Author Archives: Troy Rarick

Hello Folks, posting form the clearing dust of a week or 3 of the mayhem of the Fruita Fat Tire Festival and the 18 Hours of Fruita just last weekend. Life is great and I am feeling strong and satisfied over 2 wonderful events, 3 great weeks and several hundred really cool peopl whom I have the p[leasure of dealing with. Mountain Bike people; some of the best sampling fo the human race I can think iof anywhere… and yes, thats getting harder and harder to find. So I have posted from many places in dire straights and in deep chit and in moments of wisdom and the sharing of life experience. I often try to roll mountain biking and life metaphor into one clever twist in a post. This time its seemingly too obvious; sometimes youa re just rolling along… this is one of those times I was riding […]

Oh I love the MTB life metaphors; I was rolling along down Kessell Run this morning and I got to thinking… We get a bit of traffic here in Fruita these days and there’s more than just the locals riding these trails. I was rolling pretty good down the epic twist and turns of Kessell Run; smiling at the challenge of holding your speed and holding the line at the same time. The joy of Singletrack riding lies in that balance; of course you could get  down the trail faster if you just descended the road next door, but thats kinda not the point, to hold every turn and rail every corner without error; thats the joy of riding the skinny wonderland we call singletrack… As I’m relishing in my speed and the tremendous corning footing of my Edge Cycle 29er; I’m suddenly alarmed, I grab a gand full of […]

It’s been a long time since my tires rolled along in the dusty singletracks of Fruita – Grand Junction. It was just after Turkey Day 2009 that the snow came and came in earnest for what proved to be one of the longest winters on record in our high desert world. In January after almost 2 months of stasis we closed the shop and headed to Sedona for our much awaited Staff Retreat and some riding in dirt while home was dressed in white. We joked while we rode our legs off in the Arizona sun; "it wont be long now, we will be back on dirt in Fruita…" returing home with some renewed fitness and optimism, we settled in for another two months of winter. Now let me tell you; I’ve only lived in western Colorado for… hmmmmm… I dont even want to say it aloud; maybe 39 years? […]

Two days of really riding in the sweet Fruita dirt! Highs of 60 and looking like even higher tomorrow. Trails are dry and awesome low and south facing, drying fast on the shady and north sides. I am amazed and so impressed at how cool peopl have been and I havent seen much in the way of over eager mud ruts, Cheers to all who helped communicate info and Thank You to all who held back that desire we all had to ride too soon. But hey; its time, lets ride! Let us know how we can help and we’ll be happy to steer you to the new stuff and yes; we have new stuff, its aweosme here and gonna be a great year. Fat Tire Fest is April 29 – May 2 Shops open 7 days See ya soon  

Yeah, its been a while; I havent ridden since I was in Sedona witht he OTE staff a full month ago and thena gain a month before that. It has been the worst winter for us and snow in some decades. My hope is to be able to do a loop of the fruita bike path system soon, all 4 miles of it… I havent been bloggin or writing much at all since mom always said; "if you aint got nothin nioce to say doent say anything at all" well… I am not really a ski bum and thus I have just been bummed. It has been the longest off dirt stretch since the dawn of fruita mountain biking soem 16 seasons ago, arrggghhhh! But this true winter will make for sime sweet and narrow track come the day we can get back and re-define it, I suspect that is […]

Rollin down the trail with my friend; we were noticing the way that a skilled rider can work their way through the rock gardens without hardly a hesitation. As we looked closer at this phenomenon and rode along through more and more rocks while we giggled and played on the ribbon of singletrack. I started to ponder as I often do the correlation between the way we ride and the life we live. I know pretty clearly that this is why I am in the Over the Edge business; because I want to share in the edge of peoples lives. As I looked at the way we ride; it became even more clear as to why we love our time on the bike so much and how it reveals to us the beauty in life as it whisks us away from the stresses and thoughts of the cosmetic world we […]

Some folks wake up and head off to a daily routine and find themselves content with the same ole same ole. I suppose there need to be folk who are content with retirmenet being an account you will leave your kin as you pass on from boredom at 64 and a half. I dont mean to be harsh; but I pretty much know that the folks who are reaidng this are not only NOT those folks but are diametrically opposed to that idea. Over the Edge is a place that we gather people who choose to live now and wander the world and explore life in exciting ways. Often on a bike or with the bike as an excuse to travel or merely as a way to see new places. whatever the description that fits you; I know who reads this and I know that you, as I, want a […]

I knew it was bad when I felt the severity of the hit. We all hit the ground sometimes; often little "dabs" or missed line sor an endo with a  step off type of consequence. But at times; like this time, it wasn’t like that. Rolling along at speed, maybe even careless and overly cocky speed, suddenly things felt wrong and a tension filled my being. "This sint going to go well" I knew and I for split second tried to muster that hope and strength that seems to pull me out of the clutches of disaster so many times. But I knew; not this time, I stared it in the face and I braced for impact. I’ve written here many times about stsying cool and riding the line and manifesting miracles of "moving forward". I know that I live my life my the belief that I can try anything […]

I rode yesterday with Jerry; felt great rolling along on the Knolly Endorphin. Wasnt painful to climb and wasnt an issue to feel flow on the Singletrack of Horsethief Bench; it was one of those good days. Just felt like riding a bike and the effort required to do so was not even a noticeable thing; just rolling along… Made me think of other days when you just feel entirely different than that. Your legs require coaxing for every stroke and the hills seem to be steep and dreadful even though your still not climbing it yet; the knowledge that you have to climb breaks your will and makes you pedal even slower. Some days flow; others… well, others do not Today is one of those days. Oh well, what can you do besides what we always do in these times. Shift a gear; settle in and "Man Up". As […]

Rolling along Singletrack Trails on my mountain bike with rocks all around; I’m scanning here and there for that little special line that goes up and over instead of around or thorough. Maybe it’s a rock you can run up on and jump back into the trail or maybe it’s a rock garden that everyone must pass through; but there’s the worn in line that avoids the worst of it and the option that takes it right up the gut and challenges the worst of the terrain. Heck sometimes I’m just bored and looking for a way to make even a simple little step up into something cool. I mean after all; isn’t this why we ride, cause of the wonderful feel of moving through terrain in a precise manner with style and grace and even a little speed under full control. It’s what’s beautiful about it and to enhance […]