From the time you get your first 2-wheeled mode of transportation, you are suddenly free to explore the world. As a kid, I would ride my bike miles ( kid miles ) away from my house and meet my friends and practice tricks ( kid tricks ) in the church parking lot. As long as I was within earshot of my Mom and could be by her side within a few minutes, I could go anywhere. And she could scream pretty loud and I could ride pretty fast so I could go pretty far away.
Bikes make you want to go. Go see new places and meet new people. Go have new experiences. Go taste new brews. One of the beautiful things about Colorado is that A. It’s beautiful. and B. You are never far from the “middle of nowhere”. This is where you find yourself. It’s where you become closer to nature. Stay there long enough and you may really appreciate the little luxuries of your regular daily life. But once you’ve been to “nowhere”, it calls you back … like Mom. Maybe that’s why they call it Mother nature…
I am lucky to live here in Fruita, Colorado and to have the ability to jump start my psyche every now and then. I can get out to the “middle of nowhere” pretty easily. Like this past weekend when I went on our Dominguez hut trip. A 3-day mountain bike tour at elevation through some of the most beautiful scenery anywhere, in my opinion. The route was sometimes strenuous and sometimes fast and flowy. Hiking was sometimes necessary but it was all doable and well worth it. At the end of each day’s ride a well-stocked hut was waiting for me with tons of food, both packaged and fresh One cooler was full of ice cold beverages. The other with eggs, cheese, meats and ice cold watermelon. For “roughing it” in a hut with no running water or electricity, I really didn’t feel like I had it too rough.
This brings me to the original reason I decided to write this. Yes, I would love it if everyone who ever thought of taking a multi-day mountain bike trip would book one of our trips. That would be great and I might even get to retire super early. But I also want everyone who is thinking about doing a multi-day trip to take the trip that will give them the experience they want and need. So, you might ask yourself the following questions before you start to plan your trip:
Questions to ask yourself before booking a mountain bike trip
1. How many days in a row can I realistically pedal my bike … for many miles each day?
2. How important is it to me to have ____________ food? ( insert food preference here. ie. vegan, gluten-free, etc…)
3. How important is it to me to have ice cold beverages?
4. Do I want a personal guide or just my friends with me on the trip?
5. Do I want to be really out there and not see many, if any, people? Or…
6. Do I want to be able to touch base with the hectic “real” world each night after my day of pedaling through “nowhere”?
7. Do I want to stay in a tent or a secure building while I am in the wild with wild animals?
8. Do I want to carry most of my stuff or have someone else carry it for me?
Be honest with yourself when answering these questions and you are sure to have one of the best bike adventures of your life.
