Moab Fall 2018 Photos Etc

I'll start this out as a picture dump with minimal descriptions of the trails ridden on the days of the trip. I may or may not go back and edit the posts with ride report details and add videos. (Like the time I made it up Hells Gate on my first try or the time I had a yard sale in a pool in the Escalator.)



Sept. 30

Rental house #2, morning:


House #2 was known as the quiet, mellow house. House #1 was known as the party house, the loud house, the house with Dmitry. To his credit, he didn't sing Toto karaoke like Lunch Box.

Kane Creek (warm sunshine)

[youtube]7oySvsAU-6A[/youtube]

This trail started out very easy then got very hard. There was an uphill split that I got stuck on and bailed back downhill. Madsen made it up and met us past the split while others turned back at that point. Good thing because that's where the trail got hard. Ugly hard, with no good lines through the obstacles. I think it was EricB, Madsen, anytwowilldo, and I who continued to the highway and some great views from slickrock.

Oct. 1

White Rim Road (light rain to partly cloudy)

[youtube]Ko3wqjfSzoc[/youtube]

White Rim Road continued

Guoseph (Husq 701), Wayne (Beta 500), and I (Yam WR450F) staged at the Potash boat launch parking lot. We took Potash road to Shafer switchbacks to 313 to Mineral Bottom and did the White Rim road counter-clockwise for a total of 130 miles from the parking lot. We all carried extra fuel but we got very good fuel economy. It's an easy road doable with big dual sports or adventure bikes with street-oriented tires. There were only a handful of climbs that could have been challenging to bigger bikes.

White Rim has the best views in Moab.

White Rim Road continued again

White Rim Road final continuation

Oct. 2 morning

Steelbender (cool, light rain)

[youtube]I1Mv4-1c4hg[/youtube]

On a cool, rainy morning a group left house #1 for Steelbender, which is accessible by riding a couple miles of OHV corridor streets. I left shortly after them and planned to catch them at their first break stop. After several miles of riding, I thought they were crazy fast and didn't stop for breaks. I finally met them at the "extreme ledges" obstacle. We were riding the trail from opposite directions!

I had smacked my finger against a tree branch, removing skin and causing bruising and swelling. Then I had an over-the-bars yard sale coming down the first ledge. So I wasn't feeling great. But then I had to ride up both ledges the other way. And we ended up re-riding much of the trail loops I rode in the morning, so I think I rode Steelbender 2.5 times that morning.

Oct. 2 afternoon

Slickrock (cloudy, warm, humid)

[youtube]hqY4Yz0ZIGY[/youtube]

This day was most notable for anytwowilldo following me up a portion of Hells Revenge then not following me off it. He got up on some nasty stuff covered in wet lichen and couldn't turn his bike around. I mean, Lunch Box's bike. Dmitry and I couldn't walk up the steep, slippery cliff side to help. The bike let go and slid sideways downhill with him under it. His riding gear took the brunt of the damage.

Oct. 3

Sovereign singletrack (warm, partly cloudy)

[youtube]Lo4__BZ853U[/youtube]

This was my favorite ride of the trip. We did the main Sovereign singletrack trail we all did two years ago. But then we went searching for more, and we found the gold mine. Just then Guoseph broke a footpeg and turned back with about half the group. EricB, Chris, and I continued on the endless tight singletrack snaking up and down the copper hills, full of rocks and switchbacks.

Oct. 4

Metal Masher/Gemini Bridges (partly cloudy after torrential morning downpour)

[youtube]BJkOsvUrA0k[/youtube]

We did this in the afternoon after a torrential rain in the morning. There's not much to say about it. Some good views. Rocks and dirt. Mostly optional obstacles with go-arounds. It connects to Gemini Bridges road, and we lunched at the bridges.

Oct. 5

Hell’s Revenge (partly cloudy)

[youtube]rKoLJgmXKGQ[/youtube]

This is my helmet cam video of me falling into a pool of water on The Escalator. (Rob's video of it earned me a nomination for the pink pony.) I made three attempts. First was a quick abort upon seeing the pool, second was another abort not having enough speed to ride the off-camber around the pool, third I got wet and upside-down. (But did you die?) In hindsight, and watching Rob nail it. I see the thing to do is not try to ride off-camber on the left of the pool but make an S turn out of it. I want another crack at it!

I think all of you Slickrock fans would really enjoy Hells Revenge. Just four wheelers instead of bicycles to avoid. Turns not as tight, more suited to MCs. Steeper climbs and descents, but very short. More optional obstacles to play on. (Hells Gate, Escalator, 2 hot tubs, several unnamed obstacles.)









Porcupine Rim (partly cloudy)

[youtube]amsC6KfW3-I[/youtube]

A few of us rode Sand Flat road far out until it connected with Porcupine 4x4 (or Rim?) then rode that up a short way to the overlook. We rode down Porcupine to connect to Fins n Things.









Fins n Things (partly cloudy)

[youtube]1ywQaAzJscM[/youtube]

Oct. 6

Poison Spider/Golden Spike/Where Eagles Dare (light rain)

[youtube]8xPbd9mprb4[/youtube]

While most of the group packed or already left, a few hardy souls braved the threatening rain for a tour of these trails up on the mesa. We didn't make it to the crack on Golden Spike when we were turned back by rain. We took the Where Eagles Dare loop, where Drew bailed. That trail is high and steep! Madsen and I re-joined Drew and backtracked through four wheelers as the rain fell.

























Packing



Oct. 7

Home

Great Pics Eric, especially Pineapple Ridge!

Thanks for sharing, wish I was with you guys this year.

Wow! Utah, is amazing. One jaw dropping vista after another.

Good stuff!

Awesome pics!

Thanks for posting the pics! Great week of riding with a fun group of folks. Looking forward to the next trip to Moab!

Wow. You guys so rock.
Eric, ok if I put "photos" in the title?

Wow. Looks amazing.

Enjoying life!

I'm such an idiot for not joining this time. Thanks 2sys. Hope to hear some stories!

Is it just me or do I seem to be looking down every time you took a picture with me in it

OaklandF4i said:

especially Pineapple Ridge!

Click to expand...

I thought it was PorknSwine Ridge?

Great bunch of pictures Erik!
Cool cave on the last day ride.

Everyone needs to go ride Moab.