Utah or Bust 2012

Every year since I've known Mike and his buddy Wayne, they have packed up mid winter and headed south to ride bikes in Utah. In the past they would typically spend all their time at the old Red Bull Rampage site hucking themselves until they were both hurt or their bikes were too damaged to continue and that signaled that it was time to go home. Thankfully bikes have gotten better and they have smartened up and are now fully into the trail riding side of things as well as the hucks. As my luck would have it I got the invite to tag along this winter and I jumped at the chance to duck out of the rain and get my tires dirty on dry soil for a change.

All this snow means that it was the ideal time to hit the road south in search of dry trails.
On Monday, January 16th we loaded up MIke's Mitsubishi Delica van with 3 bikes, enough spare parts to start a shop and all our camping gear and hit the highway. We could of left a few days earlier, but some of the crew had significant others to tend to first. By 12:30pm on Monday close to 12 inches of snow had accumulated in Chilliwack and we were headed south, over 24 hours of straight driving south that is! With three capable drivers the set up was to drive your tank of gas and switch off all the way south. There were varying amounts of snow for the first 12-14 hours and then it improved - road wise at least, but we did have to sit inside the van in our sleeping bags due to cold outside temps and a weak heater - brrrr!

27 hours and a few gas stations later we were in Springville, Utah (minutes from the old Rampage zone) and headed straight to meet up with Mike and Wayne's friends Shay and Bill (local trail builder and great guide). Once we'd caught up with Bill and got the local details on the trails and how things were running it was time to grab a real meal as it had now been about 30 hours since we'd left home and gas station food isn't known for its ability to fill one up and the guys really wanted to hit up Oscars. With bellies full we headed out towards Grafton to set up our tents and make camp for the night (yep tents and close to zero temps). 8pm was lights out as we had trails to ride and sun to chase in morning!


Frozen little creek in the morning - this is about 15 feet from our tents.
I woke up at 6:45am and I was frozen - easily the coolest night tenting to date for myself. By 8:30am I finally got out of my sleeping bag to join Mike and Wayne on a little hike up the nearest Mesa to get the sun's rays of heat on us. Once the sun had warmed us slightly it was time to fire up the camp stove (thanks to Sarah and Bill) and get rounds of oatmeal on the go! And to think Mike and Wayne have ate cold oatmeal each year until I showed up with this wonderful invention called a stove.



Fed and ready, we were off to ride trail number one - the JEM trail is a nice and mellow out and back ride (approximate 6 miles each way) that is a gradual climb out and ripper back. This was the ideal ride after a long drive and cold night, super mellow and long enough to actually spin the legs out.


From the JEM trail we headed back into Springville and to meet up with Shay and get her to guide us around the Guak trail. It's a quick drive out to this hiking and biking area that the locals refer to as Goose Berry Light due to its similarities to the much bigger Gooseberry Mesa trail. Shay leads us out on the six mile loop. The start is an out and back, but you have a few loop options once you're out there. The terrain had no sustained climbs or descents, but was very slick rock in nature and so much fun. I managed to swap bikes with and run his 29er on this ride and I gotta say that that particular bike is pretty damn fun in this setting.



Post ride we headed back to Bill and Shay's place, where Bill had prepared a feast for all of us - thanks man, we really appreciate the hospitality! (they even lent us extra blankets for the nights of tenting ahead). Mountain bikers are great people and friends!


Our sweet camping area that we'd return to each night after a day of rides and an evening of food with friends.
Thanks to the blankets, night number two was a lot better than number one. After a simple breakfast at camp we headed into Springville to meet up with Shay as she volunteered to drive us up Cry Baby hill as we simply didn't want to climb it on our way over to the Grafton Trail network.

What you can't see here is the crux move to get to this point, but Mike and his big wheels were rolling strong on the trails.
Some early morning bike challenges behind us and it was time to mount our two wheelers for close to three hours of meandering trails that challenged us and kept us on our toes! Mike and Wayne sessioned sections that had me walking, but there was so much great terrain that I was loving being able to just ride and see the sights. We climbed to the highest point for a lunch break and then it was time to point the bikes down. High speed and tech was strewn all over the descent and we were loving it. The end of the Grafton trail dumps you into a play ground of features that riders have built over the years during many similar pilgrimages to this area (likely for the same reasons we hit the road this winter).




Mike's bike needed some love after that ride, so it was time for a quick rip to Hurricane to see the Over the Edge bike shop and then out to the infamous original Red Bull Rampage site for some reminiscing of old times. Mike and Wayne have been coming down here for over 10 years and have spent many a trip only in these canyon walls sending it. Seeing the Bender Sender where Cam Zink sent the largest back flip is nothing shy of holy shit! The area is humbling.


Our last night tenting was the warmest and most eventful with locals driving by and honking and then some rather startling automatic gun shooting up the canyon from us. I'm just glad they never stopped by to see who we were. Getting up each morning was typically is timed with the sun finding our tents for long enough to provide some heat and then it's game time.

Morgan and Hazel on the trail at Goose Berry Mesa
Bill and Shay had us follow them out to Goose Berry Mesa where we met the God Father of local trail building folklore - Morgan and his great trail dog Hazel. Goose Berry Mesa is a must do riding area with a maze of tech trails. While there was no sustained climbs or descents, every trail we rode was riddled with fun features to challenge even the most seasoned rider and add stoke to the newer rider as they cleaned a section.


One of the many lookouts that can be found on the Gooseberry Mesa.

Post ride is always a good time with Bill and Shay proving to be once again the best hosts - eats and stories are the ideal way to end an all afternoon ride. Once we'd repacked the van it was time to say our goodbyes before heading into the night with Sedona, Arizona as our next destination.

About 20 minutes shy of Sedona (in a canyon), the throttle cable on the van broke! With no cell service in the canyon and it being pitch black out meant that it was time for Mike's decade of mechanics to come into play on this remedy. Literally in under 30 mins there was an Avid rear brake adapter and a rear shift cable rigged up with the broken throttle cable and we were moving again. Good work guys!

Broken throttle cable fixed with an Avid rear brake adapter and a shifter cable.
We all figured that Sedona was going to be a little more lively than Springville was, but when we rolled into town, the snowbird capital of the world proved us wrong, we were greeted with silent streets and closed hotel lobbies. Once again it was time to head down a back road and find a place to pitch a tent and call it a night.

Come morning the weather in Sedona had us all wondering if/when the drops would fall. With plans to meet up with Jason from Over the Edge on a lap of the Hang Over trail it was time to cross our fingers and hope the rain would hold out. While getting ready at the trail head there was a loud cracking noise and we all looked out to see a section of rock break away from the hillside and slide down towards where the trail itself is.


Jason informed us that he'd never seen that before, but also stated that that was a key reason why climbing in Sedona isn't as huge as you'd think it would be. The Highline trail made everyone bleed, but it still remains as one of Mike's top trails anywhere, so that says a lot about it. If you are a skilled rider, consider hitting it up when you are in Sedona.

With the weather not making up its mind we chose to hit the road for Phoenix and the South Mountain Trail network that lays within the city's limits. With camping being tough to find, we chose to fork out for our first hotel (read shower) of the trip. The Comfort Inn felt so good - being off the ground and a hot shower (beard and long hair get gross in the dessert) was pretty welcome to all of us. This was also the first time we really logged in online and got caught up on the world outside the Delica in close to a week's time. Since we were already spoiling ourselves, a dinner at Applebees may have taken place as well.


The free, warm breakfast at the Comfort Inn was thoroughly enjoyed prior to hitting the streets in search of Sunday Cycles for a trail map, directions to South Mountain and an empty bike box for my flight home on Monday.


The area known as South Mountain holds an abundance of trails, with a little something for everyone, from the weekend warrior, Ma and Pa types, right up to really advanced trails like the National trail that go from the valley floor to the moderate peaks with their many radio tours on them. While Mike and Wayne headed up into the hills, I chose to ride the valley's Dessert Classic trail for a few hours. All I can say is that I really had a good time on that trail as we have nothing like it around here. Over 25 miles of rolling single/double track that anyone can ride was a nice way to end my trip to the states. Thanks for the invite Mike, maybe you guys will have room again next year?

Mike made a friend with a Cactus that wanted my spot in the van on the way back home.