We came to Moab primarily to ride the world-famous Slickrock Trail.
The trail was originally created by motorcyclists (who also use the trail), but its popularity took off with the popularity of mountain bikes.
This was our first experience riding on slickrock, which is not slick at all, but has the grip of sandpaper.
The trail is 90% solid rock with the occasional sandy gully. It’s bizarre riding on solid rock all the time—you have to re-think how you ride and what is rideable.
The trail is very technical—you have to be a pro-level rider to clear the entire route. It has a lot of short, steep, up-and-downs.
It constantly challenges your level of commitment, as a fall on the sandstone will cost you a large patch of skin.
The cliff drops a thousand feet to the Colorado River. A group of riders sang “Happy Birthday” to Nancy here.
It’s a crazy area: you can see four-wheelers a short distance away, you share part of the trail with dirt bikers, there’s a national park in the distance, the Colorado River is 1,000’ below you, all in an area that would be a national monument in any other state.
Toward the end of the ride, we started getting more comfortable riding in this alien environment, but boy is it different.
No comments:
Post a Comment