2. Watch where you set up your tent. You especially want to avoid full sun in the afternoon. My bright yellow tent turned into a veritable sauna at the end of the day. Also do your best to avoid sharp plants, red ants, and Memorial Day.
3. Ride a fully tuned bike! My bike had not been tuned for months. The shifters were tight, the wires were loose, my rear tire wasn't trued, and my chain was rusty. Make sure that your bike is in good shape. If it's a piece of crap, rent a good bike for $30-$40 per day.4. Do not leave your maps in camp. Mike and I decided to go on a 20 mile loop, but took a wrong turn and ended up doing a 60 mile loop with a portage straight up a cliff and a class 5 descent with 3 foot ledges. We ran out of water, didn't bring any food, and I honestly thought I was going to have to wait for search and rescue to come find us. Or the buzzards, whichever came first.
5. Do not underestimate the difficulty of a trail. Our guidebook was from Falcon Guides, "Mountain Biking Moab." It accurately described what we were in for, but we figured it was embellishing, especially when it described the portage we had to complete to make the Jackson Hole Loop: "the Jacob's Ladder (portage, shown at left) is like backpacking a bike up a skyscraper in a cramped stairwell." Trust me, the book was not embellishing.
6. Do not run out of water! I can't stress this one enough. Bring more water than you think is humanly possible to consume in a day, because you will go through it like, well, like water. You won't find any water in the desert. This is not the Cascades, my friend. The only thing cascading out here is the sweat down your back. And if you don't drink it all you may come across an idiot biker like myself who didn't bring enough. Share your water if you know you will have extra. Suggest that your new friend repay you with a brew at Eddie McStiff's pub.
7. Listen to the locals. Your friendly neighborhood bike shop employees either grew up here or visited and loved the desert/adventure sport culture so much that they wanted to be a part of it every day. They know the best local watering holes for a cool down after a wicked day of riding, they know the best trails, and the most secluded camping spots.
8. Eat a swiss mushroom burger at the Moab Brewery (686 South Main Street, just past McDonald's) and sample one of their several delicious home brews. I suggest the Derailleur Ale or the Raven Stout. Do not partake of these two delicious items directly before a trail ride, however. You will puke. Mike and I underestimated the 4+/5 rating of the nearest trail. I made it about a mile before feeling like I was going to hurl. Those burgers are too good to leave on the slickrock.
9. There are few things better than a shower at the end of a long weekend of riding. I had so much dust and sand and blood on my body that I was the same rust color as the Moab sandstone. For a buck and a half you can take a hot shower at the Poison Spider Bike Shop (497 N. Main Street, 800-635-1792). Pure bliss.
10. Do not die. If you follow the tips above and use some common sense, you have a pretty good chance of surviving your mountain biking experience in Moab. No one likes a carcass. |
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