I headed down to Moab on Columbus Day with the guys.
Dug and Brandon made videos.
We carpooled down in the Mad Dog van. Then transferred to the shuttle van for the ride up Sand Flats Road. A storm a week or so ago had put snow in the LaSals so the Whole Enchilada was out, but we could still hit UPS, LPS and Porcupine Rim.
Dug wearing his sunglasses-of-many-colors.
A little snow up top.
The crew.
The views into Castle Valley never get old.
Jesse descending a ramp near the end of Porcupine Rim.
I didn't ride very fast or aggressively so I was always last. Kinda bugged me, but when I'm riding my bike instead of working I can't be too upset. UPS and LPS were new to me and it had been years since I last rode Porcupine - the trail has changed some.
We still had some daylight so we rode Pipe Dream. I liked it but it's a butt kicker. Riding from town it has a lot of steep ups. I was cramping so I bailed when we got to the south end and rode back on the road. They told me it was easier the other direction so I should have taken the trail back.
Finished the trip with a burger at Rays. Good times.
Columbus Day Moab
My Best Recorded Crash
Like a nuclear explosion, mountain bike crashes are terrible but somehow beautiful.
While riding the Sovereign trail near Moab I had my best (worst?) recorded crash. A rare uphill endo. Onto rock. Behold:
I still laugh when I watch the video. Let me break it down:
Mark and Paul rode up the ramp, over the tabletop, over a gap then off the end of the rock (as you can see in my previous post). The ramp had a ledge at the bottom and one at the top. Mark and Paul told me I'd need to pull the front wheel up to get over the upper ledge, as they had done. Well I felt my 29er wheels would roll right over that little ledge so I only gave a half-hearted pull up on the bars (Mistake #1).
Also, I hadn't realized that my longer wheel base was going to be a problem (Mistake #2). When the rear wheel hit the lower ledge it pushed the front wheel down as it hit the upper ledge where it stopped dead. It also bounced me up and forward, launching me over the bars.
And I was too far forward (Mistake #3).
I was fully expecting to roll right up the ramp, so when I started to fly forward I was completely surprised. The catapult action was swift and I barely had time to get my hands out in front of me and turn my head.
Luckily I hit flat on the rock and only had a few minor scraps. Landing uphill also helped minimize injury. I smacked the side of my helmet on the rock which saved me from a face-plant. My sunglasses and helmet were comically askew.
The chain was wedged into the spokes, but we got it free without too much effort.
All in all it was a painless crash, but it looks violent.
After gathering myself up and attending to the bike I took the ramp a little more left and made it just fine.
It's been a while since I had a good crash. The Arizona crash in February was a doozy. In the last few years I've endo'ed on the Ridge trail, fell over into a hole at Solitude... Hold on here, ever since I started riding with Mark 3-4 years ago I only crash on rides with him. Sorry, Mark, I can't ride with you any more, my body can't take it.
Mark's First Moab
I've been trying to get Mark to Moab for two years. This weekend it happened.
(No, I didn't make the "MOAB 2009" in the photo above. We came across it on the Sovereign trail.)
Friday morning we (Mark, Mark's brother Paul, and I) drove down to Moab, checked into the hotel then headed up to the Slickrock trail.
It was a beautiful blue sky day, but pretty hot (in the 90s). After gearing up we rolled out of the parking lot, across a bit of sand and up onto slickrock. Mark didn't say much, but I imagine he'll blog about his first impressions of riding on slcikrock.
After the second junction with the Practice Loop we climbed to the first seriously steep slickrock ramp. I remember my first time here I looked at the steep angle of this slope and couldn't believe it was possible for a bike to climb it. But when some others went up it, and I tried it myself, I was a believer. Mark made it up without trouble.
Going down Fried Egg Hill I did the half pipe and Mark followed, taking a slightly more mellow line.
Riding out to the junction with the loop I was feeling crappy - my heart rate would not come down, I was dizzy and my legs felt like lead. Not sure if it was the heat, the lack of riding recently, the jolt of going from riding in the car to hard riding, or just a bad day. (I did have an emergency evacuation by Shrimp Rock and felt better afterward.)
At Cogs To Spare, Mark made a good first attempt and Paul cleaned it on his first try! Mark played "Eye of the Tiger" on his iPhone and made it on his second attempt! Here's the video (if you listen close you can here the music):
I was concerned I would have trouble on Cogs with my hard tail 29er, but it did fine. I tried 5 times, made it over the steep, short middle ramp twice, but could not summon the mojo to complete the climb. The walk of shame up Cogs was bitter.
Not my best Slickrock ride, but still plenty of good stuff, and it was fun being there with Mark on his first ride.
Saturday morning we rode the Sovereign trail.
My technical skills and confidence improved from the lack-luster ride the day before. For fun we kept a casual running score of technical stuff we made or didn't make. This added some friendly motivation throughout the day.
Where the trail enters the inclined slickrock expanse we stopped to play around. We found a sweet line up a ramp, over some tabletop rock, over a gap then off the end of the rock - see photo below.
Here's a video of Mark rolling it:
I had a rather spectacular crash here that I'll cover in my next post. (Update: the crash post will be up this afternoon.)
Then we climbed up the slickrock as far as we could then went back on Sovereign.
After lunch we rode the Klondike Bluffs trail. At the end we hiked up to see the hoodoos. On the way back we decided to give Baby Steps a ride. We skipped the upper trail which I felt was not as fun as riding back down the slickrock section of the Klondike Bluffs trail. So we started down Baby Steps in the middle (after a minor navigational blunder by me). The trail has worn in better than the last time I rode it and I quite enjoyed it. I even cleaned the rocky notch move at the top of the hill (on my third attempt). (Mark A.: I've revised my opinion of Baby Steps.)
I suggested we go to Bartlett Wash for our final ride, but Mark wanted more Slickrock trail. We rode the Practice Loop then out to the Wooly Gully where Paul rode through it on his fifth attempt.
(I should have picked a better place to video. The ledge Paul climbed getting out of the gully is angled sharply left to right which takes finesse to get over without your rear wheel sliding out.)
We made it back to the car as the sun was setting. Even though my legs were tired, they had more punch than on Friday and overall I felt and rode much better.
Congratulations, Mark, on your Moab initiation. Now when can we go back?
Notes:
- Perhaps it's best not to do Slickrock as the first ride.
- A hard tail 29er is a good bike for Moab, particularly for crossing sand, but I would have preferred a full suspension bike.
- The food was good at Eddie McStiff's, but they wouldn't substitute mashed potatoes for cole slaw and they charged us for another tiny tub of salsa to go with the chips we ordered. This inflexibility and nickle-and-diming left a bad impression.
- The turkey avocado panini and strawberry smoothie at the Peace Tree Juice Cafe were excellent.
- Only one mechanical: Paul burped his rear tire on Sovereign. The Stans had dried up so we put in a tube. I love my new Topeak Mountain Morph pump.
- Always carry TP. A gauze bandage is a functional, but inferior substitute.
- The burgers at Ray's Tavern in Green River are still the best heading-home dinner.
- iFart is the best iPhone app ever (according to Mark).
Sweet November Moab
For Jolene's birthday (a good excuse) we made a quick down-and-back Moab trip to ride the Slickrock and Sovereign trails. We left home at 7 AM and started riding the Slickrock trail around 10:30. It was a little chilly at 42 degrees, but the sun was warm and I was perfectly comfortable all day.
Looking good (for 40-somethings) in the new Fat Cyclist jerseys. Black is good for soaking up the sun.
I don't think I've ever attempted to ride down into the Wooly Gully. Now it seems silly as it wasn't that bad. I think I'd just seen too many riders crash here and it got in my head. Now I just need to get up the other side (although I did ride down it coming back).
This time we did the loop counter-clockwise. We prefer clockwise, but since the only other time we'd done it counter-clockwise was the first time we rode Slickrock back in 1990, we decided to mix it up.
Does the view ever get old? Not for me.
Here's a sequence of three photos near Natural Selection Point: Going down,
making the turn,
going up.
Me going up a steep.
Jolene doing the same.
I made six attempts on Cogs To Spare (a climb I've done 3-4 times now). Two or three of the failures were just my bad, but the others were caused by the rear tire slipping when it got even slightly on edge. I let some air out but that didn't help. Twice I made it past the crux but got slightly off line and spun out. On the last attempt I spun out again, and even though I wasn't that tired, I was frustrated and gave up. Afterward I figured out that my rear tire (a Panaracer Fire XC Pro) has tall and widely spaced side knobs that are good for loose dirt but slip under pressure on slickrock. I'll have a different tire on next time I do Slickrock.
What was supposed to be a video of my triumph, is now an irritating reminder of my ineptitude.
Here's Jolene powering up Cogs. She made it on her third attempt. Her 29er Kenda Small Block 8 tires are great for Slickrock, and of course she's got skills.
We finished Slickrock around 1:45 PM and headed to Sovereign - eating a light lunch on the drive over.
Here's Jolene climbing a ramp.
Sovereign has some outstanding desert riding. It easily matches most Fruita trails.
It doesn't get much better than desert riding in November. It even makes me look like I still have a tan.
Riding under that shelf was cool. This picture is staged since we were going down, not up and face shots are preferred over butt shots.
Here's the rest of that descent. I rode a little of it, but the switchbacks were pretty nasty with 4" of churned up dust.
We didn't make it all the way out to the slickrock section because we were running out of daylight. It was still a fun ride. It's chock full of small technical stunts and I really enjoyed it. My upper body got a workout, especially the arms. Saw a few jackrabbits.
The days are short this time of year and the 7 hours of driving are an issue, but the cool temperatures, sunshine and good riding with no crowds was worth it. Just a great day riding two of the best trails in Utah.
Moab Day 2
(Moab Day 1)
Monday dawns bright and blue, but we rest and start slow. The continental breakfast at the Super 8 is OK - I had a donut, some cold cereal, half an english muffin and some orange juice. We dressed in our riding clothes, loaded up the bikes and headed to the Slickrock trail. We've done the Slickrock trail many times and we thought about doing something different, but there's something magical about this ride - it always puts a smile on our faces.
Arriving at the parking lot my wife lets out a strange giggle - I know it means she's nervous. I have to admit I was too. And just moments before I was wondering why I felt anxious. I've done this many times. One reason is the challenges that still remain. I've cleaned every obstacle on the main trail except for the Woolly Gully. But last year we both made it up Cogs to Spare after years of failure, so now we HAVE to climb it - we can't go back to NOT making it. So that was a main component of the anxiety, but there are many tricky section and you always wonder if one of them will be your undoing this time out. But as is usually the case, once we got ready and started riding, the butterflies vanished.
The first substantial climb (Hurry Up and Wait) went well - I was pleased my legs felt good going up. Then we took the turnoff (left) for the main trail and climbed up the rolling short climbs to the first steep climb. It's a fairly short, but steep ramp that I get up most recent years without trouble - and this year was no different. My wife, on the other hand, has had her battles with this little beast - but this time she climbed it strong. She commented that the new tires (Kenda Small Block 8) stick better to the slickrock - makes sense since they have a tight knobby pattern and Dual Tread Compound with softer, stickier rubber down the middle.
After the ramp you're on top of a slickrock hill and headed to one of the trickiest sections. After descending a slickrock ridge a ways you make a left turn and do a short traverse across a sideslope then make a right-hand switchback to descent a minor ridge to the saddle below. It's intimidating and tricky, but pretty cool if you make it. This year I decided to take a different route - one I hadn't done for years. If you keep going down the ridge a bit farther, you can take a left off the ridge and zoom down to the saddle below and up the face of a knoll on the other side - it's a slickrock halfpipe! I was apprehensive, not in my ability to negotiate the "stunt", but mostly concerned that the g force at the bottom would cause a tire to blow or some other mechanical mishap would take me down. But the bike ran great and I enjoyed the thrill of diving down the drop, feeling the g's at the bottom, and rolling up the other side (with a few pedal strokes to make the top). Nothing like doing something a little crazy to to get you loosened up and feeling good.
After some more moderate slickrock fun we arrived at the Wooly Gully. I looked it over but ultimately wimped out and walked through it. My rationale? If I get injured here the the ride will be over or less fun. That's my cowardly story and I'm stickin' to it.
Then some more fun riding and we arrive at the loop junction. We toyed with going counterclockwise since we hadn't gone that way in many years, but we wanted to prove we could do Cogs to Spare again so we went left (clockwise). Soon enough Cogs was upon us.
Cogs to Spare was three parts. The first part is a "knob garden" - a rough spot of rock with many bumps the size of cantaloupes the rider must negotiate while not drifting too far left or right so as to stay lined up for the next part. The second part is a short, steep ramp that looks too steep to bike up and requires the rider to hit it with as much speed as they can muster and lean way forward to keep from wheelie-ing over, but not too far forward or you'll loose traction on the rear wheel. The third part is a steep, long-ish slope with one little rest spot, so after you've given all you've got to clear the first two parts and your heart rate is maxed and your panting like all the oxygen has left the air, you have to keep the pedals turning to make it to the top. And there's no cheating on Cogs - it goes up a ridge so there are no cheater routes left or right - going straight up the beast is the only option.
I stopped at the bottom, but only for a short rest, feeling I might do better to just hit it right away. Unfortunately I got bounced off the line and didn't even make it to the ramp. The second try I spun out just before the ramp - my tire pressure was too high so I let some air out. The third try I got on a bad line and when I hit the ramp I stalled and fell over. But the forth time I nailed the line, blasted the ramp and kept going. At the top I was spent. I stopped, leaned over my bars and panted for a full minute until I had recovered a little. Then I went down to support and photograph my wife's attempt. But before I continue, I present this:
What kind of freaky Hulk thing is going on with my lower legs! Not big bulging muscles - scrawny wiry alien-worms-under-the-skin things. I guess my steep climb overdrive is those tiny balance muscles. Either that or I'm about to blow a few blood vessels. Frightening.
I told my wife, the line just left of the white paint marks was the the way to go. She got psyched up, clipped in and went for it. She threaded the line through the knob garden, then spun up the cadence and powered up the ramp and kept going. She cleaned Cogs on the first try! And let out a triumphant yell on the way up the third part. The riders waiting their turn cheered. It was a good moment. And this, my friends, is the face of determination:
The cruise along Swiss Cheese Ridge was pleasant, with the great views, light breeze and Cogs behind us. This back side of the loop is my favorite - a swooping downhill roller coaster ride peppered with a few climbs. Then a good climb up to Natural Selection Viewpoint for a bite to eat.
Along the way I'd developed some problem with my rear derailer. At first it sent the chain into my spokes when in the lowest gear on a climb. Then it would stay in gear for a while then start jumping. Upon inspection it appears to have been hit (probably bent the derailer hanger), most likely when I tipped over on Cogs. I adjusted it a few times and then just settled into 2nd gear for rest of the way back since I had the least trouble with that gear.
I usually dread the ride past Shrimp Rock back to the loop junction, but it seemed to go faster this time. I took a few laps around Baby Bottom Bowl and horsed around at the junction trying to catch a little air.
Coming back along the out-n-back part I at least did the drop off the ramp into the Wooly Gully, but didn't even attempt to pedal through the deep sand and climb the ledgy exit on the other side. I goofed up on the steep ramp just past the Gully, but made it on the second try. The last serious obstacle is the climb back up to and beyond the halfpipe. This year and last we've been in pretty good biking condition, but other years this climb is shear torture with legs burning from so many exertions up so many climbs. But I felt pretty good and motored right up it - so did my wife. Oh, it's still had our full attention and got us breathing hard, but it was nice to not have the lactic acid burns. We both made the switchback and finished out the ride back to the parking lot. It always feels good to finish the Slickrock trail - it's part adventure, part challenge and part play (like a kid at the playground).
More photos.
While we rested and enjoyed some cold drinks we discussed what we should do next. The choices came down to Fins n Things or Bartlett Wash. Fins n Things is a mile or so from the Slickrock parking lot. I rode it with some locals a few years back and quite liked it. I also wanted to check out Morning Glory Arch. But there was a lot of deep sand and I couldn't find the view spot and we were getting hungry so we cut it short and headed back to the car. Yea, we should have done Bartlett Wash.
We headed back to town and ate some McFood, yes it's not healthy but man that Big Mac tasted good! We stopped in the center of town so my wife could look for a sweatshirt while I talked with Matt, the owner of Desert Highlights, about canyoneering and his Slick (retrievable anchor system). I talked too long and my wife couldn't find me (sorry dear), but eventually we met back up and headed for home. It was a nice, peaceful drive and we talked about how fun the trip had been and how it had given us the boost we needed. If you want to refresh your body, take a swim in a river or lake, but if you want to refresh your soul, go to the desert. "My heart cries out over Moab" - Isaiah 15:5
Moab Day 1
We got away around 1:30 Sunday afternoon and saw plenty of cars loaded with bikes, most of them were leaving the 24 Hours of Moab race. We arrived in the Moab area with enough daylight to do a short ride. We took the turnoff just south of the airport and headed for Klondike Bluffs. It's a fun trail with some sand, dirt and slickrock (even a few dinosaur footprints). I liked cruising on the slickrock best.
The bike trail ends at the Arches National Park border where you can park your bike and take a short hike (1/4 mile) up to the bluffs. It's worth the hike.
Coming back I wanted to go down the lower part of Baby Steps so I kept watching my GPS for the waypoint I had marked. We went right by it once, but coming back we saw it - a white bike panted on the slickrock and a sign in the dirt marking the trail (how did we miss it?). It was a pretty fun trail, but there were a few sections where it seemed like the trial builders were trying too hard to make clever lines. It had a fun slickrock section and we bombed down the double track as we raced the fading sunlight. Made it to the bar just in time. Drove down to Moab for a Chicken Bowl (with veggies) and a Kalua Pork Bowl at Teriyaki Stix - that hit the spot. Then check in at the Super 8 motel to rest up for more riding.
(I'll get the post up for Moab Day 2 tomorrow.)
Gone to Moab
We snapped. It has rained the last 4 Saturdays (as Mark noted) and my wife and I couldn't take it any more. I know rain and cloudy weather is no big deal for many areas of the country / world (like the Pacific Northwest), but we're spoiled with lots of sunny days here in Utah and this string of storminess took its toll. So we're headed to Moab for some mountain biking through Monday. I should have some good stories and pictures for Tuesday. Until then, we're gone (in more ways than one).
Moab Century Plus
Well, I finally made it to the Moab Century! For some reason I've been semi-obsessed with this ride. It eluded me last year and I was determined to make it this year. I also climbed the Big Nasty by myself 2 years ago and I didn't make it all the way without stopping, so I really wanted to see if my climbing has improved.
The weather was not looking good. Driving down from Orem I had heavy rain all the way except for 10 minutes in Green River. A ways out from Moab I could see big thunderheads crowding the LaSals with lightning lighting up the sky every so often. At 4 AM it poured and I thought the ride was going to be wet, cold and miserable. But as the morning dawned there were breaks in the cloud cover and by start time it was only partly cloudy. The road was still wet, but it could have been so much worse.
The ride out of Moab went fine and provided a nice warm-up for the climb to come. Soon enough I hit the "Little Nasty" and did OK climbing it even though it registered a 12% on my cyclocomputer and seemed to average 10%. I skipped the mid-way aid station because I wanted to do the whole climb without stopping. They had signs announcing different sections of the climb. One said "launchpad" and I guess it meant that this is the mellow part before you "launch" into the really steep stuff. Sure enough it turned up steep and while I was pretty sure this was the first section I had struggled on 2 years ago, it didn't seem as bad. Sure it hit 14% grade, but I was able to keep going easier than before. Then the grade eased off a bit and soon I hit the second steep section at 13%, but I was still going OK. Anyway, I was breathing heavy and going pretty slow, but I kept moving and made it to the top aid station. Yes, I had conquered the Big Nasty!
The road was mellow for a while and the views were incredible. Then down into a canyon and climbing up the other side (more climbing?!). The rest was pretty mellow, but did have some hills. Then it was the decent into Castle Valley - twisty and steep. And the views of the valley - wow! I got a great view of Castleton Tower part way down - I'd climbed it 2 years ago. You could really open up the speed if you wanted, but I didn't know the road and took it easy. Down in the valley I passed an accident - it appeared that a rider had hit the back of a truck. He was laid out on the pavement. Other riders were already on the scene so I kept going. Scary.
At the junction with the Colorado River road, I felt OK, but tiring so I opted for the 65 mile route and headed back to Moab - it was a good choice. The wind was blowing up the river pretty good and it was exhausting. Luckily I was able to work with some other riders at times. The tall walls of the river gorge are quite impressive on a bike.
By the time I hit Moab (around 12:30) I was getting weary. They had a potato bar for lunch with some really good brownies. I ate and lounged on the grass then headed back to the hotel to shower and take a quick rest.
I left at 2pm and headed to Klondike Bluffs for a quick mountain bike ride. I still had some fuel in the tank and made it out to the Klondike Bluffs lookout to snap a few pictures then returned via the upper Baby Steps (not that great). Car to car was 2 hours. With all the rain the road was a mess in places as was the trail. Then I got in the car and headed home.
A good biking Saturday for me with 65 miles on the road bike and 10 on the mountain bike.
