Not that you could tell by my "less than timely" writing here. Seems as if time has been flying by without me gracing the pages of the Internet with my own brand of wisdom & entertainment. May well be for the better, but I seem to have a bit more juice flowing these days (Creative Juices, that is…).
First, I DID go get a fat bike, and got a taste of winter Fat Bike Riding on the front range. THAT is a great way to stay motivated over the winter. It's fun, in that it is quite obvious that bikes were NOT meant to be ridden on snow. Amazing it works at all.
Man, the last time I wrote something here, it appears to have still been winter. Well past that now, I've even had a full spring week in Utah, my annual version of a spring training camp. So it must have been a while.
Spring Training Camp - All work - No Play
Did a week in Utah. Moab for a few days, then my second visit to Hurricane. Stayed up on Gooseberry Mesa, and that place just gets better and better with each visit. The old trails still rock, and there is a bunch of new stuff out there to ride. If you like desert riding, you owe yourself a trip out there. World Class.
End of the Goose
Cactus Slalom
After a few days there, we rocked across the entire southern Utah/Northern Arizona line. With that we were able to check us out a little FLDS action. A drive by on the greater Hildale, Ut./ Colorado City, Az. metroplex is an experience not to be missed. Well, at least the next time you need to drive from Hurricane, Utah to Fredonia, Arizona that is. You owe yourself a few minutes to read up on the FLDS thing down there. It's FAR worse, and FAR weirder than you can imagine. I of course managed to pick THAT day to wear my Polygamy Porter T-Shirt. "I Tried Polygamy". Perfect.
Then Get out of town…..
Spent a day on the way back in Cortez, sampling the flowy, jumpy goodness that is the Phil's World trail network. Yep, another place you HAVE to go to. Here's a taste.
That "undisclosed location" in Utah still delivers the goods. Yea, it's starting to get crowded. This time we saw at least 5 other cars in the main parking lot. Yep. Getting crowded. Course we did not actually cross paths, were on the same trail with, or have to stop/yield to any other riders. (OK, OK, I'm exaggerating, as usual. We DID have to share one 1900 foot vertical rowdy descent with 2 other riders on that one trail. once.) Yep, getting crowded out there in Vernal.
It was by all means the "Spring Training Camp" for this camper.
Campin
70+ miles and 15 + hours in 3.5 days. Yea, it kicked me in the hiney. Bailed out on a loop or 2 at the end of a couple of days, but in the end survived, and it seems to have re-awoken what little "bike racer" I ever had in my system. I have a hint of being able to pedal in anger again for the first time in well over a year. Feels pretty damn good.
Hit a few new trails this time, rounding out the area bit more. Quite the trail variety out there to sample, plenty to keep a strong group occupied for at least 4-5 days, no problem.
Ladder Bridge on Flume Trail
My, ain't it purdy up here - J Boy Trail - Red Fleet Area
Red Mountain . Yep, Carry Bike up that..... ("Trail" visible....)
UNggarrggOOFPant
Moab is Great, more new trails. Fruita ROCKS. Gooseberry is Stellar. But I've got a bit of a thing for Vernal now. Maybe not EVERY year, but it deserves a spot in the Utah "MTB Honor Roll". It's the kind of place you just want to keep riding in. Even after the sun goes down.
Night Riding From Camp - Jazz ChromeMolly Trail
Place still reminds me of EARLY Fruita, back in the days when it was still REALLY narrow out there. 3+ days on 8 inch wide singletrack is a great way to get REALLY back on the bike. This summer is going to be a LOT better for this old guy. I can't wait.
We interrupt yet another spring snowstorm to announce that my regular yammering will continue after I go ride Mountain Bikes in an undisclosed location in Utah.
Turns out I was very lucky to have gotten our little MTB trip to Vernal in when I did, since the world is going to end on May 21st. At least I got in some good single track riding in before the end times come. It's been hard to come back and go to work and all that other "normal" stuff. Course with the Rapture upon us, I have sold everything, Quit my job, told off my boss, and run all my credit cards to the max. Seems like the thing to do at the end of the world, Right?
As promised, a few more pictures & tidbits from the Greater Vernal Metroplex here. Parts of the greater Vernal-Rangely area have not quite yet seen the economic benefit of the natural gas boom that seems to be fueling the area right now.
Seems to be a high level of local popularity in poking holes in the ground in them there parts. They love their drilling up there. (and who doesn't??)
Besides the Drilling, there are some nice camping to be had. Again, not the mind-bending scenery of other areas behind the Zion Curtain, but quite nice.
Course, we managed to get there at the tail end of the latest effort by winter to prevent any kind of spring to be had. What's a little camping out with temps in the teens at night and a ride in the snow, when you are a hard man of cross, anyway?
But then the weather perked up, and we began to sample the wares of the area. Turns out, when mountain bikers build trails FOR Mountain bikes, you pretty much end up with some really fun trails to ride. Good mix of fun, FAST twisty-bit desert trails, to techie, ledgy stuff, to even some nice slick-rock are all available.
They have named the trial in fairly amusing ways out there. While "More Hoes" MAY have been named for the mangled tools needed to build it, "More Pimps" seems to say the names may have alternate meaning. It was on "More Pimps" we began to see the local custom of "decorating" trails, something I've really not seen anywhere else. From Kokopelli sculptures on ridge lines in the middle of nowhere, to multiple Bowling Balls half buried trail side miles out, to bike windmills, There is quite a bit of "art" spread out in the area. "More Pimps" had a whole lot of Vegas "hooker cards" decorating the bushes and rock crevices along the route. Trailheads were easy to verify, and nasty drops tended to be "marked".
Some spots were more"creative" than others with what was going on in the rocks....
In General, a really good place to ride. "Different" than the usual vibe of Moab or Fruita, or even Gooseberry or Red Canyon. Feels like a hidden, secret place, even if it's really not that secret. The boys had a great time.
We were protected by Sean's Cock the entire time, so no bad Ju-Ju befell the group. Though he did let his Cock loose a BIT too much at times.... (And Many thanks to Sean B. and his Cock for all the pics here...)
Now if it will stop raining and snowing here, MAYBE we can get back to riding some of the local goodies. So far, it's been JUST enough to get a tease of the good stuff. Maybe soon. I guess it BETTER be soon, as we are all running out of time.
OK, turns out there really MAY be some good mountain biking in Vernal, Utah. In spite of some "iffy" weather for the first day, we had a ripping time in a very unexpected corner of Utah.
First off, there really IS a 30 foot high pink dinosaur at the edge of town. And one with cute eyelashes to boot.
Decent camping in the red rocks north of town, conveniently located adjacent to the trailhead for 4 trails. Kinda handy. The scenery is not as mind-blowing as Moab, or even parts of Fruita, but still worked out OK for us. Someone even brought a beer-drinking cock. It was always getting loose.
Have a bit of a conflict about saying ANYTHING about Vernal and riding. The riding is VERY much like Fruita 15+ years ago. No one around, fun, ripping and NARROW trails built FOR bikes. We saw 10 other riders TOTAL (counting parking lots..) in 4 days of riding, and only 3 of those actually on the trails. 6-8 inch wide trails, snaking around the desert, with the odd bits of rocky technical goodness thrown in. Part of me wants to just say "nothing to see here, folks... Move Along". The Local bike community there is still trying to attract riders, and is INCREDIBLY friendly. Troy at Altitude Cycle goes out of his way to orient visitors, help send you to the good rides, and fill you in on the latest goodies. A strange and refreshing change from the Front Range, and most "destination" riding areas. I've never had the local shop owner give me his cell phone number since the shop would be closed the next 2 days, "in case we had any questions". Even had a "monster", semi alpine, downhill shuttle run to send your buds to their death on
I want to see their riding scene thrive there, but am not sure more of the "swarm" of spring/fall visitors will be a good thing in the end, given what seems to happen to places like Fruita. Anyway, all my paranoia aside, had a GREAT 5 days out there, LOVED the trails, and would have NO qualms about a repeat visit.
Worked pretty well as a "spring training camp" for me. I managed to ride myself into complete meltdown in those few days. Fixed my lack of spring riding all at once.
Should have more pics and some seat/bar cam video later, but till then, some comic relief from the trip. Those NARROW trails seem to have a bit of a "soft shoulder" at times.... Enjoy
Time for that spring trip. Road trip for a little mountain biking and desert time. Where do all the cool mountain bike kids go for the spring trip? Why Vernal, of course.
Uh, pardon me... Where?
No really, Vernal, Utah.
The Only City in Utah NOT founded by Mormons, and now, like so many places, the "new Moab". We'll see about that, but the Beta says there are lots of trails, and not a lot of folks. Seems like somewhere worth checking out, and so far, I have yet to road trip anywhere in Utah where the riding sucked. Moab? Great, but been there enough (Though, there is a LOT of new trail out there.......). Hurricane/Gooseberry? Wonderful. Red Canyon/Brian Head? Excellent. Vernal has some rough company to go up against.
Once more, We'll be going behind the Zion Curtain, risking scarce & bad beer, all just to find some more dirt to ride on. What could be better.
A quick update on the Voodoo acupuncture stuff. It does wonders. Pretty much amazing. No matter if it's just in my head, I am sold on the stuff. I will keep letting her at my immune system, as every time I go, I get nothing but stronger.
The trip report. Your reporters are Rick, Jonathan, & myself......
Day 1 - Arrive in Hurricane (pronounced, of course "her-kkin"...). scope out the greater Hurricane metro-plex, stop by the local bike shop, meet up with Jonathan. Then headed up to Gooseberry Mesa to lay claim to a campsite.
Ride - Gooseberry Mesa, looped "Cattle Grate" to "God's Skateboard Park" to "South Rim" to "Hidden Canyon". Gooseberry is literally a maze of trails on the flat mesa top, with lots of quick power climbs up & over slickrock knobs. Lots of fun, with great flow. I would rate it far higher in fun factor than most of the Moab slickrock stuff (SlickRock or Bartlett Wash).
Rick on the Hidden Canyon Loop
Day 2 - Go for the "big loop"
Ride - Hurricane bench loop. "Hurricane Hill" to "Goulds Rim" to "J.E.M." to "Hurricane Rim". a 21 mile grin-fest on the "flats" above town. Sweet, rolling desert singletrack, well marked and a hoot to ride. "J.E.M." is just a SWEET downhill giggle maker of a trail. Lots of good views from the Goulds and Hurricane Rim trails. The view down into the dark, volcanic Virgin River Gorge form Hurricane Rim is worth he whole ride by itself.
Ride(s) - "Guacamole trail" and more Gooseberry. "Guacamole" is probably in a tie for my favorite of the rides we did there. Nice mix of dirt and slickrock in an otherworldly setting of burnt-out Junipers, rolling around under a cool cinder cone and the Zion cliffs. These rides show up with less than 200 feet of elevation gain on the GPS, but have SO much quick power up & over the knobs, they can be quite "taxing" on those early-season legs. Mostly moderate technical moves on the slickrock, but plenty of bonus moves around, if you needed to get a bit more wild.
Zion Cliffs from "Guacamole"
Went back for a second helping on Gooseberry Mesa for the afternoon. "North Rim" to the end of the mesa, then "South Rim" back to "Hidden Canyon" for that afternoon sampler. "South Rim" has some pretty interesting moves on the rock, and gets RIGHT up to the rim, quite exposed in places. You can really feel the void right by your bars on this ride.
A little "Rim Shot" from Gooseberry
Day 4 - Little Creek Mesa and a third helping of Gooseberry pie.
Little Creek Mesa is the other ride I think is tied for my overall favorite down there. VERY remote feeling ride, great rim shots, and once again, great flow. All except for Rick breaking a spoke on a Mavic Crossmax, it was an amazing ride. For the afternoon Jonathan & I dumped Rick & his broken bike at camp with a beer (or 2...) for solace, then hit one more loop at Gooseberry. "windmill" was living up to it's namesake that afternoon, and finished up on "slickrock 101". That wind was harkening a change in the weather, which till then had been stellar.
Jonathan on the edge at Little Creek Mesa
That evening, the wind went nuts, and then by 3:00 AM, the skies had opened up, and we got a lovely lightning show to top off the pouring rain & hail. Got up and TRIED to make a run for it before the clay dirt road turned completely to soup. Sadly, a rental 2wd minivan had gotten out before us, and was stuck in the middle of the now 6" deep mud on a little hill. Some pushing from a few of us, along with throwing the tire chains out in front of the minivan managed to get them up to the top of the hill, where we could jump by them and finish our run for the pavement. After what seemed like miles of complete "pucker" driving to stay out of the ditch, with the Stability/Traction control on the new truck beeping and complaining for what seemed like half of that drive, we managed to get to the pavement without getting stuck and made a run for Hurricane and a warm, dry breakfast place.
Sadly, the only other weather we saw for the next 4 days was rain & snow. Drove back via Zion & Mt. Carmel Junction. Ended in a driving blizzard for a couple of hours in the "Dixie" hills up into Panguitch (So much for "spring"....). Had hoped to make a run for Fruita, beat the rain and get a couple of rides in there on the way back, but the rain followed us to Fruita and then all the way back home as it turns out.
The Gooseberry/Hurricane area lived up to it's reputation, and maybe a bit beyond. Great riding in a "compact and easily accessed area, and with very few riders. We saw ONE other rider on a 21 mile loop, and I think we only saw 15-20 other riders TOTAL for the 4 days, some from a LONG way off. Still has an "undiscovered" feel to the area. Bummed we got chased off by the rain, and could not get a little Fruita for dessert out of the trip, but mud is mud.
Truck mostly packed. Semi-luxury base camp in the back. Short work day tomorrow, and a couple of us are headed for Utah. Full week down in the Hurricane/Gooseberry area. Camping, riding, maybe a few beers in the evening. Been too long. A little Fruita hit on the way back??
Westbound tomorrow afternoon. Psyched is NOT even close to the mood. Maybe an update or 2 later in the week, but I do like to go totally "Off the Grid" out in the desert if I can, so one never knows......
Either way, there is some slickrock & dirt that is in need of shredding. I aim to meet that need.
