[freeridekid]

My dad and I are going to Moab for five days, getting there on the 2nd. I was wondering if anybody had any advice on what trails to ride, whether or not we should go on guided rides, and any other things to do. We are staying at the Gonzo Inn and we are both riding bikes with about 6.5 in. of travel front and rear with dual chainrings. I'm decent (ridden most everything at whistler), but my dad's kinda slow. He did make it down the silver mtn. dh course without falling though (he didn't do any of the jumps). He said I could ride a harder trail one day as long as I don't ride alone.

I would really appreciate any help, thanks.

 

[Wigga]

i hate you, lucky bastard

have fun tho

 

[MMike]

Call Simon. He knows it really well. He took me in 2001 and showed me around.......

 

[Lightninleana]

You definatly have to do porcupine, it's a 2 hour downhill with short climbs. There are a few kinda technical parts but if your dad doesn't want to do them he can walk them. You definatly need someone who knows the trail to ride with you. I would ask in the Chili Pepper bike shop, they are pretty nice there. I don't know what the guided tours are like but I don't think the trails are really marked so having someone to point you in the right direction would be good.

 

[Borneo]

Go to the Utah page on mtbr and ask the same question. Lots of info there. They were readlly helpful for my trip last spring.

The only thing a dual ring and 6.5 is good for down there is Porc Rim since you'll be pedaling up everything else. Coyote Shuttle will take you up. Leave the car down by the river and then ride back to it and hit Arches National Park for a cool hike after the ride. (BTW: most all Moab rides have some exposure and Porc Rim is one of those. So, think about that when you're railing along.
Moab Rim was awesome. There's some killer petroglyphs on the left wall as you get to the end of the valley. Just hike up along the ridge before it drops into the meadow and you'll find 'em. All over the place.
Amasa Back and taking "Jacksons" on the way bak for some drops etc. Though probably too burley for the pops.
A Sovereign singletrack trip is a must and can be tied into another short ride into that area.
I really liked Poison Spider/Portal but there are others that don't. Riding down Portal (yes, I walked the two spots...) was a real highlight. Puts a capitol "G" in Gnarly.
There's tons of info on the web if you Google key words (trail names) for your trip. INcluding lots of people out there who seem to haver lots of time to chronicle their trips for the world to see.
Lastly, you should be fine in spring. But, be careful of the heat. They lose people down there every year from heat stroke, etc. There was a particularily painful to read event last year where a father lost his daughter just a mile from the end of Porc Rim due to heat stroke.
So, be careful out there. And, have fun.

 

[boostindoubles]

hey, i think my friends and i are going to be back in moab this spring break as well. Ours is later in march though. We rode procupine rim a couple times and slickrock. My buddies bike broke on porcupine rim the second day of riding and we had to call it quits. We hiked arches the last day and it was a ton of fun. We camped on the colorado river, at the bottom of porcupine rim. Also worked it out with other campers to shuttle ourselves, because the paid shuttle guys cost out of our budget. Next time we go were going to try amasa back, and most definitly riding porcupine rim as many times as humanly possible in the time we have. that trail kicks feckin ass. We'll probably go to poison spider bike shop and use their token showers too.

I dont know about the restraunts, cause we ate groceries. But theres this dollar store near the far end of the main road that sells cheap candy. Oh, we did go to a mexican restraunt thats in an old dairy queen building. That place was good too.

have fun man.

 

[caputo1989]

Im going too!

 

[freeridekid]

thanks for the advice. i forgot to say it was APRIL 2nd. oh well

 

[Borneo]

April should be great. that's when we went last year. Nice temps during the day and a bit chilly at night.
Hit Miguel's Baja Grill on the strip. Awesome food. I didn't like the pizza place though some did.
Also, great service from off the beaten path at Rim Cyclery. High recommendations going there and everyone in our group was very impressed. Great service and pricing.

For your 5 day trip here's what I recommend:
Slickrock/and the warmup loop to get used to climbing straight up.
Soveriegn/Bartlett Wash both in one day. Best 1-2 punch there.
Amasa Back: out and back with a side trip farther out if you have time. Skip Jacksons on the way back. Too crazy for the dad.
Porc Rim Shuttle: Arches Nat Park in the after noon. Hike back to Dark Angel. Awesome!
Pick an easy one for the last day. Gemini is ok. Flat Pass out drive back is good.
Poison Spider up to the river and back is good if there's been some rain. Otherwise, it's sandy.

And, yes, the Mex place in the old Dairy Queen rocks. But, they don't even sell 3.5 there...

Enjoy!

 

[Mike Buell]

My favorite rides out there on med to long travel bikes are.
-#1Porcupine Rim
-#2Amasa Back, make sure to take a left up top right after the short downhill at the slick rock, left takes you to the view up top, strait will just get you lost out on the singletrack, everyone's made that mistake befor.
-Moab Rim, unfortunaly I think the stunts up top are gone.
-Chile Trails, off of slick rock, lots of fun different lines.
-Slick Rock if you've never done it. Clasic Moab ride, avoid doing it on the weekend though, cause its also the most popular/buisy moab ride.

I'm gonna be out there end of march again this year, if anyone one else is gonna be around, look for my crew, (orange rotecs) we'd be happy to show you around.