Hugh

We drove. I'd say once you get past Sweetwater, masks were 50/50. Moab was strangely packed. Moab Brewery has tasty food and beer.

Make sure you have hotel reservations already. We got ours 2 weeks out and by the time we arrived things were sold out.

I brought a large duffle and had my camping gear in a large bag. Remember to bring a pillow! Also, bring Tylenol PM or similar as that'll help you sleep in the tent. The camping was fine. You'll get used to the groover. You'll have to wait and see what that is 😁

I rode my single speed. With that, there were no big climbs.

On the way back from the waterfalls, I did cheat and get shuttled to the top of the 14% hill. All other hills were rideable.

If you get Wes and Matt for guides they are awesome. They also like beer and whiskey so bring extra if you imbibe.

You don't need full squish on this ride. 

Don't stress about the weather. Worst case is overnight lows in the 50s and daytime highs in the 70s.

Bring cash for tops. $80-$100/guide. They earn their money.

Most important tip: relax and enjoy yourself. No cell. No internet. Just great riding, scenery, food, and commaraderie. 

27 minutes ago, Sluggo said:

401 outside of Crested Butte. 

You mean the 4 O fun? That trail is a blast.

15 hours ago, Sluggo said:

 

Colorado Trail?

13 hours ago, Sluggo said:

Colorado Trail?

BTW, the rough two track was easily doable on my bike. While it has rock, it is smooth. Not ledgy like around here.

22 hours ago, June Bug said:

+ 

Or a trip report! 

We're going to do a  Western Spirit tour in the Grand Staircase-Escalante area. There's no technical riding; it's all on dirt roads, although the last day will have some rough two-track.  We'll be riding mountain bikes. 

That is the exact trip I just did except on gravel bikes. I had my single speed with 38 mm tires. On the descents I wished I had my mtb.  This was my 9th Western Spirit trip so I can highly recommend them.

The gravel trip is identical to the mtb trip. Day 1 travel to the lodge.

Day 2 is all pavement and a massive 14% descent to the falls. Felt like the TdF with curvy roads. You have the option to ride back or shuttle.

The waterfall is well worth the 3 mile hike.

Day 3 is more pavement with a short slot canyon hike in the middle. Amazing scenery.

Day 4 is all dirt roads. A little climbing and some great descending. It'll be better on an mtb.

Day 5 is a mix of pavement and dirt. The switchbacks are a 1200' descent on dirt. The turns are pretty wide and flat as this is a dirt road so the descending is straight. Did I mention amazing views?

Day 6 is 8 miles on dirt roads and finishes with an 8 mile descent towards Lake Powell.

Feel free to ask me any specifics about the trip.

On 8/18/2020 at 9:09 PM, June Bug said:

I joined a new to me gravel grinders page on facebook, and there is a topic: "Will a gravel bike do well at Moab?"

Some comments were well, yes, on gravel roads, (like White Rim Trail) and scenic dirt roads.  One guy was like, hell yeah, 26 x 1.75 was great on all technical trails.  Somebody else is "Well maybe a gravel bike is OK for Slickrock, but other stuff not so much."  

That said, Moab these days has a lot of variety, but still...

I just got back from a gravel trip near Moab. We rode in the Grand Staircase-Escalante and Capital Reef areas. The riding was soectacular.

I lost my key fob on Deception today. The hole in my jersey pocket that I didn't know about was apparently just big enough.

If anyone finds a key fob, please let me know.

6 hours ago, Kobra Kai MTB Guy said:

Agreed on DD and Deception in general getting harder over the years.  I STARTED mountain biking with 0 experience by riding nothing but Deception.  I think I crashed over 100 times the first year (Chief happened upon me right after waking up from hitting my head on a crash on Spongebob).  Since Deception is where I learned, I'm able to go pretty much anywhere and ride without much problem. 

 

I wonder how big that guy's notches are to say it's only a 1/4 notch harder than Walnut.  Rampage must be a full notch harder than Walnut!

Dwayne is a one eyed stud on a bike.

He used to lead group rides at City Park and teach people how to clear obstacles.

Tried Snail this morning and quickly bailed.

I dont think any trail will be rideable until tomorrow 

On 7/6/2020 at 2:08 PM, AustinBike said:

I think you need to talk to Wes at Motorangutan and see what he has in your size to demo.

I did all the spreadsheets, did all the math, checked every single figure and then he introduced me to something not even on my list. The credit card was swiped very soon after the demo and I was real happy.

The only thing I don't like about the Yeti is that funky double shock thing in the middle of the rear suspension. Looks proprietary. Looks expensive. Looks like one of those things that will fail at the worst possible time - and be on shortage/backorder when you need a replacement.

Everyone I know with a Ripmo loves it. Wes has them.

I liked the Hightower and SC has a good warranty.

I have the DT-Swiss M1900 wheels on my bike. They are find but they are also the first thing on my list to replace if I ever get the itch.

Does that happen to be the Wes who had Willits bikes?

7 hours ago, Albert said:

With the heavy amount of rain we got yesterday morning and a little more just now, I would not go anywhere near Lake Georgetown right now.

 ..Al

Was planning on next weekend, not today or tomorrow.

So is the section outside of Tejas overgrown currently?

Any idea how the trail is right now? Do you have to bushwack between Sawyer and Tejas?

11 hours ago, gotdurt said:

shortly after that a newb came pedaling as hard as he could toward me... I moved over make room expecting him to do the same... but he didn't... he held the center line

I'm seeing that more and more. The other day I got tired of being the guy going into the weeds so I held my line on one side of the trail. Startled the shit out of one guy who I guess expected me to bail off of the trail for him.

1 hour ago, mashmaster said:

From my son:

I am working on my Eagle Scout project which is building a new mountain biking trail behind my local church. I would love to get your support to help me complete this project. The information for the next workday on Sunday is in the first link.

https://tinyurl.com/yatoq8xv

I'll try to be out there. My Eagle Scout project was clearing trails and building 2 hiking bridges at Caesar Creek Lake State Park in Ohio. I guess it was a precursor to my career as I've worked on the 620 bridge, 1st street bridge, and a few projects at the airport when it was first under construction.

I've done a couple guided trips in that area - Brian Head and Bryce.

Virgin River has some great riding.

10 hours ago, Cafeend said:

Thank very much. I will call Hank today.

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You in need of a temp A/C unit?

I have a portable we used when flipping houses.

Itll keep a room relatively cool.

On 5/14/2020 at 8:07 AM, AntonioGG said:

I’ve been seeing more and more of these Electric “bicycles” around town that don’t require any pedaling.  They look like smaller townies and may be folding bikes.  I looked for similar ones online and they seem to range from $400-1000.  The people I’ve seen riding them are not pedaling.  Has anyone else noticed this trend?

In the '80s we called those mopeds

I would assume treated lumber?

On 5/19/2020 at 7:10 PM, RedRider3141 said:

Ads for BC on Facebook? 

I'm glad those hikers built these trails 🤔

Are there bike trails in Bastrop State Park?

18 hours ago, Yosmithy said:

maybe instead of black diamonds, blue squares, and green circles, they should just rate trails on the Curb rating? 

What happened to the Walnut Notch rating scale?

When I was replacing my last bike, I got into a long discussion with Dave Turner. His thought was if it rolled things easier and made riding even more fun, why not go bigger?

Well, I didn't listen to him. What does he know, he's just a frame builder😁

Went to Outerbike in Moab a year later and realized I needed bigger tires. So I have 2.6s on my 27.5.

27.5+ sure does roll up and down things easier.

2 hours ago, crazyt said:

does deception ever get crowded or am I fine to go at any time?

Just got back. Seems 90+ degrees thins the crowd.

On 4/9/2020 at 6:46 PM, Cafeend said:

What if the GCW spread Covid?


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I actually heard they are a carrier of the virus. They should recruit mountain bikers to chase them off.