Unwind in Moab! Part 2

Posted: Oct 21, 2009

Wow the first two days were great and to think Pete says that day 3 will blow all our minds and expectations of Moab. Looking forward to hitting the trails, but scared about doubling our distance intake of the past 2 days. We also ran into 6 other Canadians that are going to join us for the Whole Enchilada and who knew that one was even Ryan Leech's brother in law - small world!

Tons of pics, an HD movie, quick clips and a few words inside!

Pics by Tyler, Dust Pan and Lily Livered.

I'll save you all looking for it, here is the video from my first trip to Moab:

Views:7767    Faves:14    Comments:9

Today we all gathered at the house, 12 of us in total for the trip of the week or I guess 5 day trip for Darcy and I. The plan was to load all the bikes in the big truck, drop 3 cars at the end of the trail, along with 2 motos (for the truck recovery) and then put everyone in the truck for the long haul up to Burrow Pass (which is the start to the Whole Enchilada). Seems like a good plan to me and the others!


The parking lot at Burrow Pass sits around 9000', so we would start our ride off with a 500' ascent. At 9500' you could see all the way back to our finish point, some 40 kms away. Time to put some armor on those knees incase anyone decides to get zesty and into Hazard County we all dropped.

Great colors on Burrow Pass:

Hazard County was full of sweet corners, little poppers and the sickest fall colors I have seen in years! You really didn't want it to end and yet when it did, we were still less than a tenth into our ride for the day. Quick regroup, fix a flat or two and onto the Kokopelli trail. Kokopelli would take us into UPS (Upper Porcupine Singletrack) and it just keeps going and going. Nothing but great views!

Views:4531    Faves:1    Comments:

Both Upper and Lower Porcupine Singletrack trails are nothing short of amazing! The whole time you are working your bike, picking your lines and just really enjoying life and mountain bike riding. There were a lot more riders on UPS and LPS than we'd encountered the previous 2 days, but it was so nice to share in everyone's stoke. Lunch was had along one of the many cliff outcrops, but I was sure to sit a good 30-40 feet from the edge - heights are not for me.

Views:1357    Faves:1    Comments:1

Back on the trail and into some fun steeps, one hike a bike (down hill that is), and lots of mellow climbs. LPS is so varied that it'll keep you entertained - just watch out for flat tires, or should I say be careful to not get a flat. I think Dave actually got 3 flats in the same area - yikes!

Views:5953    Faves:    Comments:2

Views:4030    Faves:1    Comments:1

Views:7127    Faves:2    Comments:

UPS and LPS lead into Porcupine Rim Trail and it ends at the cars that we dropped in the morning. This trail challenged me the most as I was getting tired and just wanting to play it safe, unlike Pete who was charging all the features and even doing some lines multiples times. I remember him passing me mid air into a clump of rocks while I was trying to scamper out of his way.


As all twelve of us arrived in one piece back at the cars, the tales of the day's ride started over taking us all. Everyone was on cloud nine, that was until Dave concluded that he'd left the keys to his car in the truck at the top, some 40kms away. Remember that plan where Pate and Dave would take motos to recover the truck, well Dave had just foiled it because all the riding gear and cold drinks were locked in his car. I was just curious how much a window was worth. Thankfully our fellow Canadians had extra bevies for all of us and Darcy had her car key to drive Pete back to the top in order to retrieve the truck. Don't worry Dave was punished still as he had to sit beside his locked car for some 2 hours until Pete returned for him and the rest of us went home (Dust Pan, Dunc and Dimitri all chose to ride another 17kms to the house - that is hard core!) I took Dimitri's spot in the one car and caught a ride home - thanks man!

That night I couldn't help but reflect and be stoked on the past 3 days of riding. Moab is an incredible place and I was there with a kick ass group of friends riding some great trails. It also made me think about the style of bikes that more and more folks are riding this terrain on, 6 inches of travel front and back, efficient pedaling, adjustable seat posts (oh my god they are amazing!), HammerSchmidts, 2.3-2.5 folding tires with proper air pressure (45 psi or be part of the 12 flats on day 3). All this equates into mountain bikes that mountain bikers can ride everywhere and truly have a great experience on. I know that I'll be back and it'll be on an All Mountain style bike.

Day 3 quick info note notes:
-6 more Canadians join in for today's ride (Ryan Leech's brother in law is one of them - small world)
-Hazard County (Warner lake campground), Kokopelli, UPS, LPS, Porcupine Rim Trail
-9500 to 4000 feet, loss of 5500 feet through out the day
-44km/hr top speed
-2 hours 45 minutes of ride time, but we were out there for 6 and a half hours (hey this is a holiday)
-38km, plus extra for 3 riders (17km)
-no 4x4s today = I am sad
-34 degrees Celcius today, so it was tough on us West Coasters at times
-Dave locked car and keys at the top - way to ruin it it Dave...cooler was locked inside...how expensive is a window Dave?
-trail rated dude in guide book (rating system looks like this: easy, medium, hard, dude)

---

Darcy and I had to leave bright and early on Tuesday morning in order to drive back 8 hours to Vegas to catch our flights to different locals (home for me and LA for Darcy). While we might have left, the crew was there for a few more days of Moab riding. Below are pics from Dustan from the days after we left. Enjoy and I'll see you all on the trails.


Happy Trails,
Tyler "Brule" Maine