Moab UT and Mountain Biking Nirvana

When we were in Granby we had good access to the internet. We have been keeping an eye on the opening of Mexico and our future ability to move our boat around in the Sea of Cortez. It looks like there is no change and Mexico is continuing to ask people to stay out of the National Parks and off the beaches. That is not the kind of cruising that we were looking forward to continuing. When we sent sail to explore new places with our family, getting to know the people was a big part of our adventure. Covid is making that an unsafe activity and when you combine limitations on movement we have decided to stay in the states and continue RVing around for the winter and next summer. At least when we are on land we are able to see national and state parks where social distancing is very easy to do. We are also able to hike, exercise and mountain bike we as you know are some of our favorite pastimes, and it is also easy to socially distance.  We learned during the cold weather that our trailer was not a fun place to be cooped up in for very long. It works great when we can cook outside and eat outside and read outside and use the trailer primarily for sleeping and storage. So we began looking at other options for what looks like may be an additional year of land traveling.

While Ashley looked for an all season RV we were heading to the Mountain Bike capital of the world! When we arrived in Moab we found a nice spot on BLM land and set up camp. Our location was about 10 miles outside of town but only a mile away from a magnificent trail system and less than 5 miles from countless others. We spent two weeks riding the challenging trails of Moab. Most days we would begin with a little school time in the morning and be on the trails by 11am. After 5-12 miles of single track riding we would come back to the camp for an afternoon break. And then after dinner on many nights we would go for a shorter, easier but fast ride before dark. Every few days I would get up early and ride a more challenging ride that the kids are not yet ready for. In the last week I rode 3 of the most iconic rides on Moab. The Slick Rock trail is 10 miles of challenging rock riding. The Mag 7 is 26 miles of intensity and cliff riding not for the faint of heart or the average conditioned riders. On our last day I rode the Whole Enchilada. It is a 29 mile ride that begins in the La Sal Mountains, climbs to an 11200 ft pass and then descends 7000 ft through rough terrain only to end with a Cliffside descent to the Colorado river. Victoria and I rode the practice loop for the Slick Rock trail on many evenings as the sun set. It is a very challenging ride and Victoria loved the challenge and is anxious to make ride the entire Slick Rock ride. Alexander and Victoria’s riding has improved beyond any of my expectations. They are riding obstacles that I would never have considered even a few years ago. Now they ride down obstacles, over obstacles and through obstacles that blow my mind each time, and they love every minute of it.