The Unplanned Adventure – 12 Hrs of Mesa Verde to Moab

Sometimes things don’t go exactly according to plan, but the adventures that you end up taking can be epic. I enjoy most “epic” adventures even when my cohorts aren’t.  Sometimes long hike-a-bike, bug infested detours off the beaten path are simply more enjoyable to me.  At the least they are much more memorable.  This past weekends sidetrack was a great one.

For the planned adventure, Team Crankjoy travelled to the awesomely fun Phil’s World trails for the 12 hours of Mesa Verde race as a 4 person team.  I always look forward to this Cortez, CO annual migration since good friends from the four corner states usually attend.

This year’s race started off a little cold and rainy and then it really started pissing (see below).

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The night before the event we camped in a thundersnow.  We woke at about 3am to lightening and thunder, freezing rain and even some snowflakes.  It cleared just in time for the event to begin at 7am under conditions that seemed to be improving despite the 30 degree temperatures.  The weather went downhill almost as quickly as our first rider could blaze in for his lap.

Shortly after 8am it began to snow hard. We decided to pull the plug and end on a high note collecting the fastest lap of the the 12 hours of Messy Verde. Next we unanimously agreed to take our show to MO-AB for the remainder of our weekend where it was much warmer and sunny!

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If you haven’t been to Moab recently or at all you owe it to yourself to plan a trip to this magical place .  Many of my now favorite trails have popped up just in the last few years. There are more magnificent trails than you could ride in weeks here.  I highly recommend using one of the many excellent bike shops, or tour/shuttle companies for the best Moab experience.

This trip was made exceptional with help from local friends who showed us some of their hidden gems and kept us smiling.   Thanks to our incredible friends, it was another great unplanned adventure![/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]