Today I had a breakthrough ride. I had some free time and felt like doing a long, somewhat epic ride, and that is exactly what I got. I pulled out my map and saw Kennebec pass at 11,870 feet and quite aways from town. This out and back route would be my goal for the day. I began my journey at the Dry Fork trailhead at roughly 7400′. I climbed up to the Colorado trail to about 8600′ over about 4 miles. The whole time the skies were looking ominous and rain /lightning was threatening to hamper this ride, but I forged ahead anyways. I could see the tree lines of adjacent peaks not too far above me and I knew if I hit that elevation I would have to come back down because the open tundra is no place to be during a thunderstorm.

From there I took the CT north 3.5 miles to High Point at about 9600′. Along the way, I got my first glimpse of high country wildflowers.

Sally and I took a break to enjoy the view at high point.

From High point, it was a descent back down to Junction creek to about 8600′. The descent was fast, swoopy, a little treacherous in some places, and crossed lots of mini creeks, but was very scenic.

After crossing the footbridge, it was nothing but climbing out of junction creek canyon and towards Kennebec. By this point, it was drizzling and the trail had turned from awesome moist dirt into a little mush and lots of slippery rocks and roots. I had to hike a bike a lot more than I wanted to. On the up side, Junction creek offered plenty of scenery with waterfalls and wildflowers.

On the last stretch of ascent out of Junction Creek there is a really cool waterfall to admire.

After the waterfall, the trail climbs out of the canyon and towards Kennebec pass. It got less rocky, but more rooty, and a little steeper in places. By this point, I had gone through my 2 Larabars and was starting to feel drained. My 2×9 gearing is not very low (27/34) and I was getting back up to 10,000 feet, so I was forced to walk some of the steeper sections. I came up to CR 171 at about 10,500 ft and 2 miles from the pass, and decided to pull the plug and take the country road back into town. This would not only give me a loop to ride (instead of an out and back), but get me back quicker since I could coast full throttle on the road ( you can’t really do this on the trail due to the technical singletrack nature, but also because of other trail users) Despite my hopes that I wouldn’t have any more climbing to do, CR had maybe a few extra 100′ of climbing, but after that it was balls to the walls descending back to town at 35-45mph. Before the descending began, I had an awesome view of the valley below and mountains to the east. Notice the rain storm about 10 miles away.

Looking at my map, I noticed a “fun downhill” trail notated as part of the log chute trail system. At the trailhead along the road were a couple of fellows with downhill bikes doing shuttle runs. They told me the best way to ride the trail back down to the Colorado trail, but I was little uneasy about giving it a go seeing as how they had full pads and full suspension bikes with 8″ of travel and I was on a hardtail with maybe 3.5″ up front and XC tires. I forged ahead anyways and am I glad I did! I maybe had a 20 second headstart on the downhillers, but somehow I still beat them to the bottom. I have never in my entire life ripped a downhill like I did this very day, especially on a hardtail. It was a major breakthrough, and a fun one at that. When I got to the bottom, I had a choice to make. I could take junction creek road back into town (downhill all the way) and try to get a lift back to my truck at the dry fork trailhead OR, I could climb back up another 1000 feet to Gudy’s Rest and take the HoffHein’s connect down to my truck. I had already been on the trail for about 6 1/2 hours. I was tired and hungry and ready to be done. I didn’t want to leave my truck at the trailhead though, and so I mustered up some 24 hour resolve and bulldozed up the climb with energy I didn’t think I had. Another breakthrough. I was giddy after reaching the top, because I knew another smoking fast downhill was all that stood between me and my truck. I ripped Hoffhein’s even faster than the other downhill smiling all the way, my third breakthrough of the day.  I arrived at my truck both elated that the ride was over, but sad there was no more downhill to shred. Oh well, another day, another trail. That is the magic of Durango.

 

It’s been three weeks since I packed up and left Austin for the wild west in Durango. Lots of people want to know how things are going. They want to know where I’m staying, what I’m up to, how I’m doing. Some people are just now finding out that I’m in a different state and sending along their well wishes. Wherever you fall along these lines, hopefully this post will give you a little bit of insight into my new adventures here in Colorado.

I’m staying at a place off of Highway 160 W, about a 1/4 mile from downtown. Really couldn’t ask for a better location. Absolutely everything I need is within biking (and to large extent even walking) distance of my front door. I came across an opportunity to trade handyman work for my lodging. This is about the only way I can actually afford to live here since housing is so expensive. In exchange for about 10 hrs of work a week, I get to stay in 1978 Dodge Swinger slightly defunct RV. It has electricity, but no plumbing. Well, there is plumbing, but it’s not hooked up to water or sewage, so I can’t really use it. The engine doesn’t run, but that doesn’t matter to me since I’m using it more like a mobile home. The RV sits on a large parcel of land that has a main house and a garage apartment. If I need to take a shower or use the restroom I have access to the main house. Luckily, I don’t have to shower much and just try to take of business while in town, so it works out well for me. Here are some pictures:

I ride a bike every single day. Sometime it’s just into town to run errands or checkout Main Street. Other days, it’s intense, yet relaxing as I hop on either my geared YBS hardtail or singlespeed Kona Kula 2-9 and head for the trails. To date, I haven’t ridden the same trail twice since I arrived and I have plenty more trail to explore. The riding is absolutely amazing here. It has everything from smooth easy swoopy to white knuckle technical death defying mountain top riding. Anywhere from 6400′ to 12,000’+ Sometimes it is dry, dusty, and warm. Others it is overcast, rainy, and downright dangerous with the threat of lightning storms (it is monsoon season here, and late afternoon thunderstorms are common).Here are some of my favorite pics from out on the trail:

Durango is renown for its mountain biking, but the road biking isn’t half bad either. I just happened to bring a road bike and Monday took the skinny tires out for the first time. Instead of climbing up to peaks and ridges and looking down on everything, you are usually riding in between them and looking up, offering a totally different experience. Today I’m going to meet up with the local roadies for their version of the Tuesday nighter. Won’t be the same as the good ole Austin Tuesday nighter, but it will be fresh and I’m sure still a very good workout.

There is much more to do than just ride bikes. The local paper and a locally based website called buzztown publish daily events and deals, anything ranging from $1.50 taco specials to College concerts to live music at bars to art showings and much, much more. I’ve also been enjoying going to the Farmer’s Market each Saturday for fresh local food. For as small a town as this is, it is incredible how much is going on. Part of this inflated activity is because of tourism. The Narrow Gauge Railroad, Animas River rafting, eclectic Main St. atmosphere, and other outdoor activities attract a lot of tourist.

In addition to my handyman chores, I’ve resumed my contract architecture work. At this point, it is all from Austin clients, but I might start marketing for local work or a third job. Most of the locals are accustomed to working 2-3 part times jobs, not only to make ends meat in a pricey town, but also because of the seasonal nature of work here. The first few weeks have been enjoyable not being tied to work, but I’ve got a lot of activities I would to try out and they are all going to cost a little money. Fly fishing, elk/whitetail hunting (in the fall), possibly skiing if I stay into the winter, racing (MTB and maybe some alpine 5k/10k’s), hiking some 14er’s, camping the high country lakes, and then there is just normal maintenance costs for my bikes. If all goes well, I am going to try my hand at a race that ended disastrously last time I was at it, the granddaddy of them all, 24 Hours of Moab. This time solo. I feel better about my chance of success this time around since I know what to expect, I feel like I have a great bike setup, I’m living and training in similar geography, and my mental resolve has toughened since 2008.

I have been enjoying my time here and really love the town, but it has come with a steep price. I miss married life and I miss my dog. I’m heartbroken over how events have unraveled. I try to put a finger on where things went wrong, but I can’t. Not a day goes by I don’t think about the good times I had with Colleem. Being in Colorado makes me think about the vacation we took here a few years back. I remember vividly drinking soda water in Manitou Springs, taking in the Royal Gorge, enjoying the hippy dip in Pagosa Springs, staying a night with Shonny V here in Durango, nearly tearing apart our Subaru Outback rental going down Ophir Pass, dancing at the Fall Festival in Telluride, and eating gourmet pizza with Tony Benson in Crested Butte.

So about my post title. Purgatory is a theological concept derived in large part from the imagination of early Christians. It describes a place where people go after death to hopefully be prepared for acceptance into heaven if they haven’t quite met all the requirements. The ultimate outcome of their soul hasn’t been determined, and so they might be stuck in Purgatory for a while until their fate is resolved.

Purgatory is also the old name of the ski resort right north of Durango, now called the Durango Mountain Resort at Purgatory, so it’s rather fitting that I picked the title post that I did.  I feel like I am stuck in my own little Purgatory.One half of me wants to stay here for a long time and make this my new home. Get a Colorado drivers license and plates, maybe even buy a 4×4. Leave all my troubles from Austin in Austin and move on. The other half  is struggling to let it go. I still care about Colleem. I still love a lot of things about Austin. At the core of my existence is a place they call Texas. I own two rentals there and it has been difficult trying to run them from here. There is more business opportunity in Austin. Blue Bell and Tex Mex are in abundant supply. It’s a lot to leave behind and I’m just now sure which place is going to be my heaven. With my luck, it might not be either.

What I do know, is that whatever happens will happen for the best. I’ve strongly held this belief ever since I was a teenager and began developing the ability to think for myself. Even when I collided with a car at mach 1 and dislocated my shoulder, I found the good. Even when I’ve lost loved ones I have been able to celebrate their life or realize the positive role they had in my life and others’. Even through all the struggles I’m dealing with now, they have afforded me the chance to live somewhere new and experience new things. So for the moment, I’ll just keep floating along, enjoying my new found freedom, and thanking the good Lord for all my blessings.