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Free Lunch -> Pucker Up Figure-8

Grand Junction

Hands-down the best double black diamond pedal ride in the Lunch Loops trail system.

Mountain Biking Extreme

Distance
11 km
Ascent
338 m
Descent
338 m
Duration
1-2 hrs
Low Point
1.4 km
High Point
1.7 km
Gradient
Free Lunch -> Pucker Up Figure-8 Map

The Lunch Loops Trail System is renowned for its brutally-technical mountain bike trails. Free Lunch is one of the most iconic tech trails in the system, and was the first official mountain bike freeride trail built on BLM land in the country. Built by the mavericks from Singletrack Trails, this rowdy line drops off the pinnacle of an elevated ridge high above the city.

Description

To get to the drop zone, this route climbs a combination of Pet-E-Kes, High Noon, Tabeguache, and the final grunt up Lunch Line. Once on top, it's time to pull the pads up, put the chin bar in place (if you have one), and get ready to rip.

The helipad evacuation point at the top of Free Lunch hints at what's in store below, as does the filter feature at the top of the line. You'll note that many people have tried to ride around the filter feature, but this mandatory rock drop is here to warn riders away who might get in over their heads and get injured (or worse). If you can't send the rock drop, you should turn around and head back down an easier trail.

Free Lunch is a rocky, drop-filled tech-fest that advanced and expert-level riders absolutely slaver over! Massive cliff drops litter the trail, providing epic hucks for expert riders. Generally speaking, public trails avoid obstacles this large, but Free Lunch instead embraces them. However, all of the huge drops have ride-around options, but the ride-arounds themselves are not easy. Generally, your choices on Free Lunch are between a double black diamond drop and a single black diamond drop. There are no two bones about it: Free Lunch is gnarly.

After Free Lunch, you have several different options for finishing the descent. If you want to keep the gnar train rolling, then you'd better head to Pucker Up.

Mandatory drops, rocky kickers, and double jumps are the name of the game on Pucker Up. The trail speed here is higher and flowier than Free Lunch, which, if anything, requires even more commitment to clear the jumps. Like Free Lunch, there are plenty of A and B lines to choose from, but even the easiest of lines are still plenty challenging!

This route returns to the trailhead via the Moto Trail, which is a high-speed rocky descent that's fairly rutted out from historic moto use. While less manicured than the trails above, it's nonetheless a great way to wrap up this ride!

Sources: https://www.singletracktrails.com/colorado-projects/lunch-loops https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSTJeXDohk&abchannel=Sheyn

Difficulty

Extreme

Very steep, difficult, narrow singletrack with widely variable and unpredictable trail conditions. Unavoidable obstacles could be 15in/38cm tall or greater, and unavoidable obstacles with serious consequences are likely to be present. Obstacles could include big rocks, difficult root sections, drops, jumps, sharp switchbacks, and more. Ideal for expert-level riders.

High Exposure

3 out of 4

Some trail sections have exposed ledges or steep ascents/descents where falling could cause serious injury.

Remoteness

2 out of 4

Away from help but easily accessed.

Best time to visit

between March and November

Features

  • Technical
  • Singletrack
  • Drops
  • Jumps
  • Gap Jumps
  • Rock Rolls
  • Rock Slabs
  • Rock Gardens

Similar routes nearby

Guidebooks in this area