Moab Trip Advice

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flag bigdan30
Posted: Oct 6, 2016 at 22:05 Quote
I'm sure it's been asked a million times before, but figured I'd get some more specific opinions on the area.

A few of us are making a weekend road trip to Moab, so we have two full days of riding we need to book up. We're from the Midwest, so there's really nothing like this riding anywhere near us. I've ridden Moab once before - the bottom half of The Whole Enchilada - had an absolute blast. We've got a shuttle booked for the morning of the second day for that already, so we need to fill in the first day and the afternoon of the second with some riding plans.

The three of us are capable bike handlers with decent-ish legs, and we definitely prefer the ride down. We like our flow, but I know this area is pretty techy, and we're fine with that too. We'd just rather not climb long technical trails to descend down Jeep roads, if you know what I mean. We like our look-outs and site-seeing, but our #1 priority is to ride cool trails - and we're not afraid of a little exposure.

From what I've gathered, many suggest Slickrock Slickrock Slickrock, but I've also heard in some corners that, while it's a really cool experience, the trail gets old pretty quick, and there's more interesting riding to do in the area..,maybe just do the practice loop to get the experience and then move on. Any opinions on that? Amasa Back Trail has also garnered some attention, as well as Captain Ahab. I'm not sure of the trails in relation to eachother, other than Slickrock being on the way up to La Sal, so let me know if you'd suggest we should do a day over here and then a day over there or whatnot.

We also are bringing some lights, so we have the potential to do some night riding if that's reasonable...probably just some shorter loops close to town so we don't die in the desert though. Any good spots for that?

Another question: clipless or flats? I rode flats last time I was there and it seemed to be the right choice, but I don't know if clipless is the better option for trails with more climbing, or if getting off the bike in a hurry is the better trade-off vs pedal efficiency when you're riding the exposed areas.

Hit me up with any itinerary suggestions, can't-misses, and the sort. I can't seem to find good and recent answers to what seem to be pretty popular questions. Hope you can help me out.

Cheers!
flag sampolicky
Posted: Oct 8, 2016 at 20:18 Quote
You are right about Slick rock. It is cool experience that you have to do at least one but it does get old fairly quickly. You should definitely do Amasa Back and Captain Ahab. Another good one to look at if you want something longer is the Mag 7 shuttle. As for clips vs flats just ride whatever you are more comfortable with. I ride flats and think it helps on some of the tech sections knowing you are not stuck on your bike.
Some shorter good loops are Navajo Rocks area and the Moab Brand Trails. Both can be done at night without being too dangerous.Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions

 


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