Day 3, Red Moab

Moab. Glorious. Red. Moab. 

Day 3, and we started with a supreme breakfast. Zucchini frittata, 15 eggs worth of of frittata and aged Gouda and sliced zucchinis, fresh from a backyard garden. Again, Kings I say.

The word shuttle has a negative connotation to many, however for the purpose of this post, we shall call it a “point to point” ride. Our trip started at Chile Pepper Bikeshop and their awesome guidance. Wendy, one of the shop employees, emphatically recommended the Koko down shuttle. We were wavering a bit, trying to decide between the Sovereign trails and the shuttle. Her recommendation put us over the top.

Whole enchilada, or in this case Koko down due to the fact that Burro Pass is under snow. This ride consisted of Kokopelli, Upper and Lower Porcupine Singletrack (UPS & LPS), the Porcupine Rim trail ending on Hwy 128 at the Colorado River. Take the 4 miles back to town and you end up with 27-ish miles of riding pleasure. ...

So, Wendy made the call, and reserved us a spot on the shuttle. Time to lube the chains and pack the gear, since once we leave, it’s on the trail for the duration.

The view from the top:

Yep, that’s the trail and right beside it is imminent doom. Eric said it best, “I don’t want to be any closer than 3 mistakes from that edge”

We had one minor/major mechanical. Kev lost the front brake at some point. Turns out it was just a loose screw, heh, heh. Nothing six hands can’t fix.

Excellent ride, and once again make the trip back to the shop and give thanks for the recommendation. Good crew there at Chili Pepper.

That night’s dining experience pulled out the stops. The plan was jerk chicken, and I guess, was slightly jerk chicken with an Indian influence. So, maybe a curry pan fried chicken with chiles and black beans is a more appropriate description. We had some shishito peppers, some Thai dragons and jalapenos to fry and they lived up to their reputation. A little smoky peach salsa and mango chutney to place an additional dimension into the flavors. Did I mention kings?

Overall, a trip with good friends, good food, good riding, well maybe kingly riding. After a meal like that, converse a bit, laugh a bit, then sleep the sleep of the just.

Day 2, Irresponsible Adventures on Bikes

Well, that was quite a start. The forecast on Monday was a high of 60 in Fruita. 70 in Moab. Since we are Phoenix desert dwellers, Fruita was chosen while it was still “warm”. Sunday morning dawned, we broke the fast with eggs and toast, and loaded hydration packs in preparation for riding. Highway 128 along the Colorado River was the chosen route. Two of us had been to Moab before, 2 had not, and along the river is marked as a Scenic Byway. I look forward to seeing those road signs. The Scenic Byways program was established in 1991, part of our tax dollars at work. To me, that’s an appropriate use of tax dollars, but hey that’s politics and this is a bike riding story.

In Fruita, we didn’t have any maps of how to get to the best riding, just knew what names to ask about. We stopped in at Over The Edge Sports, met an “awesome” guide who recommended Horse Thief Bench area and Moore Fun, Mary’s loop, Steve’s loop trails. Can’t say enough good about those guys. To the Loma parking lot we went.

On the road to the Loma parking lot, we saw this guy:

A Collared Lizard (crotaphytus collaris, had to look that up) brilliantly colored. We have our orange and black Gila Monsters, but they don’t quite compete on this level.

Now, Moore Fun is appropriately described as “abusive” and signed as Most Difficult. Those two items alone were enough of a siren call, luring this rider to an uncertain doom or completion of the trail. It most definitely was “Moore” Fun, but could have been called Sirenum Scopuli.

We dropped in at Horsethief Bench trails, and by “dropping in” I mean walking down that rugged descent. At the shop they had videos playing, showing the locals doing the “dropping in” Un-believable. Eric made it a fair part of the way down, after a quick look and plunge.

Really, that is the trail. No camera tricks, no smoke and mirrors.

After the initial descent, the riding was stellar. Meandering along the river, had some good tech steps and general overall fun.

The remaining portion of the loop consisted of some views that inspired, lines that thrilled, and climbs that needed sessioned.

Fruita, as they say, you rock my world. OTE bike shop, excellent. Headed back to give the ride report, and seek out pizza. After reading a Bike Magazine article, I was hoping for Hot Tomatoes Pizza, but they are closed on Sunday. Max sent us to Pablo’s, and we were most surely not disappointed. There the pie consisted of a Delta Blues (bacon, blue cheese, spinach, mushrooms) and a What the Cluck (lemon olive oil sauce, spinach, pesto, artichoke, chicken, garlic, roast tomatoes). In all, after two days of being kings, I must say it’s pretty good.

Irresponsible Adventures on Bikes

That pretty much sums up the inner 13 year old that I have hidden. This time it came in the form of a road trip to Moab. Can 32 images actually tell a story? Can words mixed with 32 images convey the awesomeness of jerk chicken, grilled jalapenos and fried zucchini after a glorious ride? Naw, but it was a great weekend trip and the fun is remembered here.

Phoenix, Flagstaff, Bluff, Moab, Fruita, Moab, Phoenix. Those were the stops, in that order. Up onto the Colorado Plateau, geologic formations with names like Entrada and Navajo sandstones, Kayenta formation, Moab Tongue, San Rafael Swell and the Comb Ridge. Fantastical places, magical in my mind.

The crescendo of this trip occurs in Utah and Colorado. But that’s rushing things, first stop of the day was at Macy’s in Flagstaff. Coffee and pastries are a great way to start the trip. Fueled up, we travel on, and, as we had planned to lunch on the road, Bluff was about right for timing. A little roadside coffee house, and out comes our strawberries, hard salami, bread and cheese. Three different Gouda’s of three different ages and flavors. Simple. Piquant.  

At the edge of the parking lot, there was an old truck which piqued the interest of us all.

Lunch was completed and at Moab we arrived. A quick unload and off to Slickrock Trail for the first ride. The weather was exceedingly windy, but the trail, in a word was fantastic.

A little snow left on the La Sal Mountains, evidence of a full winter.

The real reason this area is so well explored:

Bitumen.

Amazing, start in Phoenix, drive all day and still ride. Enjoy some excellent burritos and prep for tomorrow.

just a teaser

great weekend, great rides, great friends.