MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Summer 2020

58 On day five, after crossing most of the continent, we limped into Loveland, Colorado; we could barely shift into first gear, and our fuel pump rattled like a coffee grinder. Thankfully we found Pat’s VW. “Come on in. Our policy is to drop everything for travellers,” they said. Pat fixed our shifting issues (air bubble in the clutch line) within five minutes. He installed a new fuel filter and we were on our way. We were $85 down, but seriously stoked to be back on the road. The Westfalia community is amazing. We soon picked up Grampa at the Denver airport, crossed the continental divide (in third gear!) and rolled into Fruita, Colorado. The guys at Colorado Backcountry Biker didn’t hesitate to tell us where to go: 18 Road. For the Pump, Bumps and Rollers trail. And boy were they right. 18 Road may be one of the funnest places to ride ever. Flowing downhill trails zigged and zagged along ridgelines and my whole family whooped with joy all the way down. And when we got tired, we just started doing car drops. After a couple nights in Fruita, we made the final push to Moab. Of course, once we were in Moab, it was all about riding. We rode a trail a day for the next nine days. Here are some highlights. Every dollar earned (and now spent) had brought me to this point in my life and it all finally came together in this instant.