Just got back from mountain biking trip to Moab

Holy crap it was awesome. That is not to say that I was up for the challenge, but I made due with what I could. I did manage to break my camera, my rear wheel and my seat pack on the first day.

The trails that we hit were wicked. We started off with a relatively easy Klondike Bluff.





It is an 8 mile uphill battle to the top of the bluff. Awesome pictures ensued, few of which I took. But, I'll get some of the pics from some buddies and post them later. The downhill back to the car was bad ass. 8 miles and about 750' of drop was pretty cool. Sadly, I had a pinch flat and got to do some extreme bike repair. It also broke a spoke and put a noticeable wobble in my rear v brake.

I'll post more about the other trails we hit in a little bit. Right now, I need to nurse my leg.

 

Second trail we went to was not so much a trail as a free riding heaven. Bartlet wash is like a skate park made out of sandstone. I didn't take any pictures here because the previous trail totaled my camera and I wasn't sure it was even taking pictures. There we some pretty intimidating drops and bowls and all kinds of crazy views across a canyon. Pretty place... I'll have to update with photos later, since I didn't take any of my own here.

 

Second day started off with some "white water kayaking". There was no white water, there were barely kayaks. This was not the right time of the year to hit up the Colorado river... but it was still fun. Mostly just a lazy drift down the river.

Then it was off the the bike shop to get some repairs done. Rear wheel was too far gone to true up, so I'm just going to ride it until it explodes. Poison Spider is a pretty awesome bike shop. Oddly enough, I expected some huge prices on things, but everything was cheap. Well, cheap as mountain bike standards go. The prices on everything from helmets to derailleurs are competitive or cheaper than any bike shop I've been to in Dallas. I guess I thought since Moab is in the middle of nowhere that there'd be a premium on everything... but the dudes there said that they sell so much stuff through the year that there is no need to charge an arm and a leg.

We then went to Slick Rock... this place is about a 5 out of 4 on technical drops and butt puckering roller coaster down and up lines into turns. I didn't get very far on this trail. My rear wheel and the the altitude were making for a lot of hike a bike climbs and I was getting frustrated. So I went home defeated and alone.