Moab MTB Tradition

We haven't done back-to-back mountain biking weekend trips in a long time but it was so worth it.  We did a quick turn-around from St George and left for Moab Friday evening.  We've been going to Moab with Joe and Kelly each Spring for the last 5 years and hope to continue the tradition for a long time.  Corrie and Christian joined us this year, so we had 6 adults and 4 kids (ages 1-2-3-4) in 3 cars, with 11 bicycles and associated gear!  Thank goodness we rented a large 3 bedroom condo with a nice garage.  The entire weekend was a blast and our only regret was just staying 3 nights and not getting another day of riding in.

We rode in shifts and other than nap time, the kids were as busy as the adults.  Saturday morning, the guys and I headed to Slickrock and then we came home and the girls (and Terry) grabbed lunch at Love Muffin and drove out to Dead Horse Point to ride Big Chief Loop.  Unfortunately we didn't have typical 80F Moab weather, but we brought enough combined clothes for the cold and wind and stayed dry.  The girls came home in time for everyone to hang out in the pool and then we had a great dinner and celebrated Corrie's birthday with balloons and cupcakes.  On Sunday, the girls took the first shift and headed to Sovereign.  Terry joined us again - what you think he would have chosen 4 young children over mtb'ing?!  We had some issues finding the trail head and then paid attention to the suggested loop on the map which put us on the extremely difficult Salt Wash rather than an out-and-back on a more moderate Sovereign.  After some cussing and too much walking, we found a connector to Sovereign and were able to spend more time on the bikes.  I took the blame for the map error, which reminded me of making my high school friends ski double blacks rather than blues.  At least with the skiing, I could handle the terrain and help coach my friends down the mountain.  We were all floundering on the bike trail  and I was off my bike as much as (or more than) anyone. We still got in a nice ride in the sun and swung by Love Muffin for another yummy lunch.  I wasn't interested in going with the guys as they headed to Poison Spider for the afternoon shift. There are no pictures, but they had an epic ride that included hail and removing sand from their shoes several times.  After 3 of the kids went down for naps, the girls spent the afternoon with refreshments in the hot tub!  Once the guys got back, we had pizza delivered (carnivore and vegan) for another fun dinner at the condo.  We set the alarm for 4am and drove home Monday morning getting to work at a decent time.  Monday night, the exhaustion set in and then on Tuesday we were back to our normal schedules.

 Moab Bound! - 6 Bikes and an Extra Wheel

Slickrock Muscle Men - Terry, Joe, Christian

Slickrock - Too much walking but the guys were patient and I made it!

Slickrock Finish Photo - Knee pad Couple, Christian, Joe

Big Chief Loop Ladies - Kelly, Corrie, Jenny

"Extremely Difficult" Salt Wash-Sovereign Loop - Corrie, Jenny, Kelly

Here's my first blog attempt at a video.  My commentary "advice" is what I had been hearing from the guys all morning on Slickrock as I would usually chicken out and walk sections they rode. Oh well, I didn't crash and had fun.  Next time I'll be more confident.  We had so much fun on this trip, my next Slickrock adventure might be sooner than next Spring.