One Last Ride Before Heading Home

Matt and his wife are both avid climbers, backpackers, and riders.  They had been together in Colorado for a few years and had a great little place on the mountain.  They, or Matt I should say, had collected a lot of stuff over the years: two snowmobiles, two dirt bikes, a Triumph enduro bike, an old Chevy 4x4, an old Ford 4x4, Matt's Dodge 4x4, a Geo Metro, A Chevy Trailblazer, two slide in campers for pick-ups, a motorcycle trailer, A '99 Land Rover that needed a new motor, a used Corvette engine in the garage, a chicken coop, an outhouse that doesn't work, and three driveways.  I was a little envious.
We awoke to brisk 32 degree sunny morning on the mountain.  We had breakfast down the road at a mountainside cafe with huge windows and a perfect view.  Then we loaded up all the bikes and rolled out to the Boulder area for some riding.
In the town of Lyons we parked at  a trailhead and rode the Hall Ranch Trail.  The technical uphill is grueling, with tons of huge rocks to overcome.  We were pretty beat by the time we got to the top.  Matt's wife Katy and I had been fighting colds for a few days, and exhaustion was creeping up on me and Greg.  We rode a loop on top of the mesa and then bombed down the technical part we had come up.  It was four miles of bone-jarring, difficult, brake-smoking dusty fun.  Definitely a good choice.
After we headed into Boulder to see the city and get some grub.  We ate at yet another of the area's great breweries.  The Mountain Sun Brewery and Pub is always packed even thought they don't take credit cards.  The beer was great and the food better.  We hadn't eaten lunch that day so we made pigs of ourselves.  By the time we got back to Matt's we barely had the energy to shower before bed.  Tomorrow we start the long drive back home.  We've both vowed not to shave our beards until we are below 1000' of elevation.