I recently returned from an action packed week of hiking, white water rafting and of course, mountain biking in none other than the mountain biking mecca of Moab, Utah. Mary, Connor and I flew into Grand Junction, Colorado (via Denver) and within a 2 hour car ride we were unpacking at our condo, just a few blocks from the quiet downtown of Moab. Great location, every hot spot (including those great 3.2% beer micro breweries) within walking distance.
Started the vacation off with a 10-minute ride to Arches National Park, spending a full day of hiking amongst the many arches, ancient petroglyphs (artistic rock etchings) and unbelievable beauty of the rugged terrain within the park.
Monday was an early visit to Poison Spyder Bicycles, picking up our full suspension bikes for the 21-mile trip up to Amasa Back. As the described in the mountain bike guide, this was a classic Moab killer ride with killer views, including the 1500-foot climb (over 4 miles) up to a rim, looking into a giant canyon with a butte sticking up in the middle. Riding a couple of miles along the rim, the “common sense rule” kicked in when we approached the big, exposed drop called the humbucker. This is where we did the “hike-a-bike” down the drop and felt like the 20-foot ledge was just a little narrow for the 800-foot shear drop into the canyon. The downhill ride was a rush, covering loose rock over smooth rock bases with a variety of ledges, drops and other obstacles that almost soiled the shorts. A nice spin back to the shop via the earthy crunchie smoothie bar.
Side note: Wearing the ECV kit on the way into bike shop, a guy in a parked car leans over and shouts out the window, “hey, do you know Stu?”. This really nice guy turned out to be a local (i.e. Hamilton) legend, Fast Eddie ? (Ed and Paula) who helped start Bay Road Bikes, Riverside Cycle, etc. and has since started Poison Spyder Bicycles. He sends his greetings to all his old pals back here.
Tuesday was back to hiking in Canyonlands National Park, about a 30 minute drive from the condo. More incredible hiking in a different type of rugged terrain from Arches, equally spectacular.
Wednesday was back on the bikes and up to the mandatory Moab ride, the one everybody has heard of, the famous Slickrock Bike Trail. This time we stuffed the bikes into the rental car and had Mary drop us off at the trailhead, avoiding the short steep ride (1200 ft/2 mi). This ride was 15.5 miles (main plus practice loop) of very steep ups and very steep downs on smooth round mounds, called slick rock. A roller coaster. Slick when it rains (almost never I’m told) and unbelievable traction at all other times. The guidebook was right, to make the really steep bits, you need to ride with the nose of the saddle tickling your you know what. Connor brought home some souvenir road rash in an attempted steep downhill turn. This surface is like 80 grit sand paper; crash avoidance maneuvers are a must. We ripped back down the hill to town and back to the smoothie bar. As we got off the bikes, I was surprised to be greeted by a fellow ECV’r, mountain biker Tom ?, from Topsfield, with his family. The blue/white ECV kit once again recognized. We chatted for a while, sharing the dynamite rides we both have experienced.
Thursday we went back to Arches for a ranger guided tour of the Fiery Furnace, a spectacular hike through a maze of rock spires, ledges and narrow paths. I don’t think I could have found my way out of there, hence the required guided tour or permit into this area of the park. We also hiked up to Moab rim where there is a fantastic view of Moab and the surrounding mountains.
Friday we entered the 50-degree water of the Colorado River in paddle rafts for a long day of white water rafting. The water was very high and running quite fast due to the large snowfall in the Rockies, making for a super fast journey through class three/four rapids. I should have been wearing my heart rate monitor just for a comparison with the slick rock ride, but at times I’m sure it was right up there.
Saturday was a long, unpleasant travel day with the usual airport delays and of course arriving at home a few hours later than expected. But we made it home and wow, what a great vacation!
