Daily ramblings and interesting things I find.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Moab & Gooseberry, Utah Trip 2008

Big "thanks" to Steve, Brian and Bob for a great week of hard mountain bike riding. Special thanks to Jesse for showing us the local spots.

Day 1 Gooseberry
7.93 miles, 1h 59m
Bumps and bruises - I bumped my left shoulder on a tree pretty hard, which left a scratch. I also caught my right knee on a sharp twig, so it was bleeding a little.
The ride was fun, of course, but I was so friggen full from a huge lunch and dinner that the whole ride was completely uncomfortable.

Day 2 Gooseberry
14.1 miles, 4h 41m
Bumps and bruises - banged my inner right ankle on my pedal, left a scratch. My palms are starting to form calluses.
We woke up super early, before the sun was up. Over a 6 hour period, I got about 2 hours of sleep. I ate a light breakfast so I wasn't as full as yesterday... And I felt great, felt strong and had an incredible ride. By around the 4th hour, it was getting hot, we were starting to get sloppy and it got a little dangerous, so we called it a day. When we did this ride last year, I had a slight cold and it was still my favorite ride of the year. So today's ride has to be considered my favorite ride of all time... let's see how it goes in Moab.

Day 3 Slick Rock
9.9 miles, 3h 27m
Bumps and bruises - none, but extremely sore legs from very steep climbs.
We did the loop the "hard" way, thinking it would be more technical (i.e. fun), but it was _really_ hard, especially the climbs. So much so that it sucked all the fun out. We might try it again the "easy" way later in the week. I can't leave Moab with sour taste in my mouth about Slick Rock.
After dinner, we drove out to see "the arches" in Arches National Park. The sun was just setting, so we didn't get to see everything. But it was still cool.

Day 4 The Electric Toilet Ride (UPS & MPS)
7 miles, 1h 30m
Bumps and bruises - ran into a tree that took a gouge out of my helmet and right middle knuckle.
We met up with a friend of a friend, Jesse, the owner/operator of Coyote Shuttle, just to say "hi" and ask about some trails. We wanted to ride Amasa Back, but Jesse offered to take us up to his cabin and ride a secret loop instead AND ride Amasa Back with us on Thursday. So we said "what the heck." His cabin was amazing... the first thing anyone would notice is the 13 ft wide windmill, whistling in the 40 mph wind. Turns out he made it out of mostly recycled parts (this is his 9th prototype in about 10 months). The rear triangle used to be a Yield sign and the front dome was his dog's bowl. That, along with a set of solar panels, gives him way more than enough energy to run the house. Very impressive, indeed, but the most impressive thing was the electric toilet! Yes, electric... no water. You basically put a large coffee filter in the bowl and it incinerates your stuff. We hung out at the cabin for about an hour while a storm blew over. Oh yeah, the ride... We quickly climbed what seemed to be a few hundred feet, met up with a couple who were about to be "nighted", and rode down UPS and MPS, which were really fun along the rim with a 3000 foot drop.

Day 5 The Whole Enchilada (Burro Pass -> Hazzard -> Kokopelli's -> UPS -> MPS -> LPS -> Porcupine Rim)
29.9 miles, 6h 45m
Bumps and bruises - none
Only two steep climbs (at high elevation) and the rest very technical downhill. We were dropped off at 10,600 feet and climbed to 11,400 feet. We started our descend basically through a forest of Aspen trees and crossing the creek 4-5 times. At the top of Hazzard, we took a curvaceous single track through a bunch of cows while hitting a few of the jumps that were set up. Hazzard felt like a roller coaster video game. Kokopelli's was mainly a jeep trail which went through the remains of a forest fire that occurred the week before. UPS (Upper Porcupine Singletrack) through LPS (Lower...) was my absolute favorite. Over boulders, through trees, with small patches of sand. Porculpine rim was harsh. We were already tired but faced with a series of 3-5 foot dropoffs and sharp rocks to maneuver through. Good times.
The only mechanical was Steve's pinch flat. Bob had a minor fall towards the end. Other than that, it was definitely my favorite ride of all time.

Day 6 Amasa Back
12.5 miles, 4h 50m
Bumps and bruises - none
What a great ride, not because of the incredible terrain, or beautiful scenery... it was because Jesse took us to a few secret spots that aren't on the typical trail maps. Plus, each section had it's own name, such as the Bowling Alley, the Mccoy, the REAL Mccoy, The Moon, and The Fat Lady (which kicked all of our asses and left Jesse with a goose egg on his ankle). Getting to the PotHole was cool because of a totally off-camber slope. I'm talking around 45 degrees, but with slick rock under your tires, it really wasn't that hard. Then, the Top of the World was truly amazing. I'd hate to say it, but this was definitely my favorite ride of the week, hands down.

Day 7 Thunder Mountain
14.8 miles, 2h 59m
Bumps and bruises - bumped left thigh during a tight switchback.
We parked at the Visitor's Center and started verrrry sloooowly up the bike path. After the dirt road and the beginning of the single track, I was wondering why everyone said it was such a great trail. We were tired from the previous six days of riding and we weren't really expecting all of this climbing. Then... oh man... we ended up smack dab in the middle of Red Canyon. Just absolutely amazing scenery AND a really fun downhill roller coaster ride. Mental note: do this ride _first_ next time!
After the ride, we scooted over the Bryce Canyon National Park, then drove through Zion National Park. Truly amazing stuff to see at both parks.

Totals (for me): 97 miles, 26 hours, over 15000 calories.
Bike parts (for all): 4 flats, 1 wheel, and a set of rear derailleur cogs.

My photos at Flickr | Brian's photos at Flickr

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