Today: Guns, alcohol, dangerous driving, mountain biking, and some of the craziest guys I've ever met.
I wiped away the saliva accumulating on the pillow and opened my slanted, red eyes to the apartment I was in.
Okay. The night before...
After I had Chinese food and finished blogging, I met up with all of the MS cyclists at the Gunnison brewery. Well, once again, I got to really get to know and chat with all the guys and gals of the group. Everyone drank a fair share until, around midnight, people started heading out.
Kevin and Anthony joined me on a run to another bar.
Anthony graduated college a year back or so, studying forestry. He's fit and has biked everything with wheels back at his home in Denver, CO. He joined the MS team in Pueblo a few days ago and is still getting used to the demanding milage and soreness.
Kevin is a small guy who is always up for a good time. He's quiet at first but he has a festive and talkative self that comes out when you get to know him or when the liquid confidence is going around. Before this evening, I hadn't spoken much to him other than the occasional thumbs up or encouragement while biking. We would be much better friends by the next evening.
So, at this next bar, it appeared pretty dead. A girl by the name of Paige was having her 21st and there was a young loner at the bar. Kevin, Anthony, and I decided to play a game of drinking Jenga by ourselves. Within minutes, the party was where we were. The whole group was playing Jenga and as I got another beer, I invited the loner guy to play too. His name was Timmie, he was fresh out of the Army at 24.
Jenga was wonderful and the 80's background music led to several karaoke moments for everyone. After Jenga went, we played Apples to Apples for a little bit before the bar closed.
Anthony disappeared. Apparently, this guy Timmie got directions to another bar. He got on his skateboard (I later learned he stole this) while Kevin and I cycled. At this point, things got a bit blurry.
I remember I met this guy at the last bar named Mike Johnson. Upon learning Kevin and I were riding the country, he very cleverly convinced me (rather easily) to mountain bike the most incredible trail up in Doctor Parks. "It would be a fucking sin if you guys came through here and didn't do that trail", Mike warned. Also claiming that he could take a look at my back tire, he led Kevin and I to his house on his bike.
He let us use his dryer, washer, and said we could have an awesome breakfast. The last thing I remember was Mike making Kevin and I finish a quarter of some bottle of vodka. That was the end for me.
Waking up three hours later to do this incredible mountain biking trail, I knew that we needed milk. It was rather hilarious. Kevin and I limped our way down the street on our bikes, probably highly viable for a DUI, and bought a gallon of milk. I'm sure I looked dandy.
Getting back to Mike's, Kevin and I got ready for the breakfast feast. Eggs, pancakes, and sausage. In a testament to the extreme of my hangover, I ate a piece of raw sausage without even realizing it had to be cooked. Kevin looked at me strangely, and then told me what I'd just done... it hadn't even occurred to me.
Kevin and I brought sausage and eggs to the comatose Mike, sleeping in bed. It was a solid wake-up. Mike immediately started calling friends and attempting to find a driver who could take us to the top of the mountain.
In the next few hours of preparation for the big bike ride, I would watch "Boy Meets World", meet Mike's mom, meet his friend Valerie who was lending her mountain bike to Kevin, and meet two more people that would become main characters of today's plot.
Firstly, there's Mike... Where do I start? The guy is of mammoth size; maybe 6'5 and 250 lbs. He's very talkative and used to professionally mountain bike. He's also arguably the biggest adrenaline junkie I've ever met and thoroughly enjoys drinking... and doing crazy shit.
Sean had volunteered to drive Mike's car to the bottom of the mountain to meet us after the ride. Sean talked like one of those surfers or like a guy who was just constantly baked. He had short blonde hair, was in his mid 20's, and had a wild side as I would come to learn.
Then there was Johnnie, who barely said a word for the first hour. He made me kind of nervous. He wore black sunglasses, a blue shirt, and a black cap. He was of average height and had slightly balding blonde hair.
So, the team went out to hit this mountain in Mike's range rover with four bikes strapped to the thing. Mike cracks a beer as soon as he starts driving and Sean immediately starts toking up on his hash pipe. Jeez, this was going to be quite a day.
Mike swerved the entire way to this trail. I've never been so absolutely terrified in a vehicle and Sean was constantly screaming at Mike drifting in between lanes, who would laugh at the worry he saw in Sean. Midway through the drive, Sean would apparently get over this anxiety.
So, I don't know why but Sean, Johnnie, and Mike have an obsession with guns. There was a small Beretta 9mm and two shotguns in the car. Mike thought it would be fun to shoot the gun while driving.
"Go ahead, Sean. Take some target practice, hit one of these signs", connived Mike to Sean, placing the gun within its holster on Sean's leather seat, brushing his leg.
Sean picked the holster up, removed the gun and asked how exactly to work the thing. He cocked it back and aimed it out of the window. Kevin and I exchanged pensive glances.
Bang!
My ears rang with the sound of a hammer clanging down upon metal.
Less than five seconds later, we climb the small ridge, where we thought we were alone... and pass a bunch of tents and families. We all started laughing manically, the madness of the adrenaline overcoming my unease.
"I could've killed an old woman!" laughed the heavily doped Sean.
Mike casually stated later, "Shit, I've never actually seen anyone fire a gun in a moving car".
After nearly dying on the road, Mike took the range rover on an insane off-road dirt path that led up to the trail. There, just before the trail, Mike brought out his arsenal for a little man-made fun. He quickly called out Kevin and I to see who was going to shoot first. Thankfully, Kevin stepped up to the plate as I waited in the on deck circle, sick with anxiety.
I'd never fired a gun before and didn't exactly have the desire to. However, I didn't want to come off as soft or offensive to these... gentleman.
Kevin fired 6 shots with confidence during the skeet shooting. I was impressed. Then, it was my turn.
I walked my lead feet over to the truck, taking the heavy metal-framed shotgun up in my hands. I slowly put 6 shotgun shells into the barrel and pumped it. I walked away from the others as Mike stood by, ready to throw one of the skeet things.
"Pull!" I yelled as I looked down the sights of the gun.
It's hard to describe the feeling that accompanies that recoil into your shoulder. You almost feel god-like. One of the most powerful instruments on planet Earth is in your hands, and a type of primal instinct takes over. It was an experience that I don't particularly care to feel again but it had my blood flowing like a river. I would shoot the 9mm as well.
After reaching peak adrenaline levels, it was time for the mountain biking. As I put my wheel onto the bike, I made an off comment saying, "Ya know, today is a day I wish I had a helmet".
Crazy fucking Mike, the guy who doesn't give two shits about human life, looks at me with such an expression of worry that it totally caught me off-guard: "Dude... you didn't bring a helmet? Agh, you should've told me at the house, I could've got you one."
"Don't worry man, I'll be grand", I attempted to convince him... and myself. Something about the look on Mike's face told me that this trail was bigger than I thought.
It came time to start the path. Kevin and I went in with each other with Mike and Johnnie ahead of us as Sean played with his gun by the trail entrance. As Kevin and I slowly walked our bikes up the trail, we lost Mike and Johnnie. At a fork in the road... we went left. Suddenly, we were climbing a mountain up to a trail head that read: "Doctor's Park Trail Bonus". "Bonus"; that word ruined the idea that we were on the correct trail. We screamed Mike and Johnnie's names to no avail. After sitting at the top of this absolutely amazing view (9500 ft.), Kevin and I crossed our fingers, hoped it was the right path, and slowly began traversing.
Firstly, this trail was no joke. It was absolutely terrifying to me and I had trouble balancing my bike without all the gear on it. Just off the rugged "path" were sheer drops of stomach-turning depths. I would wipe out 2 or 3 times on this trail, tumbling down the mountain a few feet before catching myself. Adding to this physical pain was the painfully obvious fact that we were on the wrong path and in the middle nowhere, alone.
Morbid and paranoid thoughts occupied my mind. Did we just get robbed? Those guys were acting weird. Who even was that Johnnie guy? All my shit was in that car. Were Mike and Johnnie attempting to run away from us?
Before the thoughts could achieve the undeserving forefront of my mind's thought hierarchy, I heard a faint yell in the distance. It was Mike, at the path that we had left almost an hour earlier. The trail had come full circle. They had been searching for us. Kevin and I approached, walking our bikes, stating that we knew that madness couldn't have been the correct path.
Turns out, the "bonus" trail was a walk in the park compared to the 3,000 foot downhill of 8 miles. Rocks jutted out all over the trail, complete with jumps, tree roots, and a place to crack open my skull at every turn.
At the top of the trail, I was terrified and walked my bike past a few spots. Then, I started to try riding slowly, falling over huge boulders and catching myself as I would lose balance. Then, I started to pick up a little bit of speed and the crashes became more destructive. After the 6th or 7th wipeout, I was used to it. Soon, I was flying down the mountain over this mess of a trail. I accepted the danger. As opposed to avoiding the giant rocks in the path, I would seek them out, pounding them into the dirt. Every time I gained confidence and speed, a crash would bring me hurtling back toward humbleness and reality.
The trail was one of the coolest things I have ever done. Kevin and I took a beating but I have literally never felt that much adrenaline. Mike noted that "Kevin had one of the gnarliest crashes [he] had ever seen". Mike also said he was really proud at how we progressed on the trail. I was proud of myself.
The drive back to Gunnison was equally as terrifying as the drive to Doctor's Park. Thankfully, there was no shooting (despite Mike's attempts) but we were still all over the road... and Mike was still having "road sodas". It was now apparent that he was relatively drunk and I was nervous as hell. I don't at all condone drinking and driving. Sorry if this offends people. Just going with the wind here.
Eventually, Kevin and I would begin the 61 mile trek to Montrose after the day we had. It was 3 and we were slightly pessimistic about the ride. I could write all about the incredible beauty of today's ride but I'm all written out from the day's adventures.
Today's ride was one of the best rides I've had on this trip.
Today was one of the greatest days of my life.
Off-roading through a river. Mike... Dude, you live life on the edge, my friend. You stand alone.
From left to right; Kevin, Sean, Johnnie, and Mike.
A couple joined up with Mike and Johnnie when they had been searching for Kevin and I. We basically did the downhill with Davie and Kelly right behind us. Kevin and I impressed them. This is Kelly coming down right at the end.
In order to draw more attention to my cause and The Conservation Fund, I asked for any places they work with personally that I could maybe get a picture or get a sense of their work. Lake Fork outside the Blue Mesa is one of these places. There's several others on the trail, and I'll do more than just snag a picture.
Beatiful.
The final 14 miles were all downhill with a change in elevation of about 2800 ft. Kevin and I were right on top of this summit as the sun painted the sky.
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