Moab, Utah



In late May, our good friends Jason and Laura invited us on a trip to Moab, Utah, a location infamous for single track mountain bike trails. Our plan was to ride the Kokopelli trail and link up with the Porcupine Rim trail. I only found out later, but the Kokopelli is a true epic. It starts 140 miles away in Fruita, Colorado and ends in Moab, Utah. You can read more about it here.


We met J and L on a friday night and camped out above the town of moab in the Sand Flats recreation area (BLM) and woke at dawn. The campsites were awesome. About a half hours drive east of town, they were fully equipped with open-air bathrooms, marked roads, and natural amphitheaters that would glow orange with the campfires.


Though we did see several die hards pedaling the 30+ miles from town in the unrelenting Moab heat, we opted for the shuttle. A 10 dollar bill gets you picked up in front of Moab Cyclery and whisks (okay, maybe it took an hour and a half as the bus crawls at about 15 mph) you and your companions from Moab (4050') to the La Sal Mountains (~9000'). From here, you take premium Moab single track all the way to the Colorado river some 20+ miles away. Oh, its all downhill!


Here's the group on porcupine rim. J and Laura on the left, Sus and I are on the right.


This is what was behind us.


Seeee??? I told you!











Susan is attacking some Moab dirt.





Does this qualify as a "shit-eating grin"? i think J has found nirvana.



Slight speed check, pick the line, release the brakes and ease over the back seat....let 'er rip sus!


The Colorado River below us, the destination is finally in sight. Its taken the full day to get here!


We rode Klondike Bluffs the next day. Don't the girls make a good team?


Unfortunately, there were casualties. This is Laura's beat up leg after the first day. She was a real trooper to get back up and go riding.



This was my first taste of Moab riding. What can I say, I fell in love. Actually, Susan let me ride her Rocky Mountain ETSX-50 through several rock gardens and on some technical ascents. I think that may be when I really fell in love with full suspension rigs, and Moab singletrack.

Oh the memory is coming back to me now. I should have had a full suspension bike on this trip. I "bought" a 2001 Santa Cruz Superlight on Ebay. This bike was cherry--full XTR, chris King's, Fox shock....I paid with money order, and the seller disappeared. I was scammed.







Posted: Fri - July 13, 2007 at 10:55 PM          

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