8/29/26 -Carbondale, CO - NMX and DJ - are currently meeting up. And my wife and I are making our way from Denver Airport to connect with them. We stopped along the way for provisions, chatting with a couple folks in their sweet rigs.
Despite a broken snorkel, the Defender 110 we rented from Alpine is great!
Jimmy arranged for airport pick up, and the vehicle comes with a built in air compressor to air up and down on trails.
I’m already admiring some aspects of the vehicle and missing my GX in other areas.
The front storage space on the Defender 110 is magnificent…. My wife is driving now and, there is enough space on the front passenger dash storage to assemble up some GF crackers with Brie and lavender honey like I was a steward in first class on British Airways …
The quality and drive on the GX compared to the Defender 110 ja far superior IMHO! No comparison. Will share more as the trip progresses..
Even our first day has been filled with interesting encounters.
One gentleman in his Grenadier was mentioning how the steering is being updated by Ineos for 2026 - so the Grenadier is not such a battle to drive. We both shared our admiration for one another’s vehicles before parting company.
Then we spotted the first GX on the trip….. a caviar OT plus.. and it’s 54 year old owner who I invited to join our forum.
I stopped to check out this gentleman’s robust multi-bike rack. When I asked to take a picture of both his rig and rack - he was cordial, but his body language told me he was in a rush… His wife then shared the reason why, “we think our son has broken his wrist and we are about to take him to the hospital..”
I didn’t miss an opportunity to offer my help and examined their young son, confirming on clinical exam that he either had a distal radius fracture (?salter Harris- given his age), or a scaphoid fracture given the pain he reported when I loaded his thumb and pressed on his snuffbox. I shared my assessment and told them to make sure NOT to give him anything to eat or drink in case procedural sedation was needed.
A couple quick pictures and they were on their way. I hope they join our collective and we stay in touch..
Pretty rad bike rack:
More to follow …
Despite a broken snorkel, the Defender 110 we rented from Alpine is great!
Jimmy arranged for airport pick up, and the vehicle comes with a built in air compressor to air up and down on trails.
I’m already admiring some aspects of the vehicle and missing my GX in other areas.
The front storage space on the Defender 110 is magnificent…. My wife is driving now and, there is enough space on the front passenger dash storage to assemble up some GF crackers with Brie and lavender honey like I was a steward in first class on British Airways …
The quality and drive on the GX compared to the Defender 110 ja far superior IMHO! No comparison. Will share more as the trip progresses..
Even our first day has been filled with interesting encounters.
One gentleman in his Grenadier was mentioning how the steering is being updated by Ineos for 2026 - so the Grenadier is not such a battle to drive. We both shared our admiration for one another’s vehicles before parting company.
Then we spotted the first GX on the trip….. a caviar OT plus.. and it’s 54 year old owner who I invited to join our forum.
I stopped to check out this gentleman’s robust multi-bike rack. When I asked to take a picture of both his rig and rack - he was cordial, but his body language told me he was in a rush… His wife then shared the reason why, “we think our son has broken his wrist and we are about to take him to the hospital..”
I didn’t miss an opportunity to offer my help and examined their young son, confirming on clinical exam that he either had a distal radius fracture (?salter Harris- given his age), or a scaphoid fracture given the pain he reported when I loaded his thumb and pressed on his snuffbox. I shared my assessment and told them to make sure NOT to give him anything to eat or drink in case procedural sedation was needed.
A couple quick pictures and they were on their way. I hope they join our collective and we stay in touch..
Pretty rad bike rack:
More to follow …
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