Moab....the rest of it.

I've been dragging the Moab thing out too long.  You've seen most of the biking and then there was a ton of hiking.  If we'd have been planning the trip (rather than just going on a weeks notice), it was going to be Skinny Tire Festival, ton of hiking, wrapped up with a half marathon.  Due to the changed time table we didn't get to do the 1/2 marathon (it was sold out).  So, since it went right by our camp site we spectated.  It was surprisingly fun!

So anyway in no particular order, here's a bunch of the rest of the pics (with moderately sarcastic comments).

Somewhere in Arches National Park....

Shockingly....also in Arches.

Ditto.

Ditto...finally getting a handle on the panorama function!

Still in Arches (this one was ruined for me by a screaming child in the arch and some gashole idling his diesel the entire time we were there....which you could hear for the entire 1/2 mile hike).  Sorry if you love screaming children or the sounds of diesel engines.

Ice off the Canyon wall on the Negro Bill Trail framing two cute girls!

Corona Arch...with a group getting set up for a really big rope swing!  I have a sweet video but it's too big for blogger....sorry.

The half marathon on a closed coarse along the Colorado river.  A comment....I've never spectated a race before.  Runners come in absolutely every shape and size....and the rate at which they run is not determined by shape or size!!!

This was our cheering crowd for the 1/2 marathon.  We were about 3 miles from the start....so we reminded them they had already burned one beer worth of calories!  Many runners must be alcoholics, as this comment was greeted with cheers most of the time!

Moab day 5-6

The third day of the Skinny Tire festival was a rest day for use.  Since the dog was around we decided to do some hiking.  We've done most of the hikes before but there were still a few new ones to do, so we figured we might as well finish off the list (along with a few repeats).  It played out like this.

Fisher Towers hike (a repeat, but always awesome).....

On the way in to Fisher Towers....the dog can always find shade!

Certain sections of the trail required "dog portages"!

Still smiling after the portage!

Portal Hike....

Yep, straight up the slick rock for pretty much 1000ft!

Views of Moab and the La Sal Mountains is your reward!

I don't know why I don't have pictures of this....but this "mountain bike" trail is along the edge (like 2 ft from it) of a 1000 ft cliff.  There are signs that warn you 3 riders have died on the trail (well technically they died because the weren't on the trail).  There are also multitudes of signs repeatedly warning you to dismount and walk.  Basically, it got my adrenaline going just hiking up it!  I will not need to revisit this trail for a ride....

The next day was the last day of the Skinny tire festival and back on the bikes....this time it was out Potash road which runs right along the Colorado river and has some amazing Red Rocks!

Yep...pretty terrible scenery!

 

Yes...it's as warm as it looks and I'm completely overdressed.

Back at camp enjoying a book and a beverage before dinner!

I'll try to get my act together and finish off the trip pics tomorrow. 

Moab...day 3-4.

Finally,on to the red rock pictures and riding!  The first morning the ride had actually been rerouted due to the impending SNOW and rain.  The stupid storm we went through had followed us.  It wasn't terrible, but by the end of the day we were riding in sleet and snow.  I was less than amused by this, so there are only a few pictures from that day.

These two pics show the grey sky....so far it had only rained a bit.  The real challenge was the dropping temps and snow on the last 15 miles or so!  Please note....this was still an awesome ride and we had fun.  We are still smiling after all!

By day 4 the sky had cleared and we were treated to sunny skies and warmer temps.  From here on out temperatures got warmer and warmer, topping out around 80!  The rides also just kept getting better and better.  This one went out to Fisher Towers with lunch located at a gorgeous local winery complete with a cowboy cooked hamburger!

As you can see, the views were beautiful!

Still cool enough in the morning for jackets!

Wow, are we at the lunch stop already...nope, it's the first aid station then an out and back before the burgers are on the menu.

Here's the morning crew pulling out of the aid station. 

After the aid station the headwinds did kick up a bit (understatement!)....check out the "breeze" blowing snow off the peaks of the La Sal mountains!

More than one person stopped here to contemplate the breeze and admire the views ahead.  It was at the top of a hill just before a nice rolling section.  A good place for a quick break and a picture.

Somewhere near the turn around.  Some folks still coming out and others headed back for a great lunch stop (did I mention as many hamburgers as you can eat and a winery).  Definitely, a tour of torture!

This is how the day ended from me....swimming the dog in the river, a bit of the wine we purchased, the sun disappeared from the canyon walls, all while listening to the Colorado river in the background.  Not a bad day at all!

Moab Adventure....Day 2.

As you saw yesterday, we woke up on day 2 to snow!  I know it wasn't a lot of snow, but it was enough to still be covering the roads.  Anyway, bikes were brushed off and re-stowed in the cagmper (along with the dog) and we were on our way. 

After grabbing some coffee in Eureka we pretty much drove the rest of the day.  We hit another round of snow east of Salina.

And yes, I know I used this pic yesterday to show our "white out blizzard".  I lied, I was too busy trying to drive at that point to request wifey take a picture.  This one wasn't as bad fortunately! 

With the change to Mountain time we rolled in to Moab about 7pm.  Just in time to pick up our registration kit for the Skinny Tire Festival.

Once we had our swag bags and numbers in hand we headed out in the dark to get a camp site.  We've been to Moab enough to have stayed in most of the campgrounds, but we tried out a new one this trip.  Big Bend....right on the Colorado river (about 8 miles out of Moab).  Turned out to be a gem with a site right on the river (God knows the dog loves this)!

Here's the view out the back door of the camper the next morning.  We took a little time to play with the dog before getting ready to head out for the first day of 4 days or skinny tire riding.

So that's day 2 into the morning of day 3.  Sorry, it wasn't more exciting.....but I swear, tomorrow pictures of red rocks and bicycles are coming!!

Moab, the adventure....day 1!

Last Thursday at around 3-4 pm we (wife, me, and the dog) made my break for it.  The truck was loaded the day before, including the camper, bikes, and enough gear to stage an outdoor assault on a small country!  For the record, it's amazing what a small truck will handle with some suspension upgrades.

I'd been watching the weather all day and it looked great.  We left work with sunshine, temperatures in the 60's, and light winds.  Jump ahead about an hour as we tool along highway 50 out near Sand Mountain.....temperatures are dropping the the rain is starting.  About 45 minutes later, "spring break" is a misnomer and it's snowing (hard)!

As darkness fell, it turned into a complete blizzard/white-out.  We were plugging along at an amazing top speed of 35 mph because you couldn't even see the center line.....just the rumble strip divots through the snow covering the road!  By now we were just about to Austin, and with the weather it had taken the better part of 4 hours.  We gave up and decided to camp for the night and get an early start the next day.  It looked a little something like this:

Definitely time to call it a night.  A beer and then bed!

The next morning.

Beautiful low lying clouds for the first few hours and a perfect new coat of snow!

So that's the lead in for the first day.  Tune in tomorrow for day 2....more snow and finally Moab Red rocks!

Moab time and ill timed snow storms!

Like many of you, I had officially given up on the ski season.  I mean we had great early season snow, but after two months of drought, I'd had my fill of groomer days.  So, I shifted into an early bike season.  I even went so far as to plan an early trip to Moab (mostly due to a work schedule issue in the next few months)......and here comes the biggest storm of the fricken season!!

Not only will be we missing the fresh pow pow, we'll probably get to experience the storm all over again while we ride the "skinny tire festival".  Four days of road riding in Moab through the red rocks!  Let's just hope it doesn't snow on us during the rides.

In theory it should look like this:






Now of course I should bring my road bike with 23mm tires to this......wifey will be riding her road bike.  Especially, since the spokes to build the wheels on her new "touring" bike only arrived yesterday, so it currently lacks wheels.

Instead, I'm 90% sure I'll be riding this:





Yeah, not 23 mm....rather 2.2 inch!!  And I have to apologize for the "stock" photo.  Lest you think I have not been snapping pictures of my new bike....I have!  I just forgot to bring the camera in to download them.

It really isn't a bad idea (and here's my justification).....

1)  It should slow me down a bit from my road bike and make wifey and I a bit more even for riding pace.  Although it rolls pretty good from the 30+ miles of pavement I've had it on.

2)  I've installed a brand new brooks saddle on it....so if wifey gets a bit saddle sore, the brand new saddle should put me in a similar position.  So any sympathy I express won't be blown off as mockery, but genuine!  (p.s.  This may prove a rather stupid move!)

3)  It has low gearing that matches wifey for the climbs (and there are climbs)!



4) It will make it even more fun to pass people on $5000 carbon road bikes.

5)  It's my new bike!

The only con argument I put against this is that I'm really bummed that wifey's touring bike isn't finished and I'll feel like a heel since she won't have her new ride.  This trip wasn't in the plans when we started her build, but I still feel bad.  I guess that's the down side of a completely custom ride vs. one off the shelf.

Anyway, we'll have pictures when we return.  Until then don't expect too much for new content.  I'm still not a mobile blogger!