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Fruita Riders Club Trip ROCKS!
posted by RoubaixRider at 06:11 PM on May 17, 2007
We've now returned, somewhat reluctantly, from Fruita, Colorado - the site of this year's first off-the-hook, unbelievably awesome Riders Club Trip.
We spent 5 days riding impossibly beautiful singletrack and slickrock through and near Fruita, Colorado. Riding with Ned Overend was an added bonus: he talked about designing his new tire, a model coming out in the summer called "The Captain", and he schooled us all on the lung-busting high-elevation climbs (no surprise!). The weather was perfect, our Western Spirit guides were perfect, and everyone left wanting more!
Click for GPS Data:
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 |
Some of the best highlights: Roy getting a front flat WHILE HE WAS FIXING HIS REAR FLAT (no joke! just exploded!), plus the chipotle-marinated salmon that Simon cooked up, or the nights of conversation around the campfire, or the incredible amount of cuts that were sealed up by Dr. Rich with crazy glue (an ear, an elbow, a few knees, and even his own chin!). This was not a group that was giving up on anything without a fight!
We also determined that everyone would start to carry the following on every ride: Crazy Glue, spare cleat bolts (2), spare chainring bolts (2), zip ties (3), replaceable derailleur hangar (1), and oh yeah: make sure that your multi-tool fits every bolt on your bike. Lucky for us, we had everything covered!
The riding was, of course, epic, and there are heaps of photos. Check out the slideshow for some of the highlights!
We took out 2 new Enduros, 3 Epics, a Carbon Stumpjumper, and we even snuck the Prototype Specialized 29er out on this trip - so these club members were among the very first non-Specialized Employees to get to ride it! Consensus was really positive - everyone loved how it handled, and how smoothly it rolled through the rocky terrain!
Next trip: Road trip through the Colorado Rockies! With a special guest to be announced soon!!
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Comments (20)
07:47 PM on May 17, 2007 UTC AC Shilton wrote:
Wow, this looks spectacular! When do the demo coordinators get to be the "special guests?"
09:08 PM on May 17, 2007 UTC Shimanodog wrote:
Leave it up to the shop owners to be on the trip. HA! You dawgs! Next year the shop staff get to go...right?!
06:08 AM on May 18, 2007 UTC Dennis wrote:
Don't forget the beer thieves at the beginning of the trip. There were two trips leaving from grand junction a kokopelli and the fruita trip. These guys wheeled out about 7 cases of corona beer. They loaded their stuff in the trailer but wrong truck. So they unloaded their stuff to the other truck.
At the first night campground, we found out these guys took some of our beer.
10:23 AM on May 18, 2007 UTC Rusty Kogz wrote:
that trip looks like it was sweet! love the pics of the buffed singletrack. next time save the pics of Ned's nipple, thanks just the same! : )
12:29 PM on May 18, 2007 UTC sevy wrote:
Thanks for the wrap up Roubaix Rider! The trip was indeed one to remember - perfect weather, awesome group, top shelf bikes and some of the best trails anywhere. More photos to come, so stay tuned. Happy Trails, Sevy
05:06 PM on May 18, 2007 UTC Wiley wrote:
A trip like that would be even more fun and exciting with some of the demo driver along...
06:12 PM on May 18, 2007 UTC PW Dave wrote:
It was a great time. All the guys from Specialized and the Specialized Riders were great. Fun to brutal and scary terrain. (Thought I was gonna die a few times.) Sunny days. One cold night. Tons of great food and conversation. And some friendly competition. Although the beer never found its way back to us, it was a once in a lifetime experience. Actually got to follow Ned Overend and try to follow his lines. I emphasize the ‘try to follow’ as he proved time and again that his talent is tops.
08:36 PM on May 18, 2007 UTC Chuck wrote:
The trip was amazing. Lots of great trails and some great riders to share them with. It was super fun to try the new bikes. I am already predicting rave reviews for the new Carbon Epic on the Roval rims set. An absolutely amazing bike. Thanks to Wertern Spirit, Chris at Specialized and Sue, Simon and Sevy for taking care of us. And, yes, I also thought I was going to die on a couple of the trails. But, two and three foot drops don't scare me anynmore.... :-)
02:41 AM on May 19, 2007 UTC bolo wrote:
wow dudes! I really envy you, and the photos are so specatucular!
Hey, by the way, I really like this club, glad to having join it!
04:12 AM on May 19, 2007 UTC Gregory B wrote:
Very nice! You guys were really privileged: super sights, super trails, ride with the Lung, ride a Specialized 29er! More pics on Dave Matthews' Flickr page!
10:10 AM on May 21, 2007 UTC rusty nations wrote:
Went on this trip last year and it snowed the night before! Super windy the enitre first day, but then right as we were finishing dinner, the wind completely died and it was a perfect night. Awesome trip. Western Spirit knows how to do it right.
02:10 PM on May 21, 2007 UTC Ned wrote:
Wow!,
Chris did a great job with the photos, they really give a great feel for the tricky terrain and awesome scenery. It was really a fun group, with everyone pushing the envelope a little. Lots of broken skin but fortunetely no broken bones. Western Spirit is the only way to camp. I thoroughly enjoyed it, thanks everyone for being part of the riders club.
05:59 PM on May 21, 2007 UTC Ricardo Motta wrote:
This trip was priceless. I just added a journal entry with some comments and pictures to share with everyone.
11:00 PM on May 22, 2007 UTC romulo Fritscher wrote:
essa viagem deve ter sido du caralho!!!
Porra Rick... se fizer umas 2 por mes, vai ficar com a barriga tanquinho
hehehe
best regards
12:37 PM on May 25, 2007 UTC Poe wrote:
Some of the best trails I've ridden and a great bunch of folk to share it with. Thanks to Chris and Ned from Specialized and Mark, Simon and Sue at Western Spirit for the trip, food, transport etc., it couldn't have been better. And thanks to all the riders who were there and made it a very cool week of riding.
Check out more photos under my rider profile :)
12:52 AM on June 06, 2007 UTC Ben Jordan wrote:
This trip looks like it was incredible. I am looking into a Western Spirit trip to NH.
10:35 PM on June 25, 2007 UTC miSICKLE wrote:
jealous.
07:12 PM on June 28, 2007 UTC Jut8 wrote:
Soooo Jealous!!! When are you guys going to make it over to the east coast??!!!
06:53 AM on July 13, 2007 UTC fik wrote:
good
07:32 AM on January 26, 2008 UTC Adam Arruda wrote:
thats looks like an awesome trip...id like to do something like this once i get a little older