[mealsonwheels]

I'm thinking about taking off some time Thanksgiving weekend for a road trip to Bootleg and maybe St. George before I have to go to Vegas for work. I'm sure many of you have ridden out there. I'll have 3 1/2 days to ride, so what would you guys recommend? What trails in those two areas are must do? I'm looking for real technical riding.

 

[MikeD]

If you're in the St George area, go to Virgin/Springdale/Rockville/Zion area and check out Grafton Mesa (and 'show me the money') for a good techy DH shuttle..."Flying Monkey" and its brethen (the locals will have to show you) for seriously technical sh1t your pants riding (as in, "yes, I could easily die right now")...Little Creek and Gooseberry Mesa for technical (as in tons of fun, on any bike) XC riding.

Incredible riding at Brian Head, too, but not much on the techy side...more looooong, flowy stuff that can be shuttled.

PM "Darryl" (former SoCal'er, now returned to Utah) for detailed info and potential riding partners. (he's hurt, but can hook you up with the locals).

 

[mealsonwheels]

If you're in the St George area, go to Virgin/Springdale/Rockville/Zion area and check out Grafton Mesa (and 'show me the money') for a good techy DH shuttle..."Flying Monkey" and its brethen (the locals will have to show you) for seriously technical sh1t your pants riding (as in, "yes, I could easily die right now")...Little Creek and Gooseberry Mesa for technical (as in tons of fun, on any bike) XC riding.

Incredible riding at Brian Head, too, but not much on the techy side...more looooong, flowy stuff that can be shuttled.

PM "Darryl" (former SoCal'er, now returned to Utah) for detailed info and potential riding partners. (he's hurt, but can hook you up with the locals).

Thanks bro. Would you spend more time in St. George or Bootleg? I'll be there in early December, so it should be pretty nice and cool in both locations.

I'll PM Darryl for more info.

 

[MikeD]

Well, St George is kind of a hike from the riding near Zion...only 45 min or so as I recall, but not next door or anything. I've never ridden Bootleg, but I think I'm much more into the diversity (and length!) of riding that the Zion area offers. I'll hit bootleg, perhaps this winter, but my heart is more into the "epic" (sorry, can't think of a better word) type of riding and shuttling than the short Dh-racy kind.

Zion is also a mind-blowingly beautiful place, unlike Bootleg.

MD

 

[mealsonwheels]

Yeah, I'd prefer long technical trails in gorgeous settings over short trails in a desolate wasteland, but I figured Bootleg must be amazing to warrant the IMBA epic ride status. Pics of the dirt jumps look really fun too.

Maybe I'll give Bootleg a day or day and a half and spend the rest in Zion/St. George.

 

[MikeD]

Sounds like a plan. You should get some amazing riding in that way. What kind of bike are you bringing? I hear Bootleg pretty much requires an all-out DH bike...

 

[mealsonwheels]

I've got a Bullit with two rings. I take it on long XC rides and shuttle it for DH since I only have one bike. I'm sure I'll take a beating out there on some of the more difficult trails. Should be a fun 4 days of riding.

Did you just use a trail bike in Utah, or did you bring a XC and FR bike?

 

[MikeD]

Your Bullit should be perfect for Utah riding. Some guys out there ride bigger bikes (all the time), but they're strange. The bullit will feel at home on both the XC trails and the DH ones...my RFX with dual rings and a singlecrown Dorado was great for all-around riding there.

My first trip, I brought a trailbike and a DH bike, and it wasn't necessarily worth it.

MD

 

[mealsonwheels]

December is so far away. I'm ready to go to Utah now. Thanks for the help MD.

 

[MikeD]

We'll be out there over Halloween, best I can tell right now, if you want to hook up there early...

 

[mealsonwheels]

Thanks for the invite, but my vacation time for 04 is already allocated and I'm sandwiching the trip in December between biz travel. If you'd like to go back out in December let me know.

Have you been to Moab too? Worth the hype?

 

[MikeD]

I was supposed to go to Moab once, but it fell through, and instead, I ended up going to Zion. Haven't bothered to check out Moab since. I'd like to...to try out a 36-mile DH shuttle that looks insane which some Moab locals know...but I just haven't been able to make the trip.

Edit: Forgot to tell you...the Brian Head riding won't be accessible in Dec., unless you bring your skis/snowboard...

 

[mealsonwheels]

36 mile DH? That would be worth the drive across Utah.

Yeah, I figured Brian Head would be nice in December if I brought a snowboard.