Day 3: Rest day in Fruita.

July 5, 2018

Today is a rest day in Fruita because tommorrow will be extremely long and difficult. I slept late and walked around town in late morning. It was already getting hot.

Fruita is a town of 13,000 that seems to be doing well. South of I-70 is a dinosaur museum, Colorado welcome center, and a cluster of new chain restaurants and motels. The older downtown area north of I-70 has been re-developed with a mountain biking theme.

Fruita has two bike shops. The typical town this size would have no bike shop. I saw a few mountain bikes on cars but didn't see mountain bikers pedaling through town. They probably drive to the trailheads.

Kokopelli's Trail begins 8 miles west of Fruita. The legendary 140 mile trail to Moab takes several days and requires a guide company to deliver food and water to remote campsites. It's possible to ride part of the trail as a day trip and there are surely other good mountain bike trails in the area.

There is also a recreational path along the Colorado river from Fruita to Grand Junction. Popular with local casual cyclists, but I doubt mountain bikers have any interest in a flat paved trail.

Fruita Main Street. Note the chainring in the banner logo.

I was surprised how "dead" things were in Fruita. I expected the town to be unusually busy during the holiday period. But instead most of the restaurants were closed for 5 days, from Wednesday through Sunday. Both bike shops were still open, though.

Fruita Main Street. Aspen Street Coffee Company was closed.

Fruita seems to be working diligently to attract cyclists. Probably attracting Denver area mountain bikers who don't want to drive an extra 1.5 hours for crowds and higher prices at Moab.

I had lunch at Suds brewery, the only downtown restaurant that was open. Kelly recommended Hot Tomato Cafe but they were closed for 5 days.

Most of the restaurants were closed for the holiday weekend.

It was fun to explore the downtown area to find artistic bike racks and other bike/dinosaur themed sculptures.

Wikipedia:

Kokopelli is a fertility deity, usually depicted as a humpbacked flute player (often with feathers or antenna-like protrusions on his head), who has been venerated by some Native American cultures in the Southwestern United States. Like most fertility deities, Kokopelli presides over both childbirth and agriculture. He is also a trickster god and represents the spirit of music.

Bike rack and solar phone charging bench.

In the afternoon I called to make a new reservation for tomorrow night in Rangely. I had a reservation for Budget Host Motel but that motel closed down after I made the reservation.

Today had a high of 97F/36C. This is the lowest elevation of the tour, 4500 feet (1364 m). Hopefully the temperature will cool down as I gain elevation in the next few days.

In the afternoon it was so hot that I didn't want to stay outside for more than a few minutes. I took a 2 hour nap and sat around in the air conditioned motel room. I walked around the town again in the evening. I walked at least 2 miles in Fruita today.

Late in the afternoon Kelly texted to ask if I went to the dinosaur museum. Sadly I didn't, even though there was plenty of time available.

Today Kelly and Jacinto biked from Rifle north to Meeker. Our paths will converge tomorrow evening in Rangely.

Distance: 0 miles

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