn’t really helping my mood. And I couldn’t ride away from them! Reaching Rose Garden Hill, I decided to make my move and ride on down. Big OTB for me. A full audience no less. It still feels a little like a gunshot wound to my chest as I write this. Now feeling quite toasted, I limped on to Hideout camp, where I knew there was water.
The final chapter unfolded here. I arrived at the creek, filtered up a couple of bottles, and slumped down in the shade. My intent was a half hour or so to drink up, eat a bunch, and cool off for the long climb ahead. Next thing I knew, I was being woke up by Adam L. Soon, we had ten to twelve others lounging by the little creek, Adam and I had both slept a bunch, and nothing looked urgent. I ended up spending 2 1/2hrs there before four of us got going. It never felt like we’d DNF, time just didn’t matter much any more. The four of us kept each other company over North Beaver Mesa, Fisher Mesa, and the Loop rd.. Every little creek was a pit stop! We made it to the Slickrock parking lot before dark, which had become the only goal. I managed to add almost six hours to last year’s time!!
All in all, a strange day. Maybe one good result, is a strong reinforcement of the severity of my next challenge. I’ll definitely be more focused now, that’s for sure. What is that next ride? Well, it starts and ends in the same place, crosses the UT/CO border a few times, requires several days off work, and looks REALLY scary right now. Check this space in a few weeks, or twist my arm if details are that interesting.
Sorry, no photos.
