When I travel with my bicycle it usually looks something like this. I make my bike perfect and I put it in a box. I then try and fit a spare set of wheels, six extra tires, a bag of essential tools, two pairs of riding shoes, two sets of pedals, a chain, a derailleur, a shifter, spare rotors and brake pads, a spare rear shock, knee pads, and a cleaning kit and see if I can get it to a reasonable weight.
I arrive at the location after a pill induced sleep, in what was perhaps the most uncomfortable position possible. You then have a couple days of getting over jet lag and trying to get some exercise. Then it all happens at once. Course walk, 8:30 am practice, seeding runs, course walk, finals. Then you collect all your gear and put it back in the box. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
But I was pretty excited when I was invited by Kevin and Taylor of Artbarn to join Katrina Strand in Moab to film for
Platypus Hydration. It was my first trip that I wasn’t going to a race and I wasn’t bringing my downhill bike! No full face, no knee pads (bit of a mistake), no spare tires, no spare wheels. It was actually harder for me to pack, I felt like I was missing a lot of things. I’ve spent half of my life reading about Moab, or looking at pictures of the brightly coloured slick rock and now finally I had a reason to go.
When I look back at our trip it isn’t the riding that sticks out in my mind. Just like races from years ago, I remember that feeling of winning or losing but it’s not what we talk about. We laugh about Kevin grabbing the wrong suitcase and instead of spare camera gear we had a bag full of old VHS tapes. Or Katrina and I trying to master the art of the ‘
selfie’ and failing miserably. We ate elk stew while listening to a bad ass cowboy sing and play the guitar. We camped in the sand, drank moonshine and bought karma bracelets. We quoted movies, talked about guys, generally acted our shoe size and laughed until we cried numerous times. It was Taylor and Kevin that captured the memories of the riding. We can now later watch and be reminded of the great trails that we got to ride, film and get to know.
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Miranda MillerUtah Slide Show:
but really though, thanks for your service.
Hang in there mtb brother.
Love Muffin Cafe has the best coffee in town, great place to chill in the morning, go over your maps and plan your rides for the day. Gotta go back next winter or win the lottery and make Moab my "winter home".