Day 3- Fruita Loma area to Moab

Well I did not sleep solidly but pretty well given jet lag and a thermarest! The sun was up by 6am and so was I. Chilling as the sunrise over the mountains crept up I ate breakfast and read my book. Then packed up camp and drove that dirt road back to town and out to the Loma area or McInnis Canyon to ride the trails there. I was out on Mary's loop by 9am, and dropped down onto Horsethief Bench immediately- I thought I could ride the rocky descent but I was wrong and I hike a biked down the huge steps of rocks and sand- who can ride this! I set off on the fast flowy singletrack, skipping off rock steps and bumping down rocky descents with a huge grin on my face. Just as the riding terrain got sweeter and sweeter the views of the Colorado river opened up- this place is just immense. Look at these canyon walls carved out by millions of years of glaciers and now an arid desert landscape- its so weird but so wonderful to behold. The terrain was one moment flowy fun skippy and the next a tough rock climbing challenge. At one point I rode at speed over the first root I had seen on the trail and then I thought “Hmm Claire you really ought to check those roots are not in fact snakes” and indeed that was a good thought because on the climb back out of Horsethief I nearly pushed my bike over a snake, but just avoided it in time and then gave a wide berth! No idea if it is poisonous but no wish to find out! From Horsethief I carried on Mary's loop which was prettty easy flowy singlterack with a couple of rrocky drops from time to time to skip off and keep it fun. At one point I passed a a rusty old caution signpost and indeed the trail was so narrow with a rocky overhang on one side and a sheer drop off into the canyon on the other- I rode it all but my focus was 100% on balance and momentum! From there I dropped into Steve's loop which again was fast flowy moderate rock drops and fantastic views for another 4 miles of fun. AmI getting boring? Well the ride certainly was not. Back up to Mary's taril I retraced it back to the start which was almost as fun as the way out but most of the best views were behind me. A quick gatorade refuel, setup the iPhone playlist and hit the road towards Moab. There is pretty much no town between Fruita na dMoab just desert and mountains and one long straight road. I had to sing along to my tunes to stop dropping off! Arriving in Moab is a culture shock for sure. It's the epitome of all american tackiness, loads of motel signs and one long main street of commercial advertising thrust down your throat. I guess the constand sun here takes its toll on signage as it all looks old and outdated and small town tacky! My GPS led me in circles to my campground eventually. I'd booked one off the beaten trcak so as not to be next to the Highway like the other but oh dear what a disappointment this was. Talk about Trailer Trash park! A line of old broken down Rvs all hooked up dow the middle of the park and opposite it a lone of fenced off tent pitches – all empty except the one waiting for me! Does everyone else know ebtter than me to camp here! What an anti-climax after last nights spot. Still there's a shower block and a laundry so maybe it'll suffice. Tent up quickly and I was outta there to go scout for food and ideas for what to try this week (apart from biking!) More later on that I guess.