Dolores is a really, really cool town. The population is around 600, but it’s got lots of little shops (including a bike shop that’s apparently always closed), two dispensaries, and the Dolores River Brewery. Everyone is really nice- it’s one of those places where people generally leave their doors unlocked and get around town by walking or by bike.

Tuesday morning, Lauren and I headed to Cortez- a nearby city that’s a little larger and has a great bike shop (Kokopelli Bike and Board) that’s not always closed. The fork on my Jet 9 wasn’t holding air, and I suspected that I’d done something wrong when re-assembling it after modifying the travel, so I needed someone to check it out. After we dropped it off, we ran a few other errands and headed back to Dolores to go for a quick spin on the road bikes.

Afterward, I headed back to get my bike- they’d fixed the fork (it actually wasn’t broken or assembled wrong and worked flawlessly once it was back together- quite the mystery), cleaned it up a bit, and even straightened out a bent tooth on my cassette! You don’t get customer service like that from a catalog.

Once I got back, I headed out to Boggy Draw-Â the local trail system. I rode the One9 and quickly realized that my legs were pretty sore from the previous days of riding, so I vowed to take the Jet9 (and its gears) out the next day.

My ride in the morning was nice- I rode the Bean Canyon trail at the same system. It had a bit more elevation change than the Boggy Draw loop that I’d ridden the day before, and also had a few more scenic spots…

Later on in the day, I ventured back out for a lady’s only group ride. I think the number of women who showed up is greater than the number of women in Shelby County who own MTBs…(a couple aren’t pictured here because they split off to find their dog) Everyone was incredibly nice, and we had a great time!

Chapter 2 was a quick one! I’m off now to pick Ryan up at the airport and head back to Breckenridge for Marathon Nationals this Sunday. The elevation will be higher, and the course looks killer. It should be a good test of the legs/lungs.