SEDONA RIDING DAY

May 21:
I took the drive back down to Sedona, but this time took I17 all the way down so i wouldn't waste time navigating through the twisties of Oak Creek Canyon Rd. I parked in the parking lot of Absolute Bikes, and pedaled up the hill to the trailhead. I took off on the Bell Rock pathway, and hooked up with Courthouse Towers Loop. This was a sweet singletrack that had some great flowing stuff and some slightly techincal rock gardens and small uphills- nothing like in Red Canyon or Moab though.
I took a couple other spurs that ran off this trail as well, such as Big Park Loop.

I rode up the BRP a bit, and took some shots of Bell Rock, aptly named for its resemblance to a large bell...I guess.

As I finished up, I came upon a sweet downhill section of trail that headed off of Courthouse Towers Loop and joined up with BRP at the trailhead. This track was quick and had about 6 whoops that you could catch some nice air off of. It traversed a creek bed onto some slickrock near the end, and dumped back out on the main trail again. I like this portion of it so much, I rode the Courthouse Towers Loop again just to hit this portion again. I managed to get some good air off of these jumps, and finished up this ride with a huge smile on my face. I give Sedona another HUGE thumbs up for some sweet singletrack and some fun riding.

I'd have to say that Sedona and Red Canyon had some of the best MTB'ing I have experienced on this trip so far. Moab seems more to me for the ATV crowd, and although I didn't experience Slickrock to the fullest, I still don't think it would blow up my skirt like the aforementioned locales.

I drove back through Oak Creek Canyon on the way back to the hotel. I would be back here as well one day. As I headed back into Flagstaff the rain started to fall, and didn't let up well into the next day, when I left Flagstaff to begin my journey home. The timing could not have been any better- I got to ride all the days I wanted to (except in Moab), and I had sunny weather every day. I guess the rain was just a way to usher in my desire to leave and head home, although I could have easily spent more time in Sedona. Ah well, there will be other vacations...

PAGE,AZ TO SEDONA/FLAGSTAFF AZ

May 20th:
I left Page early and drove down US89 toward Flagstaff. I figured I would be arriving too early to check into my hotel, so I decided to just head down into Sedona to check out the town and the riding locations for the next day. I jumped onto I17 once in Flag, but I heard about taking a side road down Oak Creek Canyon to get into Sedona proper. Immediately, I was in some nice, rolling hills with pine trees surrounding me. The road became a canyon road, taking a series of switchbacks down the sides of some mountains to drop down into Oak Creek Canyon. This area reminded me of North Carolina, with aspens and other green foliage covering the roadway overhead, interspersed with pines and quaint little houses. The roadway was tight and narrow, and passed through Slide Rock State Park, which is a popular section of river where the rock has been so smoothed out by the river it is technically a "natural waterslide".
I arrived in Sedona, which was heavily under road construction. Sedona is a very nice little town with a Beverly Hills style flair. There are uppity restaurants and nice homes scattered off the main drag. In between it all are tarot card readers, "vortex" seeking and holistic health places. Not my bag, all that new age stuff.
I ventured out of Sedona and into the town of Oak Creek, just south of Sedona. It is in this area I stopped at Absolute Bikes, which was a highly recommended shop that could point me in the right direction for my riding days. Across the street is the famous "Bike and Bean" shop, that not only caters to MTB'ers, but also serves up a nice cup of Joe if you need the energy boost.
I determined that right across the street from Bike and Bean and up the road from Absolute Bikes, there was a trailhead that serves as the jumping off spot for a lot of great singletrack in the area. The main trail is the BELL ROCK TRAILWAY. It's shared by both equestrians and hikers on most of the portions. I bought a book at Absolute on some of the trails for some hotel reading, and headed off to the hotel and Flagstaff.

I was pleasantly impressed with Sedona. It's an absolutely beautiful community, with some amazing scenery. It had a certain atmosphere about it, one which made me feel like I could see myself living here. Of course, it's in stark contrast to my other retirement option, Page. I'll have to do more research on cost of living and climate. I am sure Sedona will endure significantly colder winters, but it sure was comfortable temperature wise for May.

I headed back into Flag, and checked into my hotel, which was on old Route 66. There were a lot of old neon signed hotels in the area that had remained no doubt in operation since Route 66's heyday.

I lugged all my gear upstairs (this is getting old-why the fuck do I always get stuck on the second floor???!), and researched dinner places. I settled on the Beaver Street Brewery, which is a local microbrewery in the heart of Flagstaff's college district. After a nice shower that I was in desparate need of, I headed off to the brewery.

This place is pretty cool, if you're in Flag it's a must eat at. They have pool tables and a full bar with a lot of cool beers and shooters. I tried two of the lighter beers and must say they were outstanding...and the alcohol content was perfect too!

After finishing up a nice, thick burger, I was off to the movies. Yeah, I know. But what else is there to do when you're alone and in Flagstaff? I went to go see the new Star Trek movie. It was actually pretty darn good.

PAGE-LAKE POWELL BEACH DAY!

May 19th:
Beach Day!! Wait a minute you say...beach? In the middle of the desert?? Hell yeah. At the far west side of the lake, and only about 8 minutes from my campsite, is Lone Rock beach. You go down some sand dunes and emerge on a rocky and sandy expanse of beach that is one of the only beaches in the area you can access without a boat. The rest of the areas on Lake Powell are surrounded by high cliffs, which make it impossible to access the water below them unless you are an experienced rock climber.
The day was slightly overcast, and the wind the night before was brutal. But it cleared up nicely, and I got in a good swim in the cool lake water and got some much needed sun- the farmer's tan I was sporting was not cutting it anymore.
This was to be my last day at Lake Powell, so I celebrated by trying out some of the local cuisine- at a place that was highly recommended by the locals. Supposedly it was authentic mexican cuisine at a place called Fiesta Mexicana. The food was average, the salsa was good, and the Dos Equis was refreshing. I honestly have had better authentic mexican food in Florida.
I have to say that my visit to Page has left me wondering if I really do want to retire out here. It was dry and dusty, and the only thing that really holds any charm in this area is the lake itself. Without a houseboat or a boat and jetskis, Page offers up very little. There is no entertainment to speak of, no movie theaters, mo malls, no Verizon Wireless centers (ha!). The housing is odd as well- there are some beautiful homes with incredible lake views, but around the area are some mobile homes and cheap looking homes. I have 15 years to retirement, and a lot can change, but I don't see this area expanding any more than it is now.
I went for a sunset bike ride down by the State Line boat launch for one last look at the lake. I WILL be back in a year or so to take a boating trip out here.
A cloudy night, and again no stars to see. I turned in early.

PAGE-ANTELOPE CANYON

May 18th:
I woke up extremely early due to the heat that was permeating my tent-the sun was in full force by 7am, and I was baked.
I had set up a trip to Antelope Canyon this morning, at 11:30. I headed over to my car and tried to charge my cell phone...nothing. I plugged in the DC adapter and the phone would do NOTHING. As I pulled out the adapter from my phone, the male end fell apart..and I noticed that the charging port in the phone itself was loose and was pushed way into the phone. Shit. I had no phone. Not only that, I had no service on my laptop at all, since this area is basically in the middle of nowhere. I headed out into Page and sat in the Wal Mart parking lot to find out where the nearest Verizon wireless center was. I NEEDED A STINKIN PHONE! The closest one? In Flagstaff. About a 1.5-2 hour drive each way from Page. Well, that's it then. As soon as I'm done with my tour, I'm going to Flagstaff.


I met up at Antelope Canyon tours headquarters, and loaded up on a large Chevy 4x4 with a sitting area in back. Everyone on my tour truck-from France. They didn't speak a lick of english. To top that off, two of 'em were also deaf. Fun fun fun!
I forgot all about that on the ride out to the canyon. What a hoot! We snaked through town then out onto the Navajo Indian reservation and into a dry creek bed that leads up to the canyon entrance. There are two entrances, the upper and lower Antelope Canyon; we were headed to the upper for today. Although more crowded than the lower canyon, the upper has some better sunbeams and scenery, allegedly. The creek bed ride was a blast- poor traction and high speed=fishtailing 4x4 and dust! Good stuff.

We arrived at the entrance to the canyon in about 20 minutes. There were a lot of other tours there also, and it was crowded inside the tight canyon. But, regardless of this, the canyon is amazing. During certain times of the day, the sun filters through the top portion of the canyon and shines down in shafts of light to the sandy floor. Words don't do this justice, you have to see the pictures. We traversed the whole canyon, and then emerged on the other end, which is another creek bed where the water flows down into the canyon we just emerged from. When the rains are heavy, this canyon can flood and pretty much kill anyone who is inside. The water level can reach over 20 feet overhead in some spots.
After spending an hour and a half at the canyon, we headed back to the jumping off spot. I tipped the driver, and thanked her for a good tour.
I then drove out to Flag and picked up a new phone and charger, and then drove alllll the way back. Fun. NOT.
This night, the wind picked up considerably. A large dust cloud loomed on the horizion and blocked out Navajo Mountain. It was gonna be a windy, dry, and dusty night!

May 17th:
Well, my fun time in Bryce/Red Canyon is finally over. This was definitely a destination I would not hesitate to return to again. I'd probably stay in the same area next time, since it is a lot cheaper to stay in Panguitch as opposed to anywhere near Bryce like by Ruby's Inn area. The only thing you don't have ANYWHERE nearby (except maybe in Green River) are convenience features and restaurants.
I packed up early and struck out to my next destination, Page, Arizona. Page is the town that is basically the gateway for Lake Powell. I have a campsite set up at Wahweap Campgrounds, which is inside the Glen Canyon/ Lake Powell recreation area, right by the lake itself, and near the major marinas that provide services to the lake visitors in this area.
The drive out to this area is pretty much unremarkable. There are some nice meadows and some canyons that you descend into, but for the most part, Utah 89 is pretty boring and plain.

I arrived into the area in the early afternoon, where I caught my first glimpse of Lake Powell, just outside the town of Big Water, Utah and near the Arizona border. The lake is definitely an oddity- the arid desert in this area is so dusty and plain- then you see sapphire blue water stretching for miles... in the middle of the lake are various buttes and outcroppings of all shapes and sizes, with high cliffs around all sides of the lake, except in the Wahweap area. I can best describe it as Monument Valley filled with water. As you venture further into the lake itself, the scenery changes to more like the Grand Canyon filled with water...as the sheer walls soar hundreds of feet above you on either side.
On this trip, I will not be actually venturing out into the lake- something I wish I had the funds to do. Renting a boat for a mere three days out here can run $500 plus a $500 deposit- I'd need a minimum of a grand to just get the lake transportation. I plan on doing this though, since a three day rental can take me far up into the lake, close to the Escalante River arm, and allow me ample time to explore slot canyons and camp out. I'll be doing this in the next couple years for sure!
I set up my camp and drove around the area, checking out the Greenhaven and Lake Powell view estates homes- since I was entertaining the idea of retiring in this community (more on that later!).
I drove to Horseshoe Bend overlook, which lies just south of Page off US 89. I have seen many pictures of this area, and had always wanted to visit it in person. You take a short ¼ mile hike (seems longer, since the soft beach-like sand on the trail makes for slow going).
At the end of the trail, you get to see an amazing sight- a gooseneck bend in the Colorado River as it ventures on its way down to the Grand Canyon-if you saw the movie “Jumper”, with Samuel Jackson, you have seen this place- at the end of the film when Jackson gets stranded, he is in a cave that is located on the outcropped rock cliff that is the gooseneck itself. Sorry, there's no cave over there!
I took some nice pictures out at the overlook and stood as close as I dared by the edge. You have no idea how far down it goes, until you see some boats moving up the river down there...they are barely visible!!

I headed back to camp, lit a fire and enjoyed the sunset. I later extinguished the fire and looked at the stars- absolutely amazing! The area near Lake Powell is considered a “dark sky” community, meaning they prohibit lit signs and streetlights so you can truly enjoy the night sky. You can actually see the bands of stars that comprises the Milky Way as you look closely- something you never see out in Florida.

RED CANYON AND BRYCE CANYON (still!)

May 16th:
The hotel in Panuitch was pleasantly roomy and very quiet- I basically had the whole back section all to myself. The previous evening after a much needed shower and the only fast food in town, Subway, I crashed.


I headed back out to Thunder Mountain trail and parked at the visitor's center which is just north of where the trail emerges after the downhill bomb.
I pedaled the agonizingly long uphill back to the Coyote Hollow trailhead, and rode the whole thing...again. Just as enjoyable the second time. I will definitely remember this ride and keep it on my agenda of things to do when I return out west. In fact, I may skip Moab all together and come directly here.

I went back to the hotel and donned my hiking boots (I had to buy a new set of Hi Tecs since my Nike ACG's finally took a shit) and headed out to Bryce Canyon. I wanted to get my $25 admission's worth out of that place! I intended to hike the Navajo Loop Trail which descends to the bottom of the canyon itself.
The trailhead begins at the Sunset Point parking lot area, and after a series of dusty switchbacks, reaches the bottom of the canyon for some awesome views from an otherwise not often visited portion of the park.
Although Bryce Canyon is awe inspiring, I honestly felt I got more visual pleasure out of riding in Red Canyon. You get up close and personal to the hoodoos there, and although they are not as mammoth as the ones in Bryce proper, they are still awesome.
I snapped a few shots, and then cranked up the switchbacks on the other side of the loop back up to the trailhead- MAJOR CARDIO workout!! Between the elevation changes and the steep incline, I was completely destroyed by the time I got to the top. Either way, I still had a huge smile on my face.

RED CANYON-THUNDER MOUNTAIN!!

May 15th:
My sleep was fitful-the damn air mattress deflated halfway through the night, and it was COLD. The temp (I found out later) plummeted to below freezing last night, and I was still chilled to the bone. Nothing like a good ride to warm up my bones. I headed to the Red Canyon area, which is outside the gates of Bryce Canyon, and down Utah 12, just before the junction on US89. I checked in at the information center first, got a trail map, then headed up to the Coyote Hollow trailhead. I heard from Don Rissling, a friend who had ridden this trail and recommended it highly, that it was best to start the trail from this end, rather than at the bottom of Red Canyon at the Thunder Mountain trailhead itself. I would soon find out why this was the case.

The trail in the beginning was very much what I expected: some brief climbs, followed by downhills with a hairpin at the end. Typical and fun, but nothing spectacular yet. The trail was a nice flowing singletrack, and weaved through pines and low-lying scrub. The elevation gains you made were immediately cancelled out by some nice downhills. I only ran into one other person at the Coyote Hollow trailhead, a female who I later identified as Lynne. Lynne started out on the trail way ahead of me, and managed to stay out ahead until I met up with her in the Red Canyon portion- the most scenic areas. Here, the trail begins to wind through red sand with cliffs and “hoodoos” all around...”hoodoos” are the bizarre totemistic rock formations made through millions of years of erosion of salt and sandstone that originally formed them. Some parts of the trails meandered along steep cliffs and “spines”, with dropoffs on both sides. All with fantastic views of the canyon and beyond. I met up with Lynne at the top of one of the hills and engaged in friendly banter with her. Come to find out she was from West Palm Beach!! Of all the places-talk about a small world. After discussions of various riding locations near and far, and events she participated in, we decided to begin the final descent into Red Canyon and the ending point. The trail became intense- steep and technical drops with rock gardens, hairpins and switchbacks. I lost Lynne somewhere, and kept going...man, what a fun ride. I finally reached a marker advising the trailhead was 1.3 miles ahead. At first, the trail began a gradual slope, and I picked up speed. The slope continued, and pretty soon I was tearing through some of the sweetest singletrack I had ever been on- no effort required, and all DOWNHILL. Wow. I finished up and I had a huge smile on my face. That alone, was worth the price of admission. I sat at the base of the trail, and heard Lynne coming down. She too, exclaimed how enjoyable that run was, and then discussed the fact that I now had a 4.5 mile ride UPHILL back to where my truck was parked at the top of the hill. Lynne came through on the shuttle when the bozos at Porcupine Shuttle didn't- she gave me a ride to my truck in her Honda Pilot. What an awesome person. We discussed meeting up for a buffet lunch at Ruby's Inn, which we did, and I basically got an $11 shuttle ride from Lynne once I paid for her lunch. Thanks Lynne!!

I will be back tomorrow- this was a truly incredible ride that lived up to the hype. I didn't feel the pedal bite on the back of my leg until later...but now I was headed back to camp to pack up- I booked a hotel in Panguitch, Utah for the next couple nights to keep warm and get some needed rest!

MOAB TO BRYCE CANYON, UT

May 14th:
I woke up dusty but well-rested. The wind was blowing pretty good today, pelting me with sand and getting into everything- my cameras, my laptop, and my ass crack. Sand can quickly destroy electronics, so I cleaned everything and packed it away securely in my truck. There would be no video and pics today. I loaded my bike in the truck and headed off to the Slickrock bike trail. This world-famous trail was on my “must ride” list. I have to admit, on the way there I was not sure how much gas I had in my tank (bodywise, not vehicle wise). Amasa Back the other day had pretty much destroyed my legs and my endurance. I got to the trail and knew it was not going to be a good day. The blowing sand got into my eyes, nose and mouth-and this was just on the practice trail. I was about 20 minutes into the ride when I realized this was not a good day, and I pedaled back to the truck and then drove back to camp.
Now I was stuck with a dilemma. I had a whole day, I had seen the major sights in Moab, and I was frustrated at the lousy campsite and now the blowing sand. I decided to pack up a day early and head toward Bryce/Red Canyon. Since I had not yet made any camping arrangements yet, I decided this was a good time to flex my schedule a bit. Besides, I had not seen Bryce Canyon in over 25 years, when I came out to the area for vacation with my folks.
I left sandy Moab somewhat disappointed: the bike store let me down with the shuttle, the riding was fair, and I honestly liked the trails in Fruita better, and the city itself was so over-commercialized and crowded it was pretty depressing. I had eaten at an average steak place the night before after I rode Amasa Back, and that and the view from the top of the Back were pretty much the highlights of my visit here. Although hiking up Delicate Arch and visiting Canyonlands ranked pretty high, I was more interested in getting some great singletrack riding in. And from what I had heard from a buddy of mine, THUNDER MOUNTAIN in Red Canyon was the place for that.
I headed north out of Moab and then west, hooking up with Utah Scenic Byway 12 to travel into Bryce Canyon. Let me tell you, this drive picked up my spirits. It was truly an amazing roadway. It starts off tame enough in some boring desert, and then starts climbing in elevation to close to 9000 feet through a mountain pass with snow and pines. I got out of the truck at the top of one such pass, and took some pics-the air temp was easily in the 60's. Kind of a nice relief from the hot and dusty conditions I experienced not 2 hours before. The road then snakes through a canyon, and then along a ridge...with incredible drop-offs on both sides, and then weaves through some rocky canyon walls before emerging near Bryce. All in all a fantastic trip.

I pulled into Bryce Canyon proper in the mid-afternoon, and after paying the exorbitant $25 entrance fee, scouted for a campsite. Now, up until now my “camping” had been in overcrowded, anything-but-nature type sites clogged with RV's, ATV's, and roadway traffic. As I pulled into the Sunset Campground, I realized this was the camping I had missed, and the stuff I hadn't done since I lived in California and visited/camped in Yosemite and Mammoth Mountain.
The site was tucked in the back, on a loop full of pine trees and very few people. I got out of the truck and noticed something right away....silence. The sound the wind makes as it blows through pine trees is very distinctive and relaxing, and this was perfect. After setting up camp, I took a short hike and took pictures of Bryce Canyon at sunset, and then went back to camp and settled in for a nice, quiet night. THUNDER MOUNTAIN tomorrow!!!

MOAB RIDING DAY-AMASA BACK

May 13th. I got up early and hopped on my bike to ride up Main St. in Moab to Poison Spider bikes. I got there at 9:00 (half an hour before the scheduled departure time) and waited for the Porcupine Shuttle.
The shuttle arrives, and we soon realize I am the only one on this shuttle. As a result, the driver tells me he is cancelling the run! He says that he is taking some of his buddies up in the shuttle free of charge (his buddies appear a short time later), and that unless they want to pay to offset the cost of me traveling alone, he is going to charge me $80 to get a lift! Are you fucking kidding me?? So of course, he asks his friends, and do you really think those cheap pricks are going to pay $20 when they can go for free?? Ha ha ha...very funny. They of course refuse, and he takes them up the hill for free. So, Porcupine Shuttle can kiss my ass.
I decide to strike out on my own and ride Amasa Back, which is outside of town off Kane Creek Rd. A few locals told me it's an awesome ride, and that it is easily accessible from Main St.
So I strike out and ride the 4.5 miles from town and up to a dirt/gravel road that winds uphill to the trailhead. About .8 of a mile up the dirt road, I reach the trailhead.

Primarily used as an ATV route, Cliffhanger is the portion of the trail that hooks up to Amasa Back. Amasa Back is actually a large gooseneck plateau that is surrounded by the Colorado River. There are many other trails that spur off Amasa Back.

I start a BRUTAL ascent from the trailhead. This ascent is 1400 feet, damn near vertical. I hiked a bike for a good portion of it, since my cardio and skill level was not good enough to tackle some of the obstacles. We're talking large boulders and rocks in the path with absolutely no track around them- short of diving off the side of a cliff. The rocks all had scrape marks from skidplates of ATV's and also skid marks from mountain bikers on their way down the hill. This ride is an out-and-back, meaning I would be descending this hill on the way back...it is going to be insane, for sure!

About 2-3 miles into the ascent, the trail levels out, and then starts a series of small drops. Only thing is, these drops also consist of the trail after the drop skirting alongside a cliff edge- many with sheer drops to the valley floor thousands of feet below!! Looks can be deceiving here, since looking straight out over the ledge, it seems not that far down...once you realize the small dots below you are cars moving along a roadway!!!!

I reached a section of the trail that, AGAIN, was poorly marked, and the map I had was useless. I ended up mistakenly taking a trail to POTHOLE ARCH, which descends rapidly down a slickrock face and into a small valley. Once I got to a sign, I realized the error of my ways- I was now way off course, to the tune of about 1.5-2 miles. DOH! Sipping on my Camelback, I gritted my teeth and turned around. Pushing my bike up the slickrock I just came down. Ugh. I finally reach the fork in the road where I should have gone left instead of right earlier. A few guys on bikes pull up, and I verify that the other route takes me to Amasa Back. They concur, and we all head up the hill. This was the ascent from hell- up fissured slickrock. Picture an upheavaled rock sticking out of the plateau at almost a 45 degree angle- that's what this basically was. I reached the top finally- and WHAT A VIEW..

I sat on the edge of the cliff for about half an hour, resting my burning muscles (to quote Edward Norton in Fight Club "my veins pumped battery acid"). The peace and quiet were just what the doc ordered. You can see the Colorado on the right side of the picture above. After some vertigo from looking down, I decided it was time to take the fast route down!

A technical descent it was...I was dodging boulders and rocks, hopping off steps, and walking down some of the crazy boulders. At one point, I stopped short on a step and my front tire planted and would not give- I endo'ed over the handlebars and put my hands out in front of my to take the impact- this was gonna hurt- there were rocks on my landing point...I absorbed the impact with my shoulders and elbows, kinda like I was bench pressing the ground...and amazingly, I emerged unscathed!! I have some goot helmet cam footage of the crash, which I'll be uploading when I get home. I brought my work laptop, so they blocked out Youtube...bastards!

I reached the bottom within a short time compared to my ascent, with my shoulders and neck hurting from straining over the bars while negotiating the rocky course. But I felt a sense of accomplishment despite being completely drained..and I still had to ride back to camp 4.5 miles!!

To make matters worse, I sucked on my Camelback and found it-BONE DRY. Fuck. I pedaled slowly back into town, and rolled into camp wanting to die. I drank 2 bottles of water and a diet Coke, and settled back in my chair. A warm shower was in order...GPS read: 30 miles. Holy crap....sooo...minus the 11 miles round trip from camp to the trailhead, I rode a solid 19 miles on dirt and rock today. FUN STUFF!!!

FRUITA CO to MOAB, UT

May 12th. After buying a new sleeping bag at Sports Authority, I packed up camp and embarked on the 1.5 hour drive to Moab. The last time I was in Moab was over 23 years ago; my family and I came here for a night for a family vacation. I remembered it being a one-stoplight town with an A&W Root Beer stand and a couple hotels. What a difference today!! The place is loaded with tour operators, ATV, biking outfits, hotels galore, and fast food restaurants. Commercialization at its finest! I pulled into the Canyonlands RV Park and was a tad disappointed. Aside from the pool and the shower facilities, the camp was crowded, the tent sites were one atop another, and it was dusty as hell. Either way, it was home for a few nights.
I decided to make a quick trip to Canyonlands National Park, and enjoyed the views.
This place is amazing. From the overlook, you can see the vast expanse of land that the Colorado and Green Rivers were responsible for carving through millions of years earlier. There were some crazy roads running alongside the canyon walls descending down to the valley floor. You can see one such road in the picture above on the lower right corner. Insane!

I spent a short time at Canyonlands, because I wanted to head over to Arches National Park and do the hike up to the Delicate Arch. This arch is the most photographed landmark in all of Utah, and the darn thing is even on the Utah license plates. The hike starts from the trailhead and is about 3.5 miles round trip. It's listed as moderately strenuous, partly due to the severe elevation change and the hike up the slickrock.

I made good time and arrived at the overlook point. What a sight. This place is incredible-the arch was much larger than I remembered, and it was wiiiinndy. I almost lost my hat a couple times. I sat and enjoyed the peacefulness and serenity of the scene, took some pictures, and then was interrupted by a busload of grade school kids who came up and ruined it all. I figured it was time to head down.

I drove around the park for a bit, and took another short hike to Pine Tree arch and Window Arch. This is a beautiful park, and I was pretty much stress free by now.

I headed back into town and stopped by Poison Spider Bikes for some info on rides in the area. A clerk at the counter told me about a shuttle that leaves from their parking lot at 9:30am (and two other times), that takes you to the top of Porcupine Ridge and you enjoy a blistering downhill back into town. He said the price was $20. Pass this up?? Heeeeeellllll no!! I told him I'd see him at 9:00 with my bike. The store wasn't anything special, and seemed like everything else in Moab- commercialized. You could barely find any shirt or gear in the store that did not have the "Poison Spider" logo and lettering.

JOE'S RIDGE AND CHUTES AND LADDERS

After refueling, I went to check out Over The Edge Sports, which is a mountain bike shop in downtown Fruita. The shop was really nicely set up, and the workers were friendly. I'd suggest anyone who goes to Fruita to ride check out this shop for all your needs.
I then continued north out of town toward the Bookcliff mountains, and onto a washed-out dirt road towards a system of trails which include Joe's Ridge, Edge Loop, Kessel Run, and Chutes and Ladders. By now, it was getting quite warm out- it was around 1:30 pm, and there was not a lick of shade anywhere...I mean, not so much as a tree. I stopped off at the trailhead and noted the shaded pavilion was crowded with other bikers doing anything they could do to stay out of the heat.
I hit the trail, and started off on Joe's Ridge which led to chutes and ladders. After making some wrong turns due to very poorly placed (and oftentimes missing) trail markers, I ended up at Chutes, which was a fantastic uphill/downhill set of runs which reminded me of a much more barren Alafia River Park. Unfortunately, the heat got to me, and I cut my ride out here short and headed back to the truck.
I originally planned to do this ride on 05/12/09, before I left for Moab, but since my legs were fresh, I changed up my plan.
This night proved to be miserable, however. A cold front headed into the area, and the wind began whipping up- I mean, I thought I was in a hurricane in the middle of the desert. Once the wind settled down early in the morning, the temperature plummeted to a frosty 40 degrees.
The Wal-Mart special sleeping bag I had did not cut it. The cold permeated the bag like it was made of paper, and despite bundling up as much as I could, I couldn't get comfortable. I needed a new bag. And I needed one NOW!!

ROAD TRIP 09-First riding day, FRUITA, CO.

I left camp at approximately 8 am and headed west on I70 just for one exit to head to the trailhead for Kokopelli's Trail, which is also the same area where Mary's Loop/ Horsethief Bench spear off of. The first parking lot you come to is right off the frontage road, but if you plan on riding Mary's Loop, you're better off driving up the adjacent hill and going to a secondary parking lot. There is a gate there that leads onto Mary's Loop. I saw another trail called "Rustler's Loop". I remembered reading that this was a good warmup loop. I took Rustler's, which was a nice loopy singletrack across some rolling hills, and even some slickrock. This was an interesting time for me- I realized what living at sea level does to you- it makes it much harder to operate at elevation, for sure-in this case, about 6000 feet up.
Rustler's dumped back out at the main gate after a gravel descent, and then I jumped on Mary's Loop. I was nicely warmed up now!

Mary's Loop weaves alongside a cliff that overlooks the Colorado River as it snakes it's way down toward Lake Powell. There were some awesome overlooks, and the trail was relatively tame- no major drops or anything, and some challenging uphills. I ran into a nice couple from Canada-Calgary, to be exact. They were doing a similar trip as I was, and they were heading to Moab after this stop as well. Very nice people. The female half rode with me as I returned to the parking lot, since her hubby wanted to finish up on Steve's Trail. She was a road biker, so she pretty much left me in the dust once I hit the frontage road trail back to the first parking lot.

I was starved to death after this ride, which according to my GPS put me in at approximately 10 miles. I drove into Grand Junction and found something I hadn't seen in YEARS...a Carl's Jr. Now, any southern hick may tell you that Carl's is just like Hardee's, what's the big deal? Lemme tell you they don't know shit. There isn't fried zucchini at Hardee's. The onion rings aren't the same, and the burgers at Hardee's blow. Not to mention, most of the Hardee's around my hometown have gone out of business. So I ordered my tried and true: A Famous Star with cheese and a side order of fried zucchini. I had to refuel before going to my next riding spot.

ROAD TRIP 09: Amarillo TX to FRUITA COLORADO!

On the road again...day three, Sunday, May 09. Well rested after my comfy bed in Amarillo. Once out of Amarillo, I got on the "Texas Plains Trail" aka Hwy 354. Talk about a miserable road. Although it did have a certain charm about it- it was almost the stereotypical Texas roadway- windmills and cows, dirt roads leading seemingly off into nowhere.

I stopped in the dead middle of this road- it was chilly out. I was driving for about 50 miles and did not see ONE OTHER CAR. Not a soul. I saw only one ranch house.

After rolling through Texas, I ended up cutting through a portion of New Mexico. The scenery now became a little more "western", with some mountains in the distance and some snow-covered peaks that I was headed toward. This was quite a sight for me. It had been quite some time since I had been near large mountains-especially ones tall enough to have snow on them in May. I finally entered Colorado, and was it incredible. Green, beautiful mountains in the background, hilly terrain- definitely a lot more entertaining to drive through. I had to make several stops along the way to capture some of these views.

As I neared Grand Junction, I had a smile on my face and felt the stress leave my body. This ended abruptly. After gassing up at some po-dunk little town, I pulled out on the main road. A guy with a large F250 displaying Colorado plates and a bed full of hay bales pulled out in front of me and slowed to a crawl. I stayed behind him, as I was so relaxed. Under normal circumstances, I would have zipped around him, cut him off, and flipped him the bird. We stopped at a light, where this douchebag clearly could have turned several times. I then noted him glancing in his rear view mirror at me. I was still oblivious. We pulled out on the road, which was two lanes, and I passed the guy without so much as a glance. I reached 70mph, and noted asshole was flooring it to catch up to me before the lane merged into a single lane. Not wanting to be stuck behind the prick, I sped up to 80 to keep ahead of him. He sped up too. I gave up, and figured if he wanted to go that fast, then let him...fuck it. Dickweed pulls up next to me and rolls his window down. Some goofy fuck with glasses that looked like he worked in some cubicle before he took up being a farmer feeding horses. He yells, "GO HOME!" What? Are you fucking kidding me? I laugh, and give him the ol' "thanks pal, keep driving" smirk and wave. He thinks by my reaction I didn't understand him, so he repeats his all intellegent comment. By now, I am just laughing at how much of a fag this guy is. Little does he know I have a loaded Glock .40 sitting next to me, and if he want to be confrontational and escalate this situation, I'd gladly dump a clip into him without remorse.

I tuck in behind him, and fag lips then slows to 55...10 mph under the posted limit. I shake my head in disgust at this douche. I guess he sees I am not going to play his ridiculous game (this guy looked like he was in his late 40's...grow the fuck up), and he pulls away slowly. I watch as he plays his game with a white Chrysler with Ohio plates. What a miserable asshole. Come to find out after talking with some people, this is typical of Colorado "natives". Especially ones that live near Grand Junction and blame the fall of their economy on "transplants" coming to their town and doing better at shit than they could do. Tough. I find this mentality runs rampant throughout Colorado. And since I'm on the subject and still writing this as I am in the midst of my journey, I have not come across ONE pleasant person from Colorado. They are all assholes. The nicest people are from Canada, Florida (hi Lynne!) and pretty much anywhere except Colorado. So, although Colorado is nice scenery wise, they can have their state and piss up a rope.

I arrived in Fruita shortly thereafter. Fruita is almost like a desert town, dusty and hot, with high mountains and some red rock adorning them. My campsite was right next to the Colorado River, and was MUCH nicer than the KOA I stayed at. No shower facility though. I set up camp, lit a fire, and grabbed a couple beers. I though about my rides tomorrow and was simply rejoicing in the fact that I was ready to start doing what I drove almost 2000 miles to do.

ROAD TRIP 09: Lafayette LA to Amarillo, TX

May 9th, 2009. Good riddance Lafayette KOA. I was on the road early, like 6 am (which is early for me). I had to get out of that nightmare that is jokingly referred to as "family Kamping"...ha. If family camping means puking all night long consuming vast quantities of beer, then I guess you truly deserve to live in Louisiana.

The drive out of Louisiana SUCKS. I mean, it just absolutely blows. I used to hate Texas, but I have to say I have found a new state to hate. Green, rolling, and boring. Every stretch looks the same.

Some of the scenery changed as I eased into Texas, but not by much. It became a lot more...well...brown, but at least the cities like Dallas have some design to them. No traffic to speak of; it was Saturday anyhow.

I eased into Amarillo without a hitch, and arrived at a Travelodge just off the interstate. Very convenient. Of course, the lady behind the counter wouldn't give me a bottom floor room, despite my pleas that I had to lug a lot of gear out of my truck and up a flight of stairs. She told me the bottom floors are reserved for two people in a room. WTF? What difference does that make? And the hotel was EMPTY. Okay, whatever lady. I am not in the mood to argue. Wait...what did I just say? "I'm not in the mood to argue"...hmmm..a few days ago I would have leaned over the counter and told her I thought that was ridiculous and I wanted to speak to a manager! Maybe it was the fact I was on vacation and I didn't give a shit anymore. Maybe it was just the fact I didn't have to go to work on Monday. I dunno. But I took my card key, lugged my stuff up a flight of stairs, and settled down for the night in a comfy bed.

I was working on 3-4 hours sleep, and had been behind the wheel for almost 12 hours this day. Even though the TV in the room next to me was blaring, I shoved my head between two pillows and slipped away to la-la land. Big day tomorrow- my last push to my first riding destination, Fruita Colorado.