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I've been to Moab - you haven't!
Yes, that’s right, I’ve ridden the famous Moab slickrock trail. If you get the chance, so should you.
Moab is a little town, by a big river, in the middle of the desert. When we (Damon & I) were there, it was 100°F and just that bit too hot to ride in the day.
So, going totally against the grain, we stayed off the beer the night before so that we could get up at 5:30am. Until that morning I’d always thought that dawn was a figment of someone’s imagination.
Anyway, to the riding. We drove the mile out of town to the slickrock car park, bolted the bikes together and set out to follow the lines painted along the length of nature’s mountain bike amusement park.
The first thing you notice is the squelching of the tyres as they find tremendous grip on the slickrock. Then, all tyre noise is forgotten as you reach the first descent. What comes immediately into your mind is-“I’m b------d if I’m riding down that!” Well, you look at it a bit more and think- “I’ve travelled 8000 miles and it is only about twice as steep as anything I’ve ridden down before and who cares about off-camber anyway!” So off you go, backside rubbing the back tyre and just waiting for the crash and the pain. But guess what? It doesn’t happen, you’re down, unhurt and raring to get to the next drop. What a buzz! Trouble is, of course, that the next drop is beyond a climb that looks almost as steep as your average wall. Damn! Anyway, you’ve got to try haven’t you? So, off you go again and amazingly, if you’ve got the legs, the slickrock’s got the grip.
For two hours we followed this rollercoaster twelve mile trail, only seeing half a dozen other people out there, two of whom (Americans) kindly mistook me for a b----y Australian. Do I look like colonial? By the time we’d finished it was unbearably hot (8am!), I’d drunk two full bottles of water and was totally knackered.
Would I go again? Of course I would. It’s marvellous.
Adrian
If you have an amusing story, be it a wipeout, a holiday, or a ride write-up, please contact fun@extremists.co.uk