Moab, UT

For the past several years Liz's friends have been doing an annual mountain bike trip to Moab. This past spring we rode the White Rim Trail - 4 days and 3 nights of riding and camping over a 100+ mile loop around Canyonlands National Park.  This fall the group decided to make the C campsite in the Sand Flats campground near the Slickrock Trail the home base, and ride the Moab trails from there.

We headed up to Moab on Thursday getting their just in time to set the tent up and head over the Griffith campfire.  On Friday, most of us rode the Amasa Back Trail - which I had never done before.  It was a pretty good ride... got my wheels back under me.  I always seem to ride better in Moab, or maybe just with more confidence.  Perhaps it is the fact that 9 other people got over something on the trail that looked near impossible that makes me more willing to attempt it.  This trail climbed quite a bit to an overlook, traveling over a lot of different terrain. Certainly a ride I would do again.  Friday afternoon I was talked into going for a 3 mile run in the drop dead heat - oh, after eating lunch and drinking a beer.  Lets just say it wasn't the best I've felt on a run.  

Me at the end of Amasa Back.

Saturday some of the group did Porcupine Rim and some of the group did Sovereign. Despite never having ridden Porcupine Rim I opted to ride Sovereign, wanting to ride with a few of the folks that had been busy baby sitting the day before.  Unfortunately the ride was a bust because we had trouble finding the trail and spent most of the ride pedaling around looking for it.  To make up for it, in the evening we left camp and rode a bit of the Slickrock Trail, which is always a good time.

One of the friends had rented a hotel room for the weekend, and the shower and the pool certainly came in handy.  Mornings were filled with biking, afternoons with swimming or showering, and evenings with sitting around the campfire.  The trip felt too short - I would love to do a few more rides the next time I am there.  Moab anyone?

View from camp while clouds came in one evening.