Dusty Trails to Nowhere...

More rehab for the cracked ribs. Gus and I took a trip to..... can you guess? Moab? Monument Valley? Nope, just good ole Gateway Colorado, only 45 min from home. I did manage to stray into Utah for just a bit though.

Only in Utah can a state line sign be nothing more than a metal pole with words welded to it.

Some pictures of rocks. I really like taking pictures of rocks.

Gustifson was digging the day out. Sixty degrees and sunny, not bad for November.

I followed a road which turned into a jeep road which turned into an ATV trail which turned into a motorcycle trail which turned into a hiking trail. I got the truck as far as the motorcycle trail and Gus and I hoofed it from there. I was sure it was going to a mine or a stellar view, but we just hiked up to a dead end of scrub brush and cactus.

And then as I turned around to go back I got my reward. We had climbed high enough to see above the plateau and get a peek at the back side of the La Sal Mountains. It was worth it after all.

Rattle Snake Canyon

I've lived in GJ for three years and until today had never been to Rattle Snake Canyon, the highest concentration of arches out-side of Arches Nat. Park.

There is good reason why not a lot of folks go there. It's quite long and hard to get to. The jeep road in is perfect for weeding out the wanna-be's in Hummers.

The hike in takes a while also, its kind of a boring hike through Juniper scrub along a big escarpment of rock. Its the kind of trail that makes me want my bike, so I can cover it quickly.

But once you round the edge of the rock wall you enter another world, full of red rock and towering arches. And not a parking-lot in sight! Had Arches Nat Park been left like this place it would still be.... well, a REAL National Park, instead of a National Parking Lot.

Despite being a Tuesday I still met one couple on the trail and two guys were somewhere behind me. Lots of people these days, I guess I'm one of them too.

The above arch is the last one you come to on the trail. I was dreading the walk back and looking for a place to scale the walls and get up to the level above. Gustifson is a good climber but he isn't a spiderdog. If we could get up and through this arch it would save us about a 3 mile hike. It was about this time that the two guys caught up with us and, can you believe it, they had a rope!

I tied Gus's collar on really tight and I tugged on the rope while one of the other guys pushed. About that time Gus's collar came off and Gus lunged upward seemingly not to need our help at all. Apparently he is a spiderdog, or it was the guys thumb that was just too close to Gus's bum hole that made him jump up so fast. What ever happened is between Gus and that dude, but he made it up the vertical 4 ft slickrock wall.

Once on top we quickly found the upper trail and easily hiked back to our trucks with views like this of the Grand Valley to the East.

This was my first day of "rehab" since I bruised my ribs. It sure is hard work taking it easy!

LTM

Random Photo's from Trek Moab Tour

Trek group coming down "The Notch" on LPS trail.

Sunset from Sovereign Trail on Monday night.

View of Klondike Bluffs from Sovereign Trail.

Tim Walsh on Slick Rock Practice Loop.

Artsy (meaning out of focus shot I toyed with) shot of me on Slick Rock Trail.

Same

And more of the same.

Greg Luck in the aero posistion on Slick Rock trail.

Riding through the pot of gold. Slick Rock Trail.

Wet Slick Rock is about as cool as it gets.

Rain on the way to Moab.

Trek Fall Demo Tour--MOAB!

Greg and I arrived Sunday to scout some new trails, but the rain had arived first. When it rains in Moab that means SlickRock Trail is where you go.




Thanks as usual goes out to Greg, who makes me look far better than I really am. Check out more of his photo work and adventures at http://www.bikeabout.net/

Monday started with a quick run up to SlickRock with the Wisconsin crew of Trek Engineers plus Jill the inside rep. I think all were impressed with the fairly above average views and riding they encountered. After the SlickRock demo a much bigger group of us headed out to Sovereign Trail to ride some sweet Moab singletrack. I really enjoyed the pace and vibe of the group.



Day two weather was looking rough, but as of morning there was only some high altitude clouds on the peaks of the mtns and plenty of wind. Not bad for November. The ride was Lower Porcupine Singletrack (LPS) to Pocupine Rim Trail. Most of us shuttled up to LPS while others road the whole loop and met us in the middle of the trail.




The girls on this trip weren't bashfull about letting everybody know how much fun they were having.


It was about here in this picture time line that Lee Jones took a digger. Larry and I cleaned him up and put him back on his bike. Lee was a great sport for letting us take pictures and finshed the ride like a champ. Everyone should leave Moab with something to remember the ride. Lee's happened to be stitches.

The wind was strong and the lead group was WAY fast. Its tough to be the guide and to barely be able to keep up. The lead group hammered me all the way until the singletrack with Semi Pro Joe (a former Moabite) leading the charge from there. The Porky Singletrack was in great shape following the rain, tacky and washed of sand on most of the rock. It's so awesome to be in a train down this trail with nearly 10 guys in line at full speed. I came into The Wash near the end and there at the bottom was my nemisis, the chest high wall on the other side. The wall that I had never cleaned, the only move that has left Porky uncleaned by me. But Tuesday the 4th was my day, election day and the day I finally truly cleaned The Wash. Not only that, Kyle, also on a Remedy, followed me right up it and we just kept on truckin. Thanks to all who rode and to all the Trek folks that made my bike a reality. It was my first run down Porky on my Remedy and no bike I have ridden has ever preformed so well. Porky is my measureing stick and the Remedy is hands down the best All-Mountain bike made. Viva La Remedy!

A lot of folks had to leave early on Wednesday, but a smaller group of us made it out for a chilly Amasaback ride. This is what you missed if you had to leave early.

It was just above this point on the trail that I got a little out of control on a high speed jump. I was way crooked in the air and doing an un-intentional superman seat grab, but the only grabbing was being done with my chest....on the seat! I heard a pop and skidded to a stop on the rock with the wind punched out of me and a serious pain in the ribs. I made my typical moan and groan sounds and painfully got up and finished the ride. A big thanks to the guys who held back on the pavement into town and paced me in. I needed the help.

Thanks to Tim Walsh and Greg Luck for helping me guide everybody. Thanks to Dax and Josh for bringing out so many Trek and Gary Fisher bikes for everyone to try. Big thanks to Larry and Garby, the Colorado and Utah Trek Reps for putting on the event and keeping us fed and having fun. A big YEEEHAAAA for next year! Ouch, that hurts my ribs!