Moab Day 3: Sovereign

  

After a day of swooping around on Mars, I was curious to see what else the guides would throw our way.   Turns  out we were to visit Venus on the third day of our journey through the myriad worlds of Moab.
  


Like slick rock,  the Sovereign trail is but a few miles from town,  but that’s where the similarities end.   The trail winds up, down, and across a huge mesa.   Unlike its red-faced sandstone cousins,  this gargantuan land peninsula is tinted with an oxidized green, like a giant molten blob of patina'd bronze.   I didn't know what to make of the green soil- I had never seen anything like it.   This oddly colored rock is just another example of how varied and diverse the life and land of this place is.   Every ride is a geology lesson and a ultra-high def episode of a discovery channel documentary all rolled into one.  Then again,  falling on a Juniper tree after wiping out on some crazy rocks is as close-up as you can get.




Our guide today was a hard man known as Steve.  Steve had ridden these trails for quite a while,  and while he was slow to warm up, could rip through downhill singletrack with far more finesse than I could.  As we drove to the trailhead he told us about life around Moab and how he came to call it home;   not many people here were born and raised in Moab-   each person we’ve met here has their own story-  with Moab being the current stop of their journeys.  I guess we all have that in common at the moment.

I’ll be honest:   riding up that mesa was a bit of a chore.   Three days into our trip, we were still getting acclimated to the altitude and terrain.   The sovereign trail was a world apart from slick rock:  generally tight singletrack littered with loose rocks and technical uphill sections.   It definitely left its mark on yours truly…


   
After toiling uphill across loose rocks left by dirt bikes (the lazy' man’s mountain bike…),   we would be rewarded by tight, steep singletrack that switched back across the mesa.  The surface was much looser than slick rock, and I may have been guilty of riding the breaks down it, as I was really not in the mood to fly off the side of a cliff.  



After an hour and a half of ups and downs we reached the top of the mesa:  a cliff face with the gorgeous La Sal mountains in the background.   The are the ultimate compliment to the varied Moab Terrain.  You’re in the middle of an arid desert canyon land, and off in the distance are snowcapped mountains,  gracefully kissing a sky so blue that it would give Bob Ross a wet dream.
 


As we made our way down the Mesa, Steve corralled us through a dried up, rocky half-pipe of a riverbed (I believe if was called Terry’s Tunnel).  This riverbed was full of ledges and rocky outcrops that you had to traverse.  The techie bits were fun to try and figure out: correct gearing, a good line, and some fast twitch muscle fibers got you over the rocks and ledges,  but any misstep and you had the chance of a one night stand with the ground…



As we stepped off of the green mesa we were met with sandy red singletrack and a few flat wash sections.  For the record,  deep, loose sand is a royal pain on a mountain bike-  I reassured myself that riding in sand would come in handy at the next cx race.
 


One of the last sections we traversed was a giant, wide open stretch of sandstone.  i was told it used to be a seabed, and it’s pretty apparent.  it stretched far out-  a vast, dehydrated sea bed,  littered with junipers and small desert flora.



we finished up our ride on some non-technical jeep roads, riding back to the van and cooling down.  We had another great day of unforgettable riding under our belts.  As I sat there devouring a sandwich in the shade, the La Sal Mountains sat on the horizon.  This trip was the mountain bike equivalent of a seven-course tasting menu at Le Bernardin-  I had no idea what the next course would be- couldn’t wait to find out.

Moab: Day 2- Martian Roller Coaster

Before I left for my trip, my friend David had recommended that I read “Desert Solitaire” by Edward Abbey.  I’m about halfway through it and can strongly suggest it to my literate friends.  Edward Abbey was one of the founding fathers of environmentalism.  In the book, he recounts his time spent as a Park Ranger in Arches National Park in Moab.  He spent 3 seasons there taking in the varied and natural beauty of this ridiculous place.
  

  
Event though its right in the Desert,  I’ve seen what Abbey is talking about.  The terrain and life is rugged and dramatic.  It’s a stark contrast from the manufactured, manicured, and frenzied beauty of NYC.

On day 1 we were met with beautiful desert singletrack and some stunning geological formations.  Today was completely different.  Even though we were maybe 10 miles away from where we rode yesterday, we might as well have been on a different planet.
  


More specifically, Mars.
Today we rode the slickrock trail,   which is known for its, well, slickrock.   I was pumped as hell to give it a try.  The slickrock landscape looks like something the Mars rover must have set eyes upon while on its death march.   Swooping, rolling dunes of solid rock litter the landscape.  The only giveaway that you’re on earth is the beautiful desert life that’s peppered across the land.  



Our guide today was Heidi.   Heidi’s an avid athlete who’s keeps busy by kickin’ ass at trail running when she’s not taking fat, spoiled New York cyclists out for pity rides.   Needless to say, Heidi put us through our paces for the next 4 hours of Mars rovin’.




So how does it ride??   Like a Martian rollercoaster.


 

Riding slickrock is quite a departure from the singletrack that you’re probably used to.   The biggest difference is grip.  It’s Grippy.  Super grippy.  Grippier than my hands are around a Bacon cheeseburger.   While the name “slickrock” may  seem to imply differently,  it earned its name because it is quite slippery when we’re talking about horses and cows.  Horseshoes and slickrock= bovines sliding around like your mother in a Jell-O wrestling match.




So what does that mean?  It means you can ride slick rock at ridiculous angles- up, down, sideways, off-camber, and probably upside-down.  You can ride straight across a 50-degree off-camber that would make a cx-racer weep.  




The Best part of slickrock is the swoopy stuff.  You come to the crest of a slope,   fly down 50 feet and slam right up the incline of the next.    You’ve gotta have the granny gear on hand to get up these inclines.   each of those climbs is a 20-30 second V02MAX effort that forces you to sit so far forward that  you’re practically straddling the steerer tube like a stripper pole and spinning your legs around in your 32X22 (the 32 is in the rear, roadies).  I may have earned a new nickname due to my overzealous spinning while going up these things…
 


Each of these aggressive efforts is like a little interval that you end up repeating about 30-50 times.   We have essentially signed up for a week a daily 4-hour long anaerobic interval workouts.  Coach roger would be so proud…



Understandably,  some of those rises were too steep for us and we ended up dumping out a few times and walking.  This leads me to a very important tip for all of you northeasterners coming to ride slick rock up here:  TAKE OUT YOUR TOE SPIKES BEFORE YOU EVEN THINK OF RIDING SLICKROCK.  Sure,  toe spikes are great when you’re knee-deep in mud at Granogue or tap-dancing on a street corner, but on a steep slickrock incline they are about as useful as a Bacon AT-AT in a synagogue.


 

Around the midpoint of the ride we came across a bit of a playground-  it was akin to the empty pools skateboarders do tricks in,  but naturally formed.  it was a blast to swoop in and out and take some banked turns.   Naturally this was the perfect time for a far superior rider named Kyle to show up and demonstrate how terrible we actually are…




The whole slickrock trail is situated high above Moab.  Depending on where you were you could overlook the whole town  or the mighty Colorado River.   What better place to sit down and enjoy the view then on the edge of a sheer 1000 ft cliff face.





I can say without hesitation that romping around on this Martian terrain was one of the best bike experiences I’ve had in my life.  Who knows what planet we’ll end up on tomorrow?

To Moab

    

I’m sitting in a cheap motel in the middle of Utah.  I couldn’t be happier.   I’m not sure that the words "Utah,” “Motel,” and “Happy” are used in conjunction that often,  but  it absolutely rings true here.  

Two weeks ago I ended my career in the world of Finance.   No longer happy with taking part in the rat race for mediocrity,  I enthusiastically gave up the life of a middle office trade support excel monkey.   I won’t get into any details but suffice to say reconciling other people’s cash and confirming other people’s trades is something that is definitively not for me.  Instead, I’ll be jumping into the world of social media and digital marketing.

Leaving my job and switching careers gave me a reason to come out here.  I believe that whenever one has a big life change, he/she should get away for a few days and take it all in.  A sort of intermission between acts of a play.  Maybe it’s more like a half-time show? 

I needed to get out of the city for a few days.  We’re so over-stimulated in our daily lives that we become numb.  What we see and experience can stop affecting us.  All day we sit at computers and process information in all its forms.   It gets a bit old after a while. 



What better place for a reset than Moab.   Fresh off of the hilariously brutal pain train known as Battenkill, my teammate Steve and I hopped a plane to Denver, jumped on a comically bouncy turboprop that dropped us into Grand Junction, and from there we drove 2 hours to Moab.  Here we’ll spend 7 days mountain biking over and around some of the most beautiful, dramatic and awe-inspiring landscape around.

Yesterday was day 1.  After a fantastic breakfast we were met by our guide for the day- Joe.   Joe was a pretty awesome dude who had 3 seasons of MTB touring under his belt, and was a rock climber in the off season.  He drove us over to the trailhead where our ride would begin.



Our Steeds would be Kona Dawg Deluxes.  These dual suspension monsters have 6 inches of travel and will run over just about anything without much of a fuss.  I can tell you that I love riding dual-ies much much more than hardtails.  It’s just more fun to barrel over the mountain and not have to worry about your junk getting pounded into a pulp.
 


Today Joe introduced us to a couple of trails that are all linked together.   First we hit up Klondike Bluffs, and rode up half of Baby Steps.  These trails featured quite a wide  range of terrain.  There was a good deal of slick rock to ride over, which is quickly becoming a favorite of mine.  It’s grippy, easy to climb up, and fun as hell to bomb down.

 

The other facet of these trails included more technical single track on loose dirt.   The singletrack would weave and snake around the land,  sometimes incorporating rock formations.  it did get pretty technical at times, and I was at my best when i decided to dump out and  take a quick dirt nap right on top of a juniper bush.



You’re sort of conflicted when riding parts of this trail.  Some of the views are so spectacular that its easy to not pay as much attention to where you’re riding.  We made sure to stop a view times and take it all in so that we wouldn’t be distracted when we were actually riding.
 


By lunch time we had ridden right up to the edge of Arches National Park.  That’s home to all of the picturesque geological formations that Moab is known for.  As it’s a national park, we had to leave our bikes at the border.  We hiked on to the edge of a cliff and stopped for lunch.  For the record,  Mountain bike shoes with toe spikes may in fact be the worst shoes around when it comes to scrambling around on rocks.  not recommended… 



After shoving a delicious wad of roast beef down my gullet we plodded back to the bikes and kept going.   We hit some more technical singletrack which resulted in me dumping out a few times.  The weather was partly cloudy,  which in the desert means that the temps drop 20 degrees whenever cloudy block the sun from doing its job.   At one point Steve got a flat and i briefly saw snow flurries.



After bombing down some more singletrack and slick rock,   we rolled through a fire road imprinted with 4X4 tracks.  As we road by Joe found a baby cow on the side of the road takin’ a nap.   Probably tired from a day of running around the desert, the little dude was calm and didn't freak out when we approached him.  “You’ll make a fine osso bucco someday,” I said to him.  



Not a bad experience for day one.   The trails that Joe took us on were a great way to get acclimated to the Moab experience,  which would prove to be a huge departure from the wooded trails of the northeast.




After the ride we sat in a little Mexican restaurant  and pounded fish tacos and cervezas.   And to think,  at this very moment I could be sitting at a desk staring at 32 excel spreadsheets.   This round to me.

The Perfect CXtorm

I'm hangin' out in the motel room with Marco right now- after a long, muddy, awesome Day 1 at the Gloucester Gran Prix. We loaded up the Toga! Van yesterday afternoon and headed up to MA. So far the race has been the complete opposite of last year. 2208 was a sunny, gorgeous day with nice, dry conditions. Today was a muddy slopfest that would bring a tear to any Belgian's eye. Being the smartypants that i am, I had forgotten my rain jacket at home. We all ended up going to a fisherman's store where i bought a rainsuit that made me look like the Gordon's Fisherman...

Racing as a cat 3 at Gloucester is an interesting experience; 120+ people were registered, and callups to the front line are by order of registration. Needless to say, pre-reg is a furiously fast endeavor for those who take the race seriously. most of the field fills up in the first 20 minutes. I was a bit lackadaisical in signing up (by 2 hours) and ended up in the 94th spot...




That automatically removes the pressure of the race. You're out to beat your friends and humiliate them by passing then in the mud and on the straight sections. I'm very happy for all of my friends who managed to do that to me. PS-guys, go f*ck yourselves!

Photos by Marco Quezada

The weather for the day was in the 50's and raining. i made sure to bring all of my embrocations, and ended up going with mad alchemy, and tons of it. That stuff is orange, and putting it on makes you look like you just got out of the fake'n'bake booth. that being said, its delightfully greasy and warm, and water beads right off of it. hoooray for spicy grease!

Photos by Marco Quezada

We got to watch the Masters 35+ Men's race right before ours. Watching Roger, Johnny Bold, and the Gotham Guys duke it out on the muddy battlefield is a fun sight. Here's a most excellent shot of a midair collision between Chris Long and some farthead who doesn't know how to handle his bike:

Photos by Marco Quezada

As i lined up in the 20th row back, i knew what to expect; all 125 of us were going to hit the first half of the lap together, including the horrifically steep and muddy run-up. those who had shoes without toespikes were going to hate themselves. This has been my first season running tubulars and i couldn't have been happier with that. i rocked some challenge grifo's with about 35 psi for this race and they were pretty dialed-in. I think i'm going to switch to a Challenge Fango in the back though, as the rear tubular is a bit old and i could always use more traction on the backside...

It's days like today that i love my team's white kits: nothing says "euro," "i'm and idiot," or "i have a great cleaning lady" like wearing a bright white kit o the muddiest of days.

Photos by Marco Quezada

So it goes without saying- the slop was thick, but mostly rideable. I went back and forth trading blows with my friends and crossresults.net nemesises. for ONCE i didn't wipe out! I would also love to take this moment to state that putting those barriers on an uphill incline is a total pain in the ass for those of us who have short hobbit legs.

These muddy races completely sap your energy around the half-way mark; especially when you don't have a clean pit bike to hop on. the mud accumulates and bogs you down (as if i needed to be any heavier)- your back tire frequently slips out when pedaling up inclines, and you're forced to trudge up muddy rises that would otherwise be a piece of cake. Every muscle in your body hurts. you start to lose your finesse as your arms and lower back get fatigued from all the pounding (save your jokes). Somehow, though, it's still some of the most fun you'll have on a bike...

I got pulled a lap early but wasn't lapped- I spent the next few minutes wandering around like an out-of-breath hobo before heading off to get hosed off like the muddy swine the i resemble.



after getting cleaned up and donning the rain gear, i made a b-line to the beer tent. My purpose was two-fold: drink awesome beer and contribute to CX Magazine's live coverage of the Elite Men's race. I was twitterin' so hard i think Lance may have noticed. If you didn't follow the coverage, all you have to know is that Jonathan Page tore everyone a new poopyhole (Lolz). The Kona Mafia (Trebon, Wicks) weren't Present, so Jamie Driscoll, Tim Johnson, and Chris Jones were the only guys even remotely close to him. By remotely close, i mean 1:30 back...

It was also great too see our very own Andrew Crooks hold his own in the elite race. I really think this race benefitted his MTB background- awesome job Andrew! And it goes without saying, but Thanks to Marco for all the awesome shots!



Time for sleep. Day 2 tomorrow! and before you go, here's a photo of Jason Parkin mounting his bike as if it were some crazy-assed sex toy (DAYUM!)