Hopkins 4K for Cancer

July 7, 2007

by Allie Wilson
After our unfortunate misunderstanding with the Naturita police department in the middle of the night regarding the legality of our presence in the town’s middle school gym, the 4k awoke on July 7 with a little less sleep than usual but a good laugh nonetheless. We were all sad to leave the state that had brought us both the Rocky Mountains and our first glimpse of the red rock cliffs and canyons of the west, but excited to enter our third to last state of the summer. The route to Moab immediately turned rural, and we all enjoyed the lack of cars that would have disrupted our peaceful morning. There were a few surprises along the rode regarding terrain as we climbed out of and then back into canyons multiple times during the morning, but all of the groups pushed through the rising temperatures on the way to Moab.
The teams made it to our host the River of Life Community Church without any problems, and, as the host left us to ourselves inside of the church, most riders set off immediately down the three mile hill into town in search of food and bike repairs. Moab, the mountain biking capital of America, was well equipped for the 4k and the 4kers dispersed among grocery stores, a Chinese Buffet, and various bike shops. Most had big plans for the day off in Moab, including rafting, day-long excursions to Arches National Park, and mountain biking, so we spent the evening socializing amongst ourselves and relaxing.