Getting a bit behind in my posts - a combination of not having internet access and attempting to have more adventures are conspiring against me!
Well, I didn't make it to the desert arches near the Colorado National Monument. The weather was a bit unsettled (this will be a theme!) and I didn't feel like sticking around Fruita until it improved. So, I made my way to Moab, Utah. I'd been looking forward to going to Moab for quite a while; its billing as the "Mecca of Mountain Biking" has certainly been a draw, and on arriving there, it appeared that everyone had taken that to heart. As expected there were bikes and bike shops everywhere, but there were also ATVs, jeeps, whitewater rafts, and guide services galore. Apparently there's more to Moab than bikes...
I was hoping to get a campsite by the Colorado River, but you've gotta be quick to snag one of those, and I arrived too late in the day; driving by some of those I couldn't help but imagine what it would be like waking up in the midst of the glorious scenery comprised of the red canyon walls and the rolling river. Instead I settled for a commercial campground in town, which was just ok. What was not ok was the guy two sites down from me who - judging from his snoring - must have been part chainsaw. Ear plugs to the rescue!
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| Manny |
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| Matt |
The first ride I did was on Amasa Back, one of the "Classic" Moab trails, at the suggestion of the nice folks at the Poison Spider bike shop. And yes, it really does deserve that "Classic" label. About halfway up, I joined a very nice quartet of riders from Beacon, New York. We just happened to be going at the same speed so we struck up a conversation and just kept on riding. They were keen on taking on a couple of the more adventurous (i.e. more freeride-ish) options and since we were riding at about the same level, I was game! (I had initially been dissuaded by the descriptions in my trail guide.) The trails themselves were mostly fine - with the exception of some gnarly moves with lots of "exposure" but Moab had a surprise for us at the very end. We were riding in a desert, for cryin' out loud! Nobody was expecting the small ravine at the end to turn into a massive hike-a-bike and portage through *chilly* waist-deep water.
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| Alta |
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| Frank |
Another "Classic" trail - Slickrock - and a milder-but-still-fun-singletrack trail known as "Baby Steps" rounded out my Moab mountain biking adventure.
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| Lookout from the Slickrock trail |
Posts
Well, I didn't make it to the desert arches near the Colorado National Monument. The weather was a bit unsettled (this will be a theme!) and I didn't feel like sticking around Fruita until it improved. So, I made my way to Moab, Utah. I'd been looking forward to going to Moab for quite a while; its billing as the "Mecca of Mountain Biking" has certainly been a draw, and on arriving there, it appeared that everyone had taken that to heart. As expected there were bikes and bike shops everywhere, but there were also ATVs, jeeps, whitewater rafts, and guide services galore. Apparently there's more to Moab than bikes...
I was hoping to get a campsite by the Colorado River, but you've gotta be quick to snag one of those, and I arrived too late in the day; driving by some of those I couldn't help but imagine what it would be like waking up in the midst of the glorious scenery comprised of the red canyon walls and the rolling river. Instead I settled for a commercial campground in town, which was just ok. What was not ok was the guy two sites down from me who - judging from his snoring - must have been part chainsaw. Ear plugs to the rescue!
May 21 the Chile Pepper Bike Shop is holding a race on Amasa Back http://chilebikes.com/news/2011/04/10/2011-suffer-send-it-saturday-race-series-52111/ Are you still in Moab? Care to race?
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