On Wed I drove the short distance from Willow Springs to the Bar M TH to wait for Charlie & Teresa. Like clock work Charlie pulled up next to me. No, forgot, I drove up to Horse Thief XG to check out campsites. Only 1 campsite occupied. I picked 2 and paid for them then drove down to Bar M. Great to share time together. Charlie and Teresa are European and US travelers. We get to spend several days together riding, camping, and sharing stories.

On Wed we rode a loop of Bar M trails w/ Long Branch and Deadman’s included. Charlie is more skilled than I am; at times I followed his line and mimicked his effort which helped me ride. Beautiful day. Bar M trails are very good. I learned @ Chili Pepper that tourons shopping for a ride that they are sent here. The parking lot had maybe 30 vehicles, we shared the trails w/ very few riders. We rode the techy Deadmans and Long Branch.

At ride’s end I left for a shower in town. They have a shower in their truck camper. I made Horse Thief as a colorful red sunset was lighting up the sky. We chatted and laughed until late.

Thurs our plan was to ride the Mag 7 trails just up the road. Our dessert for finishing the ride was a traditional Thanksgiving dinner that Teresa prepared. I shuttled us to the start. We rode Bull Canyon, Little Canyon, great escape, completing on new Getaway trail. Another great challenging mixed slick rock trail. Again Charlie visually helped me. Drop dead gorgeous day.

We finished the single track then peddled a road climb back to van. We drove back to the camp ground. Shortly Teresa laid out a feast. It was a bring your own eating service. Scrumptious dinner.

Teresa fixed pumpkin pie that required whipped cream. They said they had never succeeded in making whipped cream at elevation. teresa’s meal was all scratch made, we had canned whipped cream as a back up. I broke out whipping cream and an egg beater. I shared the whirring task. I was last turner that succeeded in making whipped cream. Another late night of chatting.

Friday we chose Amasa Back for our ride as there are some new trails. First was my laundry in town. Clean clothes w/ 6 rides worth of wet clothes hanging up inside my van. We drove out Cane Creek rd to a motorized TH instead of driving a bit further up the road. We gear5ed up and headed out. At the heart propelled TH turned out to be plugged. many people were looking up towards a cliff face. We learned that a BASE jump would be happening. A jumper would step off the lip 389′ above the road. He would have 1 to 2 seconds free fall b4 he pulled the cord. The first chute out was the main canopy opening chute. When the main chute snapped open a loud pop was heard. We watched 3 jumpers successfully land on the road. Not that many people would be watching our ride. Amasa Back starts out as a jeep trail w/ a few tech features that we walked. Our route was out to Pothole Arch on a new official trail. Mixed ST w/ slick rock.

Then out on the slick rock swell:

We made the arch. Rockstacker is a new trail leading off the mesa. It is has several I will have careful climb downs where way more skilled riders rode. Serious consequences if a miscalculation is made. I didn’t take any pics. The trail intersected Jackson and a climb back to jeep trail. Previously C & T had ridden Jackson when it was an unofficial trail as a result was very sketchy. The trail is now a legal trail and much work has taken place. Hairy descent w/ lots of exposure above the CO river.

Back @ TH I split back to town for a shower. We ended up camping on Willow Springs rd. This old desert road used to be the entrance to Arches NP, writer Ed Abbey used to live off this road. T fed me leftovers. I made one of my dinners to share to exhibit my skills.

Sunday C & T split for a hike in Arches. I drove back down to Bar M for an easy ride. Parking lot had about 30 rigs. Great to see lots of riders riding their bikes. I just poked along learning handling skills.

Afterwards I drove back to town for a shower, propane, diesel, h2o groceries, and a chain. Plan is to return to Willow Springs then tomorrow meet up w/ C & T @ N end of Klondike for a ride.

I am planning on helping on trail work on Mon out here off Willow Springs then heading over to Hurricane.

My Dad’s health is having a tough go. I called him T-day AM to wish happiness and recovery. He was able to speak a thank you.

 

 

Where I park out on Willow Springs road on slick rock my living room window faces directly into sunrise. This AM the sky was cloudless. Just below freezing. Solar gain warms up my house.

Today my ride is from the N end of Klondike again. This time I will ride EKG out and Dino back. And park @ 1st lot to spare the van of the rough road to the TH right @ start of trails. EKG is a handful either way w/ twisting trail on the slick rock, either a painted dash line or logs or rocks placed as trail borders. I rode into the rising sun which limited how far ahead I could look to keep the sun out of my eyes. I had EKG to myself, however, @ the Dino intersection the morning riders from the S end showed up. No problem sharing. Ran into Beth again. Shock holds air making the rear end have some spring compression. Nice day, nice ride.

Today my Nikon D5100 camera is to arrive @ Chili Pepper. I drove back into town for a shower and to pick the camera up.

Charlie and Teresa will be here tomorrow.

Yesterday was a rest day w/ a list of tasks to accomplish. Propane, h2o, diesel, groceries, cabinet shop. I found a cabinet shop outside of town to install a set of new drawer slides. Charlie did the job in a fraction of the time it would have taken me plus no frustration. The slides are designed for a moving rig that prevent the drawer from opening.

I have had a killer headache for 24/7 for weeks. I made a DR appointment in Hurricane on Wed next week. tylenol won’t deaden the pain. When i ride I ignore it.

Quite a few mtn bikers around judging from bikes on rigs. Great to see quantity of riders riding and spending money in America.

I charged the camera battery and turned it on which is as far as I got tonight learning about it. I scored some AK47 which interferes w/ concentration and recall of complicated instructions.

Forecast continues w/ beautiful weather, no precip or cold. Hurricane is a few degrees warmer.

Sat I drove back to Chili Pepper to claim my bike after shock repair.

Headed out of town to Bar M trails again. Today is Saturday which should increase the riders. And it did, however, there were never so many that the numbers affected my ride. I started on Back 40 then rode Circle O backwards down to Rocking A, found Long Branch and Deadman’s Ridge. The trails ride well in either direction: What was a step up is now a roll down and vice versus.

The trails are works of art in their layout and build. I was able to ride almost everything as i continued to challenge myself. Wide handle bar and short stem. Track stand. Know that the brakes can hold me. My legs are stronger as I pedal up stuff instead of trying to spin. Look ahead to where I want to be. The suspension allows me to stay better connected to the rock. And a shock that holds pressure. Just enjoyable riding for 16 miles climbing1870′ in 2 1/2 hours.

Headed back into town to Aquatic Center for shower. 8 miles into town.

Camped off Willow Springs rd, same place. I can see and hear the truck traffic of US 191. OK place.

This AM was above frost on the windshield warm. Today I plan on riding some of Mag 7 trails up on Dead Horse plateau. 13 miles up canyon to Gemini bridges TH. I parked right off the highway 1.1 miles above Mag 7 TH. Beth knocked on my van. She and friends rode the shuttle to ride downhill back to Moab. My ride would take me part way on their route but I had to pedal back up. Another great ride. Challenging trails. Rode past Gemini Bridge arch:

Rode newly opened Getaway trail.

21 miles in 2hrs 57 mins climbing 2171′. The last 2 miles were climbing on a gravel resource extraction rd. I was tuckered out.

Mag 7 TH parking lot was plugged. Great to see so many riders out. But I saw just a few riders as we get spread out and on different trails.

Another round trip to town for a shower and groceries then back out to Willow Springs for the night.

Monday is a rest day.

My rides so far have been pretty technical requiring complete body involvement most notably are my shoulders and back. I like these trails. And more miles are being built. Moab is on the move.

Moab has a mix of outdoor recreation from mountain bikes, rock climbing, and river rafting (in season) to the motorized crowd. Many foreigners. City Market is the largest of 2 grocery stores where everybody mingles. Like 5 mtn bike shops.

I plan on staying here until after T-day. Charlie and Teresa from Eagle will be here. Tomas from Sedona might connect. It’s good.