It’s on your dinner plate. Cows ate it all up, a few people made money off it while the rest of the public pays for damage in terms of environmental degradation. Gone are the wild animals that lived on the living desert, the food pyramid is missing parts. But the cows paid for desert death with their lives, the perpetrators remain free. What remains now are the plants the cows didn’t eat which are prolly invasive weeds. Change is only noticeable after you have experienced “it” for the first time. Kinda like the first hit of crack, the next hit ain’t the same. I have passing first hit of crack experience but I have many years of Moab desert. Where will the ranchers graze their cows next season, or was the years of drought a decision point? If you are experiencing Moab for the first time it’s what you saw. I was here last spring out at N Klondike watching cows strip whatever nutritious greens they could bite. I checked bushes out there that I thought were sage but on closer exam I saw thorns, the cows ate just short of the thorns. Past travels will prolly put me back here in April to view what spring growth appears. It just ain’t right.

But the riding is well, Moab style. I will now admit that of all the places I have ridden, Moab is tops. I can say that because of the trails and also I am not here in the heat which would lower the score. I enter my ride data in a spread sheet, out of curiosity I asked Excel to show me UT data. I have camped at Moab for 1196 nights, I have ridden 1673 rides in Utah for 5562 miles. I was not able to easily break out ride specific data for Moab. First visit here was back in 1992 car camping, big gap till next return of like 2003. The above data is from the start of my odyssey. So, yes, I can attest to change here. There  are more new trails and still only 1 City market. Today I learned there were 4 laundromats, today there is only 1. Six bikes later change.

Moving back to safer info. I anchored out past Horsethief for several nights and rode 2 days from there. After resting Monday i tackled a big one, Bull canyon, park of the Mag 7 route. Bull is a popular coaster geek ride. I pedaled from anchor down a dusty BLM road to intersection of Lasso which at 1 end connects with Chisholm which I rode to its end at Mustang on the other side of the highway. A bit of Mustang to Get Away which is the coaster trail for them and also climbing for my return. Jump on Bull down to Arth’s corner to start of Get Away for the climb return and repeating earlier trails. Just another beautiful fall day with sharing trails with prolly fewer than 12 riders. and no clashes with coasters. Bull drops with many rock drops etc. The bike and me enjoyed the trail, each earning high marks.

My ride was 22.3 miles but only climbed 1529′. As seen above up here at Navajo Rocks the topography appears as a large plateau. Elevation change are small dips. Lots of distance between tech challenges.

Yesterday I again rode from my anchor spot over to Rodeo which stays up high close to my camp elevation of 5674′ 15.3 miles climbing 889′.

I sure am enjoying the prowess of the Rail. I have been heeding advice of pedaling up the step ups. The l-9 Hydra .52 degrees of engagement hub is an enabler for completing the moves.

The anchor spot is out of ear shot of highway noise. Quiet dead desert.

Yesterday I drove back to town for some resupply then drove up to Willow Springs rd. I was first vehicle at first turn out where I choose to stay. Unfortunately it is maybe 300 yards away from busy US 191. A railroad runs on the other side of the highway that becomes throbbing noise when the UMTRA train runs. However, as the evening grows the traffic slackens reducing noise and the van walls complete the quiet.

Today is a full blown city day doing laundry and filling propane. This after I have an appointment with Reid to do preventative maintenance on my Murphy bed van interface. I stopped at Verizon store to seek advice on the health of my phone. They said that it was wearing out as the LCD is fading. I ordered a replacement to arrive tomorrow, next is the data transfer that I fear I could lose data. My right knee is acting up again such that what I have been shown to help is not curing, I googled PT in Moab then picked the clinic that had Rehab in its name. I see them on next Thurs.

Tomorrow I plan on returning to N Klondike for several more days of riding.

Excel spreadsheet data, as of Nov 1, 2021, I have ridden 2717 rides for 39,525 miles. 13 plus years.

 

way behind on sharing adventures etc.

How did I get here? Thursday started with Fruita laundromat for clean clothes then provisioning for several days out at N Klondike N of Moab. Filled water for sink and drinking and propane. Coffee beans from Best slope roaster in Fruita. Sufficiently supplied I entered I 70 heading west towards Moab, driving at speeds above my usual sawder(sp), van behaved well. Arrived at exit for Moab then headed down US 191. The BLM brown background and white lettering for N Klondike trails is small, knowing where the dirt road leaving the pavement  makes finding the turn easier. The road was improved several years ago in stages, the first was to the Agate TH then several years later all the way to the main TH. Prior to the road improvement the road was rough and sometimes muddy which kept out the big RVs, rigs out there were mostly mtn bikers. Since then more big RVs have taken over many of the anchor spots. This time a sign was posted to camp in campground. Huh? As I drove in the newly developed campground was on the left side of the road with many rigs still parked on the right side for wherever an open spot was available. I drove all the way to the main TH seeking an open spot. Where I had stayed previously had been incorporated into the XG which has several CXT outhouses and graveled sites for $20 per night. Even the legacy outhouse at the TH has been replaced by a CXT which are no longer made in Spokane. I chose last remaining large opening with just a schooly and a van, I parked back at the last tracks going in, I kept my distance. No cows grazing, the desert has been severely damaged by grazing this spring. Some green grass patches are present but what remains are the plants they do not eat. I checked the bushes that I thought were sage until I more closely examined one to see thorns which sage does not grow. The cows had eaten the leaves they could lip off and not bite thorns. Public lands paid for by all of us but abused for profit by few leaving the public to pay for the economic gain of a few.

I do not know the name of the plant.

I arrived early enough for a less strenuous ride starting on the easier trails on the west side of the area. Learning handling prowess of rail. I encountered a man and woman on ebikes, both were overweight and certainly had little fitness. Previous Trailforks research showed ebikes were not allowed. I stewed on my response. I finally told them their bikes were not allowed then I rode away, I did not look back to see their response. I checked the kiosk at the TH for no ebikes signs, I also checked the trail markers seeing none. Seems status might have changed. More research needed. I returned on Dino learning about bike and my skills. this bike is more capable as were my skills. 12.2 miles climbing only 472′ in 1 hr 26 mins. Peaceful night.

On Friday winds picked up, gusty. I rode out Dino in opposite direction from yesterday which changes the features. I worked on pedaling over those features versus past practice of coasting onto it and hoping momentum would carry me over. Getting much better. Today was a bigger hump as I climbed up Baby Steps which is a mix of climbing, traversing, loosing elevation, then gaining it back. I intended to ride Alaska which is exposed but  the wind was too strong to enjoy it. I descended Mega Steps. 10.2 miles climbing 748 in 1 hr 31 mins.

Back at my van another van was parked about 30′ away, way too close when there was plenty of space for separation. Shit, i was pissed. Shortly a car with a bike on the back arrived and parked between me and that van, now in a parking lot. I was even more pissed at intrusions. Then a pickup truck pulled in and headed right at me. My hackles were starting to stand up. WTF? People don’t want space? Guy rolled down window. Didn’t recognize the driver at first but he knew me. Memory recall kicked in it was Brian whom I met last year here, he ran into me in Sedona also. He parked further away than the 2 other rigs. I shared my rant about newer people to this camping crowding in. Later those rigs left leaving just the 2 of us. He said others from his gang would be joining him. OK because I knew him I was acceptable to his proximity. Later his friend Mark arrived.

On Sat those 2 and me rode trails to get us to Alaska. At an intersection we stopped for a blow and 2 riders arrived each on ebikes. I had a conversation with the French speaking riders informing they were not allowed. Guy showed my a trailforks app for Moab which listed ebikes. It appeared to be a global collection of all activities at Moab. I looked up in TF the trail we were on which still shows no ebikes. Again there were no longer any signs prohibiting them. Dunno, perhaps status has been changed on the ground but not electronic. we continued. We enjoyed calm wind and beautiful fall weather for our ride of 13 miles pedaling for 1 hr 53 mins climbing 1037′.

Today there were more riders out and many of them were unskilled. How I tell is by looking at their hands on the handlebar and where their fingers are. Newer riders seem to use index and middle finger on the brake lever. Disc brakes are powerful enough for just the index finger for braking. I caught up with a young woman who was not skilled, I coached her on brake and hands, she did not know which lever worked which brake. I assured her my coaching was for her safety. I pedaled away never seeing her if she used her brakes correctly.

Back at the anchor spot Don, another of Brian’s group arrived. The 3 of them drove into town, I remained inside my warm van reading Nobody’s Fool. They returned about 10 PM and invited me over to their campfire. They were waiting for last buddy Matt to arrive. I went to bed before he arrived.

Sunday morn I woke before them. Today was my day to drive down to Moab for reprovisioning for my next stay up at Navajo Rocks. It’s always interesting to see the changes since last visit. Today the highway work was completed which eliminated the bottleneck and just sped the traffic into Moab. Gearheads should be in their new location on the newly built hotel on ground floor. The store is a source of free filtered water that I needed. I hoped they would still offer that water. Yep, new spiffy store and the water station was right inside their electric opening door. I said hello to one staff member we have known of each other for years. Then shopped City market for groceries. Big store but still no aged Gouda cheese that I like. Visited Back of Beyond bookstore seeing same guy who we greeted each other. I was needing Bob’s red mill cornmeal for my corn bread, City Market shelf was empty. I shopped the health food store finding none or the Happy Camper bread, gluten and rice free, that i eat. Nada. I visited Chile Pepper bike shop I use and asked about ebikes. I was given a pamphlet created by the BLM: ebikes are allowed on a small set of trails, none are the present heart propelled trails. I called that to the staff, one gathered info to give to the trail builders. Trailforks is current to ebikes.

Plan today is to join Brian’s group on a ride they were going to plan. Text message said meet at Middle Earth up at Navajo Rocks. I arrived first with them just behind me. Brian figured the route. From TH we took Ramblin to its end at lower TH then crossed the road climbing Rocky Top to intersection of 7Up climbing up to Whirlwind to Mustang arriving at start of Chisholm riding that to Big Lonely of the Navajo Rocks loop back to empty Middle Earth TH. His gang are decades younger than me and they pedaled that way. This was going to be a big ride and we were starting after noon, darkness could be a factor. Sunday, Halloween, brought out riders in some kind of costumes. We ran into a bunch on 7 UP. Brian’s gang stayed away from the group but not me. I walked over and made a comment about a woman’s costume which was a thread I puled to invite myself to their group. I learned they were from Driggs, the guy worked at Peaked Sports. I told of my picture from Bike Mag in their restrooms. He drew a blank but then recall hit and we connected. Brian’s gang paused listening to conversations till they had their fill and expressed need to push on. We were late in the afternoon. We rode Chisholm which was the sought after trail. Their speed increased beyond my performance. Shadows were lengthening.

We were about 10mins from the finish when my left quad started cramping. Sun sinking as was time of day. I planned to drive up to Horsethief are for the night and I needed to get going. I bid adieu and headed out. i score the spot I wanted. I was starved but it was too late to fix a dinner so I just grazed on what I found, not near enough calories to replenish the 1,702 cals i burned on the 25.7 miles climbing 1975′ in 3 hrs 28 mins. My average bpm was 128, my threshold, the ride was a hammer for me.

Sometimes after rides muscles in my legs will cramp. If I load my legs wrong ferocious cramps can set in. I move very gingerly and carefully to be gentle. Most times the cramps set in after I have fallen asleep in bed. Last night both legs cramped up after I was asleep. Slipping out from under the covers to stretch is difficult as I need to bend my legs which exacerbates the cramps. My resolution is a big glob of mustard from a jar which is inside he fridge. I squirt a glob in my hand licking it up then waiting for the cramps to relax. Mustard has vinegar that turns off the nerves causing cramps. I work my body pretty hard. Didn’t sleep deeply last night.

Today, Monday, is a rest day here, not moving from spot, maybe not even going for a walk. Rode 4 days in a row.

My rides here have below 100′ elevation gain per linear mile, they are pitiful compared to other rides. Yesterday’s 25 mile ride was only 77’/ mile. The trails here require more tech skills per mile. Average speed is about the same as elsewhere, in the upper 6s. I like these trails.