Biking in Moab, Utah

We are leaving Moab today, but not before experiencing one of Moab’s biggest attractions—mountain biking. With two mountain bikes, rented from Poison Spider bike shop, in the trunk of our car we drove along the Colorado River lined by giant red sheets of rock and parked as soon as the pavement ended. There was only one other car parked in this rather large lot.

I admit I have not been on the bike in a few years. I do own a lovely yellow Gary Fischer mountain bike. Yes, I love my yellow bike. However, Nick and I have not gone biking since moving to Boston. We have many excuses—first not having a car, then being lazy about getting Nick’s bike fixed, not having a car again, etc… So when Nick suggested I try out my rented bike in the bike shop parking lot, I refused. Frankly I felt my knees starting to shake, and all the biker guys around definitely looked rather intimidating.

Now alone with Nick in this large rocky parking lot I mounted the bike with my knees still shaking. I did not forget how to ride the bike, but the thought of not only riding the bike, but also having to operate the breaks and the gears made the hairs on my back stand up.

The plan was to go to the Hurrah Pass. Nick and I started along the gravel road which ran slightly uphill along the cliff of the canyon. After a few turns, the road started sloping sharply downward descending into the canyon. My bike started gaining speed (with me on it). I did not feel in complete control of my bike in the first place, and now increasing speed, ever larger potholes in the road, tight switchbacks, and horrible noises the bike was making did not increase my confidence in my mountain biking abilities. A few seconds later and on the verge of tears I was walking my bike downhill through all those potholes, large rocks and switchbacks. As Minh used to say, “There is no shame in walking.”

Nick, who had to walk a little bit on the way up but passed me on the way down, was waiting for me at the bottom of the hill. As he handed me a bottle of Gatorade, he thoughtfully remarked that he has considered intermediate level biking trails but ended up choosing the Hurrah Pass trail because it was described as an easy trail suitable for families with little kids.

The rest of the ride towards the pass was much easier for me, and I think pure fun for Nick. I did discover that cow grates intended of course to keep cows out of the specific area also worked really well for keeping biking Helens out of the same areas. First time I came across one of these on my bike, I had to dismount and walk way around it. Luckily on the way back I was able to control my bike sufficiently so that I did not have to dismount, but I still slowly rode around the cow grate.

While biking we noticed two climbers scaling a vertical wall of the canyon. For me the coolest part of that was noticing two labs wagging their tails waiting for their owner on the ledge below.

We decided not to attempt biking all the way to the Hurrah Pass as the last 2 miles to the pass were going to be a continuous uphill, and therefore not as much fun. Instead we turned off onto a branching trail towards a creek and had lunch under a poplar tree.

The ride back seemed easier and went by faster, probably because most of it was a little downhill. Repeating another one of Minh’s “mottos” to myself, “Speed is your friend” I was able to dismount fewer times on the way back. I am also proud to say that I rode up the hill that I walked down only stopping once to take a break.

Overall we rode a little more then 12 miles in about 3 hours. I think if Nick and I could be combined into one biker we would do pretty well. Nick would speed through all the downhills and various obstacles, while I would push through the uphills. Regardless we enjoyed the ride and the scenery.