Rain and Desperate Measures: The Grand Valley's Riverfront Trail

Rain and Desperate Measures: The Grand Valley’s Riverfront Trail

Back in September when Colorado was getting doused in rain, I really wanted to go for a ride… but the trails were soaked. As a biker or outdoor enthusiast, what can you do? You can’t fight Mother Nature, so instead you have to adapt. For mountain bikers in the area, that means finding another way …

By Julie Hughey
November 5, 2013 Last Updated: August 9, 2024

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For mountain bikers in the area, that means finding another way to stay fit, because bikers here know that riding wet, muddy trails is not an option. This photo by fellow Singletrack and Skinny Tires Sister, Kristina Kettleson, has been circulating on Facebook:

This is what happens when people ride on muddy trails. They make new lines, they leave ruts, and they trash their bikes. Here in the desert, those ruts will stay for quite some time and the fragile grasses growing at the edge might not rebound either. I understand that sometimes people travel a long way to bike and it doesn’t seem fair when you get here and the trails are a mess. Still, I don’t believe that “riding anyway” is the right solution. Take a day off and try to let the trails dry out by taking a brewery tour. Please, if you can at all avoid it, don’t ride our very fragile trails when they’re muddy.

So one day, in an effort to stay off the dirt trails, I improvised and went for a ride on the Riverfront Trail. After a week of nothing more than rides to work and back, I figured any ride was better than none at all.

I’ll be the first to tell you that I am not a road biker. I don’t find road biking to be nearly as entertaining as mountain biking, and I don’t even own a real road bike. I do have a ride-to-work bike: a rigid Sette frame with cross bike tires and Singletracks stickers on it. I was desperate though, so I hopped on my bike and set off across town to the river.

Our Riverfront Trail is a paved trail that runs from Palisade, Colorado all the way to Fruita, along the banks of the Colorado River. Along the way it passes through areas like the Junior League Service Park, the Audubon Nature Center and Connected Lakes, which is a great area for walking, fishing and picnicking. The trail doesn’t cross many roads and is wide enough for bikers to pass each other or for moms with strollers to walk side-by-side.

Not long after turning onto the trail behind the Western Colorado Botanical Gardens, I knew that staying off the dirt trails was the right decision. Water was still standing everywhere!

The views of Mt. Garfield were spectacular, though. I biked along at around 12 mph on my cross bike, and just enjoyed the ride.

My destination was Corn Lake. I’d never been there before, but I liked having an end point. Corn Lake is about 8 miles from my house and about 6 miles down the Riverfront Trail from where I started. Along the way I passed so many people; everyone was desperate to get out and enjoy some sunshine!

Seniors walked parts of the trail, other bikers had the same idea as me, and lots of people were out with their dogs. Honestly, I’m not sure how so many of them could amble along at a slow pace, because the gnats were insane! Thankfully they weren’t bad on the whole ride, but I rode through several swarms; I tried to hold my breath as long as I could!

Finally I came across a sign that said Corn Lake was just another 1.5 miles ahead. I rounded the corner a few minutes later and pulled off to the side. It was quiet here. Fish jumped, leaving ripples across the water. People wandered around the other side of the peaceful lake.

Views of Corn Lake from the Riverfront Trail.

By the time I got home I’d ridden 16 miles in a little over an hour. It certainly wasn’t a mountain bike ride, but sometimes you just have to “make do.” If “making do” means a peaceful ride to a lake like this, I’ll take it!

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Michael Paul 2010
Nov 5, 2013

About 3 weeks ago I drove 6 hours to Durango and an unexpected front dumped a bunch of snow everywhere. It was cold, but melted quickly, and we went to the trails to see if we could ride. We were very conscientious about not destroying the trails; I've spent hours in the front range volunteering rebuilding trails and it stinks. We hiked a bit on our trail and it seemed ok, but we didn't get very on the bikes before we decided to turn around. Even though we weren't leaving tracks on the trail, the wet red clay was ruining our bikes and the climbs were no fun at all. The last thing we want to do is ruin something so awesome. So we drove to Cortez and rode Phil's World, which was bone dry and a blast. Sometimes when you drive a long way to get somewhere, you still have to drive somewhere else. That photo makes me mad; if you see something like that, I think you should confront other riders about trail responsibility. At least tug at their conscience and give them something to think about when they are pushing their bike up a muddy hill. Then let all of the air out of their car tires after they leave...haha. Just kidding. But that would be funny. Seriously though...if Fruita is wet, chances are you could drive 70 min to Moab and at least ride Slickrock while things dry out.

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Julie Hughey 2009
Nov 5, 2013

@delphinide - That's exactly what I said to my friend! "They should drive to Moab!" Slickrock is rideable almost year round.

John Fisch Colorado // 2006
Nov 5, 2013

I actually got rained out 2/3 days in Moab!

One day, we simply hiked Negro Bill Canyon in the downpour. It was beautiful with the water pouring off the rocks 500 feet above. It was a unique and amazing experience I'll never forget. Of course, being in a canyon during a desert thunderstorm isn't particularly wise as conditions were perfect for flash flooding. At one point, we had to form a human chain to cross the torrent.

In any case, I will never damage a trail, no matter how far I've traveled or how much I want to ride.

I know plenty of people who would choose to do nothing instead of hiking or road biking when conditions make it too difficult to mountain bike...but I'm one of those that just has to get out and do SOMETHING. You're right Skibum, there are other things to do...take a drive, go for a hike if possible, etc.

Dustin Gaddis South Carolina // 2007
Nov 5, 2013

Gravel grinding!!! Take your MTB, add on some cheap clip on fenders, and go ride all day long without damaging the trails, and on roads with very little traffic.

Greg Heil Colorado // 2008
Nov 5, 2013

Wow, that first photo of the ruts in the dirt looks pretty horrendous.

Yeah...that was on Rustler's Loop out at the Kokopelli Trails. I mean...who does that? And what does it do to your bike??? We had a great debate around here about that issue...what do you do when you've traveled from Georgia, for instance, and you get all the way out here and everything is muddy and wet? Do you ride anyway?

Jeff Barber Georgia // 1998
Nov 5, 2013

When traveling long distances to ride a trail it can be a really tough call. If I've traveled a long way and come across a muddy trail I'll usually try to find a local bike shop and ask them for alternate trails that might be less wet.

It's almost the same situation for MTB races--people travel from far away and plans have been made. Do you cancel the event if the trail conditions are bad? Some races do, others don't which tells me there is no clear cut answer.

That first photo just looks weird to me. Seems like there's a nice smooth path right down the middle and just a few yahoos got off into the really muddy stuff.

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