All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

Cool setup! How do you like that moto carrier? I was looking at their site. Seems like you don't actually tie down from carrier to the handlebars?

I have a Joe Hauler with a One-up single.

 

My backyard. It is nice to be able to ride 1/2 mile from your house to the trailhead.

 

Since this thread has morphed to include every vehicle imaginable, I think it’s OK to ask this question here. My wife is doing a San Juan Huts ride starting in Durango and ending in Moab. I’m the chauffeur, Pickup Andropoff (Car Talk fans should recognize that name). But I won’t be in our pickup, we’re taking our van. Last day of her ride is the Whole Enchilada, and the last overnight is a few miles east of the WE starting point, which I believe is the Geyser Pass TH.

She’d like me to meet her at the trailhead (vehicles aren’t allowed at the huts) and take her luggage so she can enjoy the trail unencumbered. I’m assuming that our AWD Ford Transit with a slight lift and decent AT tires can make it up there easily. Also, would I get ATT cell coverage up there? Bonus points for recommendations on any good legal dispersed camping spots nearby. Thanks!

I’ll be with our dog but I will have my bike, but I’m not sure I want to tag along for a while. The dog is fine for 4 hours or so in the van, assuming it’s in shade and not too hot, which I doubt it will be up there in 2 weeks. As background neither of us has ridden the WE before. We did ride the lower Porcupine Rim section back in 1990 on steel, fully rigid 26” bikes with rim brakes. In Lycra shorts. Because that’s what everyone did back then.

 

I'd confirm where the route picks up TWE. Geyser Pass TH is the start of the TWE but I always thought that the hut trips picked up TWE at LaSal Pass Rd.

Geyser pass road supposedly goes through some private property east of Geyser Pass and is not open to the public. If the hut route does pick up TWE at Geyser Pass TH it will mean more driving for you. The main roads will be fine for your van but side roads can get rough. Should be lots of dispersed camping though.


And there are ride options at either trailhead:

Geyser Pass TH - climb up Burro Pass and drop down to Warner Lake (worth checking out). Drop down either Shuman Gulch Tr or Oowah Tr to Oowah Lake Rd. Take either side of the Clark Lake loop. I think I liked the south side better. Then finish the loop on Moonlight Meadows. 4 hrs shouldn't be a problem.

Kokopelli TH at LaSal Pass Rd - you could loop the roads and descend Hazard County. Or ride any combo of Kokopelli, Jimmy Keen, UPS/LPS, and Eagle Eye/Hawks Glide and back up.

 

Thanks. The ride maps she has show various alternate routes to pick up TWE and even a descent into town on Sand Flats which seems to have no singletrack. But it looks like all routes go through the Kokopelli TH. If I meet her there she may have to ride some of the descent with her gear but she could at least do Porcupine Rim unladen. If I understand the route .

 

Happy to help. If the route does go up and over Burro Pass, the descent off of it would be kind of rowdy with gear. But manageable if she can lower her saddle. Hazard would be fine. UPS/LPS and Porc would be where you'd really want to ride unladed.

Sand Flats was always a bailout for riders in over their heads on TWE. But they now have built trails that roughly follow it - Eagle Eye, Hawk's Glide, Falcon Flow, Kestrel Run. So anyone bailing out can take some or all of those trails rather than the road if they want. They're pretty fun and generally flowy, and a lot easier (effort and technically) than the rest of TWE. Those trails make for a decent ride on their own.

One thing to mention to avoid surprises, if you drive down Sand Flats road to get to Moab you will pass through Sand Flats Rec Area at the bottom. If you try to drive out before the booth closes at 5pm or whenever they will try to make you pay the day use fee. I think its only $5 or 10. There are campgrounds within the rec area that are all first come first served.

 

Thanks @evdog this helps. The group is 8 riders and she wants to have at least one companion for the descent. So there may be more uncertainty in her route than will let us plan for a rendezvous unless she has cell service. And if her phone battery is still good after a week.

The fee is no problem since Sand Flats is a federal rec area and I have a lifetime geezer (senior) pass which is free access to all federal recreation sites including National Parks. There are some advantages to getting old. And yes, my wife who’s riding from Durango to Moab has her own senior pass. Though I don’t recommend calling her a geezer. But for all you guys in your thirties who feel like you’re getting old, get over it. You have at least 30-40 years ahead of you before you should even start thinking about an E bike.

 

This cannot be repeated often enough!!! Hahaha.


Sand Flats is actually managed by Grand County so the federal passes don't cover it IIRC. But maybe you can talk them out of it saying you were up on NF land and just drove straight through.

Sounds like the safest plan would be to meet at Koko or Geyser Pass TH first thing so you'd catch her rolling through. If worried about battery power, a portable power bank that can charge the phone or camera a couple times is worth bringing.

 

anyone run a coil in their fork? curious about opinions on that when it comes to more square edge hits and hard bottom outs and what you think vs air.

 

Cane Creek Helm is on sale now

 

To answer your main question, your van should have no issues... I have drive my 4x4 Transit up there a bunch and never shifted out of RWD. Most of the TWE shuttle services run RWD Ford Transits with highway tires. There's even a shuttle service that uses a bunch of VW Westy's.

There is construction going on on La Sal loop road, so give yourself enough time to get up there.

 

Or just get both MTB and moto are a great combo.

 

Yes, I have a few of my forks running coil (Push). Way superior bump sensitivity than air. But also, heavier and noisier. It also makes the fork more linear which I like.

 

Checking out the campus art.

 

I don't know of any places up on Geyser Pass Rd to camp, but it is National Forest and there should be pullouts, etc. especially on the east side of the pass (closer to the HUT). There is a spiderweb of roads up there and I'm sure you could find something for a night. If you want to lock something down, you might want to reserve a spot at Warner Lake campground. It's really nice/quiet/beautiful and the WE runs right through it. You could always meet up with your wife on the gravel roads near the hut, exchange gear and then stay the night in Warner Lake CG. She will roll right through there after the first descent from Burro Pass.

As said already, La Sal Loop Rd is under construction. Be ready for some wait times. The Geyser Pass Rd from La Sal Loop is pretty well maintained. Your van should have no problems. Same for the Warner Lake CG road. PSA - Do not attempt to drive over La Sal Pass...the east/south side is nice but as soon as you cross the pass it gets gnarly. Also, some of the gravel roads on the east side of the La Sals get nasty muddy in rain. Be aware of that if you find yourself over there in a rainstorm.

There are 1st Come sites all along Sand Flats Rd, but you can't reserve anything.

As far a cell service, it is spotty. I have made calls from the Kokopelli/La Sal Loop Rd parking area (where Hazard Co crosses La Sal Loop Rd). Up higher is a gamble for sure.

 

While searching some info on tailgate pads, I came across this "End of Summer Sale" on Swagman. Their Tailwhip & Paramount pads are on sale at a pretty big discount. Down to $30 & $50. Online reviews are mixed, but certainly cheap enough to try out or only for occasional use.

Some of their other racks & products are also on sale. Just wanted to pass it on.
https://www.swagman.net/collections/sale

 

Back on Georgia clay.

 

Agreed^
I ran a Fox 36 Grip2 with the Push ACS3 for a few years, it's still going under my buddy's bike now. So, it's been running great for...5+ years.
Typical air vs coil arguments. Coil is more sensitive, better traction, linear... Air is progressive, easily adjustable, lighter.
I personally loved the linear nature for a big trail bike, and with the ACS3 you can still add and adjust end of stroke ramp up (like tokens on air). Another amazing thing is that it's the same day in, day out. Performance doesn't drop off as quickly as you get near its service time, which is also a lot longer than with air. No fiddling with pressures, it's just perfect every damn time (once you get it dialed in).
That being said, once I got a bigger bike and bigger fork (Fox 38, 180mm) I wanted to keep the air. I just couldn't add another pound of weight to a bike that was already 2 lbs heavier than I came from. Plus, I wanted to keep the air tuning simplicity on the big bike for the days it goes to the park, or bigger, steeper, and heavier riding days.
My buddy who's riding it now is lighter, and I think coil is a huge help to lighter riders, and he swears he'll never ride an air fork again. Oddly enough, he didn't care for the coil on the rear

 

Thanks for that. I do myself like a more linear fork and after riding around some longer travel forks with coils the plushness and literally zero feedback on small bump sensitivity has got me thinking. My delma is id like to upgrade to a zeb/38 but like you said, weight becomes an issue if you add a coil so im trying to decide if upgrading my rhythm 36 to coil is even worth it or just get a bigger fork and leave it as air...

 

I'm not up to date but I don't think Push sells a coil conversion kit for the 38 or Zeb (but I think Vorsprung does). I have coil conversion on 3 out of 4 36's, plus a couple of Pikes/Lyriks and it is plush in the first 3/4 of it's travel. I do get some top out noise sometimes which is easily fixed.