Red rocks & fabulous formations

Introduction

2009-01-17T20:42:00.001-05:00

First, a warning. The photos in this journal are from pre-digital days. Not only that, the only "scanned" copies I have were saved from the the previous home of this journal, so the quality is questionable at best. I've included them here to provide a taste of the land. One day, I'm sure I will visit again.

Looking back...

I'm trying to remember what triggered my first trip to Moab. Normally an early-season trip for me is my way of finding someplace warm after a bad winter, but in 2001 my bike and I headed to Hawaii (Maui) in March for a taste of warm weather riding, so I'd already escaped winter once. I think what really happened is that I'd been trying to figure out a tour that would allow me to see Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, and every time I looked at the roads in that section of Utah I was scared away by the distances between towns. I know, I know, if I camp and carry lots of water I would be fine - but somehow that tour never happened. I kept going back and researching the area though, and I finally decided to just go and see the area by doing day trips, using Moab as my base.

One of the reasons I bought my Bike Friday Pocket Rocket was so I wouldn't have to think twice about traveling with a bike. For me, taking a bike along on a quick trip to an interesting place is a natural, and having a traveling bike makes it easier for me to dream about places I'd like to explore on a bike - whether the trip is a multi-day tour, or a series of day trips like my two trips to Moab were. I had the bike; now it was time to travel...

Actually the trigger for my Pocket Rocket was a trip I took in the fall of 2000. I was supposed to do a 2-week tour in Montana and Wyoming, with the intent of visiting both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. I was scared away by an intense fire season, with active fires within 5 miles of where I was planning to ride. If I'd been on a cross-country journey I would have kept on pushing, perhaps finding an alternate route. But since my entire trip was planned for an area that was engulfed in flames, I canceled my bike tour and went hiking in the Canadian Rockies instead. Since I had biked there on my first solo tour, I figured that hiking would give me an opportunity to get to some different places. I loved my hiking trip, but I would have been happier if I could have interspersed my hiking with a couple of days of biking. As soon as I got home from my hiking trip I called Bike Friday... and now I have a bike that is built for travel, no oversize luggage fees, no problem fitting the bike in a small rental car... I took 4 trips in the first year that I had the bike, with only one an extended tour - all of the others were either biking day trips, or just having a bike with me on a non-biking trip in case I wanted to ride.

I didn't keep a journal on either of my treks to Moab, so this account was written from memories, helped along (of course) by my photos. My 2002 trip to Moab was the last trip I took before entering the digital camera era - but when I had my pictures developed I also had them stored on a CD. After looking at the number of pictures I took on my 2003 cycling trip to Ireland, it's clear to me that I had a film camera with me on these two trips - I didn't take as many photos as I would have if I had a digital camera with me. Maybe that's a signal to go back again!

And why road biking? Because that's what I like! All of you mountain bikers out there may think I'm a bit crazy to road bike in such a wonderful place for mountain biking - but hey, people have told me I'm different before. I'm just being me!

2009-01-17T20:30:00.000-05:00

For now, please use Blogger's list of posts in the sidebar to follow my trip in reverse sequence. I plan to flip this blog on its head so that the posts flow from oldest to newest (like the table of contents in a book), adding a real Table of Contents and a Page by Page sidebar entry, and adding (better) next and previous links at the bottom of each post.

I probably won't be able to make these changes for the next several weeks.

...Denise, January 17, 2009

Traveling (not touring) with bikes

2004-01-11T12:08:00.001-05:00

As I finish up this journal of two very enjoyable trips with my bike, I'm in the processing of trying to narrow down a tour location for 2004. I have to keep reminding myself that it's OK to do a trip that isn't a tour... While I really like touring by bike, there are some locations that I want to visit where touring would be difficult for me. Not impossible, but not necessarily an ideal spot for a solo tour.

OK, I know that some of you are more daring than I am and are willing to tour in places that I wouldn't consider...

But - for 2004, I am planning on a tour, not day trips! I just don't know where yet.

Looking back on these two trips to Moab reminds me that I enjoy traveling with my bike, whether or not my ultimate destination and activity is a full-blown bike tour. As I mentioned in the beginning of this short photo journal, I would have been happier on my 2000 hiking trip to the Canadian Rockies if I'd had a bike with me. Don't get me wrong - that really was a hiking trip - but I would have enjoyed riding on one or two days. Obviously I think it is worth the trouble of traveling with a bike. The one negative is that if I bring my bike I have to check luggage on the plane. Well, I guess that's both a negative and a positive - a negative in that I have to wait for the bags at the end of my trip and I have to trust that the airlines will not send my bike to some other destination, and a positive in that I'm not hauling my belongs all over the airport. And while on occasion I have had my bike arrive on a different flight than mine, so far my luck has been good and my bike has always been delivered within a couple of hours of my own arrival. Here's hoping that my good luck with planes and bikes continues...

My Moab trips were somewhat unique in that since Moab is such a mountain bike mecca it would have been easy to rent a decent bike there. Not a road bike - which is one of the reasons my bike traveled with me - but decent mountain bikes are available for rent. It's much harder to find nice road bikes for rent, but I have been known to rent a bike for a few hours when I really want to ride and I don't have my own bike with me. All in all, I'm happier bringing my bike along!

Resources: links and comments

2002-04-30T12:11:00.000-04:00

Are you thinking of wandering off to Moab yourself? Here are some of the resources I used to plan my trips; maybe they'll be helpful to you too.

The Moab information site has links to park information, lodging options, general visitor information, and lots of pictures.

discovermoab, the official website of the Moab Area Travel Council, has a page with PDF brochures and maps of the area. This site also has links to park information, lodging options, and other general visitor information.

The National Park Service site contains information on all of the US national parks. There are many more national parks in Utah than those that I visited on this trip. But I thoroughly enjoyed the two parks that are close to Moab:

For a small town, Moab sure has a lot of bike shops!

Are you fascinated by my traveling bikes? You can check out both my Pocket Rocket and my Air Glide (and Bruce's Air Friday) on the Bike Friday web site. If you happen to call the folks there, please mention my name!

Although I'm really not a mountain biker, the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park fascinates me. The biking in Utah site - which contains mainly information on mountain biking - is the only non-commercial source of information on the White Rim Trail that I could find (look under Canyonlands on the trails page). If you're thinking of heading out on this trail - permits are required, and they limit the number of people / groups allowed in any one backcountry camp site. If you don't want to do a commercial tour, I imagine that you could get quite a bit of information by calling one of the many Moab bike shops. Information is also available on the famous Slickrock Trail, in addition to information on many other trails.

Moab is a tourist area, so there are many choices for places to eat. Here are some of the restaurants that I liked:

Slickrock Cafe. I had both dinner and breakfast there; good food, and an Internet cafe too.
I ate at two Mexican restaurants - one called Banditos Grill that was a couple of blocks from the center of town heading toward Arches National Park, and the other in the center of town. Both were very good.
The Red Rock Bakery and Net Cafe was a good breakfast place (bagels, bagel sandwiches) and another place with Internet access.
Breakfast at Tiffany's - right next to the Hotel Off Center - had great breakfast food, both hot food and good pastries.
And Jailhouse Cafe was yet another good breakfast place.
Ice cream was readily available as you wander through the center of town. I usually stopped at an ice cream place next to the Slickrock Cafe for my after dinner ice cream.

There is a decent grocery store within walking distance of the center of town - just head south.

On most of the rides that I did there was no place to restock food or water - so be sure to carry whatever you need. The exception - on my out and back ride on the Arches National Park road, there is a campground at the end of the road so I was able to fill up on water there.

It's fun to share

2002-04-29T12:07:00.000-04:00

It was a good few days, and it was fun to share this area with a friend.

Time to head out... Bruce was planning to ride his bike to his plane, which is parked at Moab's little airport about 10 to 15 miles north of town. I offered to drop him off on my way out of town, and he took me up on that offer. We had a leisurely breakfast, then loaded up the car with all of our gear. My bike was packed in its case, ready for travel by commercial jet. Bruce's bike was just folded into a soft bag since he was going to put it in the back seat of his plane - no need to pack it into a case. I dropped him off then headed back to Grand Junction to catch my own flight home. My return trip was much smoother than last year's - everything was on time, and my bike and I even arrived in Boston on the same flight. Amazing...

We talked a lot about our plans for long rides in the summer. I was still trying to decide on a destination, and Bruce had already decided that he was heading to Norway to ride. Little did I know at the time of our conversations that in less than two weeks I would be laid off from my job. Footloose and fancy free, and about to have the time for the ride of my dreams.

One last wander

2002-04-28T12:03:00.001-04:00

After a quick stop at the hotel we headed back into Arches. Today we drove out to the end of the park road to the Devil's Garden Trailhead. From there, we walked out to Landscape Arch, which is an unbelievably long and skinny ribbon of rock. Beautiful.

On the drive back out we made a quick stop at the Fiery Furnace viewpoint. I guess I'm going to have to return to Moab again because I'd love to walk through this area. The park service describes this area as a labyrinth of narrow sandstone canyons and fins that has no marked trails. You need a permit to hike back there, and the park service recommends that you go on a ranger-led hike there before venturing out alone. I don't need much of a reason to return to beautiful places for another trip - but this might just be the trigger point for another trip to Moab in the future!

Well, time to head back to the hotel, and time to pack up my bike for the plane ride home...

Heading north along the Colorado

2002-04-28T11:59:00.002-04:00

Our last day of riding for this trip was an another out-and-back ride along the Colorado River, this time heading to the north and east. We didn't ride to the end of the road this time, since that would have entailed a lot more riding than we were prepared to do - especially since the road we were on, route 128, eventually intersected with Interstate 70. There is actually about a 60-mile loop that looks like it would be very interesting, but neither of us was up for that distance today.

If you're interested, the loop heads out 128, then loops over (around) the La Sal Mountains and eventually comes out south of Moab. I believe there is a section of this that is unpaved - check in at one of the local bike shops for more information.

I find it amazing that our two days of river riding had very different scenery. The ride yesterday had sheer cliffs on one side of the road for a good chunk of time. Today, while there were cliffs, they weren't backed right onto the road. We saw people playing in the river in kayaks today, practicing in relatively calm waters.

It was another good riding day...

Can I say that my bike and I were practicing dipping wheels in the water for my upcoming cross-country trip? Not really, because at this point I didn't yet know that I would lose my job within the next few weeks!

Time to hike to Delicate Arch

2002-04-27T11:54:00.001-04:00

I loved the hike to Delicate Arch last year, and even if Bruce hadn't been with me (this is his first visit to Arches National Park) I would have returned to hike it again. We drove in to the Wolf Ranch parking area, which is also the start of the hike to Delicate Arch, and headed upward, Camelbaks filled with cold water for our out and back hike.

We talked with other people as we walked, and as usual I wondered about the folks who were hiking without any water. I'm always amazed when I see that, although I should be used to seeing unsafe things (like hiking in the desert without any water) by now! We spent a good chunk of time sitting, talking, and shooting photos when we got to Delicate Arch. And on the way back down we scrambled up to a window in the rock that framed a beautiful view of the arch. No goats on this trip, but it was still a wonderful walk.

When we got close to the bottom, we took a side trail that led to some petroglyphs, and then stopped again to look at the remains of the Wolf Ranch buildings.

Then it was time to return to Moab for a shower, clean clothes, and our usual good dinner followed by ice cream.

South along the Colorado River

2002-04-27T11:46:00.001-04:00

...rolling on two wheels

It was a river-side riding day today, and there was no need to use that fossil-fuel-powered vehicle to get us to our ride today. We simply rode north from Moab, and turned south and west once we reached the Colorado River. We followed Route 279, also known as Potash Road, to its end at the Moab salt plant (or is it a potash plant?). What a contrast - a drop dead beautiful scenic area that ends in an industrial plan. Hmmm...

We had to stop to watch the human spiders on the rock walls along the road, climbing up sheer cliffs. Interesting that the person belaying the climber was often standing or sitting in the driving lane of the road. Sometimes they were off the road, but sometimes they needed to be in the road.

As we continued down the road we came to a section of wall that contained petroglyphs. You really had to look hard to see them; they were high on the wall, which makes me think that the bottom of the canyon was much higher at the time that the petroglyphs were created.

Back on the bikes, riding, riding... and oh, what's that? There's a calf resting along the side of the road. I wonder where its mother is? It was gone when we came back on our way back to Moab, so I guess it really was just resting, not injured. What a cutie!

And look - there's an arch along the side of the road. Beautiful.

Bruce and I definitely have a compatible riding style, but our body thermometers are really different! Bruce rode the entire day wearing his windbreaker, and I rode (almost) the entire day in a sleeveless jersey. I found the temperature difference between last years ride and this one very interesting. Last year it was very hot, and this year there were days with a touch of cool in the air. We're here a month earlier than I was last year, and I have to say that having cooler weather makes for better riding conditions.

Ah, the end of the road. Time to head back to Moab to swap bikes for hiking shoes (sandals for me), and time to get something cold to drink before heading back to Arches for some walking.

Finished riding, time for a glimpse of Arches

2002-04-26T11:43:00.001-04:00

Once we were done with our Canyonlands ride, we folded our bikes back into the trunk of the car and headed out of the park. We stopped at a gas station that we passed once we hit the main road again (still a two lane road, nothing big about the main road) to get a snack and something cold to drink. Then we headed in to Arches National park. Since the park was on the way back to Moab, we didn't stop at the hotel to change clothes. Biking clothes were fine for our drive and short walks, but we both changed shoes - no traipsing through the sand in our stiff cycling shoes!

We visited the Windows section of the park, walking to the north and south windows and Double Arch. And of course we passed Park Avenue, the Courthouse Towers, and Balanced Rock on our way in.

Biking around the top of the mesa

2002-04-26T11:39:00.001-04:00

After a good breakfast we headed back to the Hotel Off Center to load our bikes into the car. Since we were both riding Bike Fridays, we simply folded the bikes and popped them into the trunk. Easy...

We headed for the Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands National Park. We passed by the airport where Bruce's plane was parked, and stopped by so he could retrieve his sandals. It was my first view of his little plane...

Our ride today would be a repeat of the ride that I did last year, but with company this time. Bruce and I have pretty compatible riding styles since we both like to stop, look around, and take pictures. And Bruce was willing and able to ride my pace. He's capable of riding much faster than I am, but was fine with my slower pace.

As we headed across the narrow land bridge that leads to the top of the mesa, I was again fascinated by the narrow ribbon of a trail leading down to the bottom of the canyon. Given that I'm a slow hill climber, I probably wouldn't be happy riding up that trail - but spending a couple of days exploring down there still sounds interesting. Maybe someday this road bike tourist will attempt a mountain bike trip; seems like this would be a good place for a supported tour.

We rode all of the paved road surface on top of the mesa, stopping often to just drink in the views. We rode, we stopped and looked - not that we didn't look around as we rode, but sometimes you just have to get off of your bike for a more in depth look (without riding over the edge). As expected, the pictures that I took just don't do the place justice. You'll just have to use them as a jumping off point for your imagination.

2002: Sharing Moab with a friend

2002-04-25T11:33:00.000-04:00

As winter started moving into spring, I started thinking of biking. When I was younger I thought I could go see a place once and then move on to something different. I know better now. If I visit someplace and think it's wonderful, odds are that I'll go back again (and again, and...). I decided to decided to repeat my Moab trip as a jump back into cycling after the cold months.

I settled on some dates, then shot off an email to a biking friend in California to see if he was interested in a short biking trip. Bruce wasn't sure he could fit a long weekend in with his workload, but he also thought Moab sounded good. We left it open-ended, and I assumed that I'd be doing a solo trip again. I booked flights and hotel (the same place!), and started counting the days until my trip. Close to my departure time, I got an email from Bruce; he decided to join me - especially since he could make it a 2-day flight in his own plane. There's a little airport north of Moab, very convenient. He's another Bike Friday owner, so he just pulled his bike out of his plane, hooked up the trailer, and rode into town. Since I was flying in to Grand Junction, I rented a car to get to Moab - so we had our alternate transportation for when we wanted (needed) a lift to our biking location.

Bruce arrived before I did, and since he'd ridden in from the airport his bike was already all set to ride. I pulled my bike out of the case and put it together, then headed outside to ride around the block to make sure everything was smooth. It felt great with smooth shifting and well-behaved brakes. With the bikes all set, we headed out to stretch our legs by walking a bit. First stop, one of Moab's many bike shops so Bruce could pick up a Camelbak. Next, time to hit the grocery store to pick up some snacks and Gatorade for tomorrow. We wandered by some restaurants to check out the menus, then headed back for a quick shower. I felt like I needed (OK, wanted) to wash off the travel grit before dinner. A good dinner, ice cream for desert, and then it was time to get some sleep. Can't wait to ride...

Unlike my trip in 2001 when I spent a day riding the roads in Arches National Park, then popped back into the park to hike Delicate Arch on a later day, on this trip Bruce and I decided not to ride in Arches. We headed out on our bikes every morning, and when we were done riding we grabbed shoes suitable for hiking and headed into Arches to do a little exploring.

For those of you who aren't interested in the non-biking half of our days, I've split the journal entries into two parts. The first journal page for each day is our morning jaunt with our bikes, and the second journal page for each day is from our wandering through Arches National Park by car and foot. The journal page titles reflect our activity so you can easily skip the non-biking part of our days (although the non-biking pages are primarily pictures).

An unexpectedly long journey home

2001-05-29T11:32:00.000-04:00

What a funny day!
Before I left Moab in the morning for my drive back to Grand Junction to catch my flight, I actually thought about calling the airline to see if my flight was on time. No - it's too early to call, they either won't know or won't tell me. Wouldn't you know that after I turned in my rental car and proceeded to the United Express counter in Grand Junction that I found out that my flight wasn't delayed - it was canceled! There was a mechanical problem with the plane, and all of the other flights from Grand Junction to Denver were full. Uh oh - who's going to believe me when I call to say I won't make it to work tomorrow because I'm stuck in Colorado with my bicycle!

So, it was a trek through the Rockies by bus... I hate buses - but this was a great ride. The flight that was canceled was a commuter flight - so not that many people (maybe 30). The airline chartered a tour bus just for us, so everyone had their own set of seats - a window view was had by all.

As we boarded the bus the airline agents handed us snack bags, then came onto the bus to offer us a second bag. I took 2 because they each had a bottle of water - but I had to eat some of the other contents too - individually packaged cookies, candy bars, peanut butter cheese crackers, peanuts. Hey - we all had our fill of junk food for the day!

I was booked on a later than planned flight from Denver to Boston since the bus didn't make it there in time for my originally scheduled flight. It was a non-eventful flight, although it was very late by the time I got home. Not a problem though, I slept in for a bit, then wandered in to the office late the next day.

It was a good trip...

One day in Arches just wasn't enough...

2001-05-28T11:30:00.000-04:00

...hiking to Delicate Arch

I just didn't get enough of Arches National Park in the one day I spent there; the one thing I really wanted to do that seemed a bit much on that first day was the hike up to Delicate Arch. Although this isn't a long hike, it's much longer than the short walks from the parking areas that I managed to incorporate with my riding - it's classified by the National Park Service as a long hike. It's only 3 miles round trip, but it's pretty much uphill all the way out, and the surface under your feet is slickrock. It's not a hike that I wanted to try in my biking shoes.

So, after my round-trip drive to The Needles with a bike ride sandwiched in the middle, I stopped at the hotel to change into regular shorts (not padded cycling shorts) a tank top, and my Chaco sandals (much better for walking than my very stiff cycling shoes). I filled up my Camelbak (again) with cold water and headed back to Arches.

It was fairly late in the afternoon when I started my hike, and although the National Park Service suggests that the hike will take 2 to 3 hours, I walk pretty fast and assumed I'd be back at the car well before dark. I was right; even with taking time to just soak in the scenery, I was back at the car in about an hour and a half.

Delicate Arch is definitely a "wow" sight. It was beautiful to see if from the viewpoint by the road, but it was very very cool to be able to walk right up to it. There were quite a few people up there, and it was fun to talk with some of the other people both during my walk and as I just sat and stared at Delicate Arch and at the other sights.

And - I was very lucky to see some funny mountain goats as I was about halfway back. I saw that a group of people who were in front of me had just stopped and were standing still. I looked around, didn't see anything, and then I looked up. Ah... there were some mountain goats standing on top of a rock. As I got closer, one was looking at us as if to say "what are you doing here?". Silly goat...

The Needles

2001-05-28T11:12:00.000-04:00

A drive, a cow jam, and a bike ride

Today I headed for the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park. The National Park Service web site describes it as:

The Needles District forms the southeast corner of Canyonlands and was named for the colorful spires of Cedar Mesa Sandstone that dominate the area. The district's extensive trail system provides many opportunities for long day hikes and overnight trips. Foot trails and four-wheel-drive roads lead to such features as Tower Ruin, Confluence Overlook, Elephant Hill, the Joint Trail, and Chesler Park.

It was a bit of a drive from Moab - 40 miles south and 35 miles west. I thought it would be worth the drive, so I popped the bike into the car and took off. My first stop was to see Newspaper Rock, which is an absolutely amazing wall of petroglyphs. Just seeing it made the drive worth while - although the bike ride itself contributed a lot to my day's success.

Once I was finished viewing the petroglyphs, I figured it would be a straight shot into the park with no delays. Well, I was almost right - it was a straight shot, but there was definitely a delay. I ran right into a very large cow jam! I obviously wasn't using my camera-brain since it took me quite a while to grab my camera and take some pictures. By the time I picked up my camera I had missed quite a few good shots of the cows, the cowguys & gals, and the persistent herding dogs. I have to say that I was very glad that I was in my car and not standing with my bike in the middle of what seemed like hundreds of cows all over the road. I got quite a kick out of the dogs though. They stood their ground and didn't give up when the cows initially refused to move. A second blast of barks from a very determined dog convinced the cows that it was time to move on. But I was stuck there for at least 15 to 20 minutes! My bike decided to stop yelling at me for driving into the park - it was still clean, and I suspect that both the bike and I would have had a good layer of cow shit on us if we'd been in the middle of that mess!

Finally, the entrance to the park! I left the car at the visitor's center and took off on my bike. There isn't much in the way of paved road in this section of the park, but I covered all of it! There were arches and needles (sandstone spires), fantastic colors. It's amazing how different this section of the park is from the Island in the Sky section...

It was a beautiful day and a very enjoyable ride, even though it was a bit longer than I liked in the car. If I go back again - what am I saying, when I go back again - I'm going with hiking boots. This part of the park definitely needs hiking to see the spectacular parts...

There are some unpaved roads in the Needles section of the park, but the park service web site warns that "many of the roads in the Needles District travel up wash bottoms and are unsuitable for bikes due to deep sand and water". And mountain biking in the park is limited to the roads, no single track allowed. It seemed to me that there were some areas in the Needles section that were accessible by unpaved roads and would be suitable for mountain bikes, but I guess that depends on whether you like to ride through deep sand... Sounds like the White Rim Trail and the Maze district of the park would be better destinations for those of you who want to explore on your mountain bikes.

Island in the Sky: A spectacular mesa

2001-05-27T10:52:00.002-04:00

Today's agenda was to explore the Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands National Park. This is an interesting park both because the geology/landscape in wonderful, and because the Colorado and Green rivers separate the park into 4 distinct sections. The National Park Service web site provides this description of the section that I visited today:

"The Island in the Sky mesa rests on sheer sandstone cliffs over 1,000 feet above the surrounding terrain. Every overlook offers a different perspective on Canyonlands' spectacular landscape. The Island is the easiest district to visit in a short period of time, offering many pullouts with spectacular views along the paved scenic drive."

The visitor center at the Island in the Sky is 32 miles from Moab, so I opted to drive to the park, and then to ride the park roads. It would have been a very long day if I'd ridden my bike the 32 miles, then did my 37 mile ride in the park, then rode the 32 miles back to Moab. Way too much for me for this early season ride, and it was another hot day too. Better to use that extra fossil-fueled vehicle that I rented for my trip here!

It was a beautiful (but relatively short) drive from Moab to the Island in the Sky. I found a parking spot at the visitor center and headed inside to look at the exhibits. Back out, a quick stop in the bathroom (or should I say the outhouse?), and it was time to pull my bike out of the car. It was screaming at me - time to ride, time to ride!

I headed across the narrow land bridge that connects to the Island in the Sky, and wondered how long it will be before it erodes away entirely. I can see a switchbacked trail heading to the canyon floor; it's the start of the White Rim trail. That would certainly provide a different perspective to this place. Riding on the top of the mesa, a pretty flat route with a bit of tilt every so often, just taking in the flowers and the distant views. As the road goes through the center of the mesa, I can see desert flowers and flat expanses of land, but when it wanders close to the edge - what a fabulous view! I'm keeping pictures in my mind because this is the type of place where you'd have to hit the light conditions just right to get fabulous pictures to match the view.

As I got back to the visitor's center at the end of my ride, I met the same mountain bike riders I'd talked to in Arches two days ago. They were having a short meeting with their tour guide prior to heading out on the White Rim Trail. We chatted for a few minutes, and then I packed up the car and headed back to Moab.

I checked back into the Hotel Off Center, definitely my preferred home away from home here. My first room wasn't too off the wall - I'd say it looked like an old-style lawyers office - but my new room is pretty interesting. It's actually two rooms, with the feel of the late 50's, bright orange in places, pinks and blues in others, complete with a fallout shelter sign on the wall. What fun! Looking back, I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of the room. Guess that's the difference between traveling with a film camera and traveling with a digital camera!

I got settled in again, showered, and headed out for food. It was another Mexican food night, this time some really good fish tacos.

Along the Colorado River

2001-05-26T10:42:00.002-04:00

Before I headed out for the day I packed up and stashed everything in the car (everything but the bike, that is!). I was hoping that there would be a cancellation at the Hotel Off Center for tonight, but there wasn't, so I had to move to a different place for tonight. I wasn't traveling with too much stuff, so it was a simple matter to throw everything back in my duffle bag for the day.

I had a great breakfast at Breakfast at Tiffany's - a good food start to a good riding day!

OK, time to go. I left the car parked at the Hotel Off Center and headed out on my bike, time to explore the road along the Colorado River. North or south? I couldn't decide, so I decided to do both. It was going to be an out and back ride again today, so why not two out and back rides? I started by heading north along the river, then eventually turned and re-traced my route. When I got back to route 191 I crossed over and continued to ride south along the river for a while before retracing my route. It was much more of a solitary ride; unlike yesterday when there were lots of people to talk with and to share the wonder of the landscape, I was pretty much on my own today. There were people playing in the river, and an occasional car rambling by, but it was a quiet people day. Enjoyable though...

Back to town, time to get something cold to drink. After a smoothie, I headed to the car, and drove the few blocks to the Day's Inn. From the interesting rooms of the Hotel Off Center, to the standard (and somewhat boring rooms of a chain motel). But it worked, and it would only be for one night. My biggest problem with this hotel were the big signs saying that bikes weren't allowed in the rooms! Unlike the Hotel Off Center, most of the other hotels in this bike-loaded town didn't want bicycles in their rooms. They did supply a place to lock up bicycles, but I decided to just leave the bike in the car. I just folded the frame and left it hidden in the trunk. I probably could have snuck the bike into the room through one of the (locked) side entrances to the place, but I figured the trunk would work for one night.

Dinner tonight was at Bandito's Grill - a nice big bean and rice burrito. Yum.

Among the (natural) sculptures

2001-05-25T10:22:00.001-04:00

...wandering in Arches National Park

Finally - Arches National Park! I've wanted to visit here for ages, and now I can combine one of my favorite activities - biking, of course - with wandering through red rock formations. I had a good breakfast, then opted to drive to the park. Lazy, lazy... but as I drove past Arches on my way in to Moab yesterday I saw that there was a big hill leading from the visitor center at the entrance of the park to the main part of the park. The elevation here is higher than I'm used to - no surprise since I live at sea level - and I decided that I didn't want to start out today with a big climb. At the end of the day I realized that this was a really good decision...

Looking back at the road from a viewpoint in the park... back down that big hill

I stopped at the visitor center as I entered the park to take a look at the exhibits. Then I drove up into the park and stopped at the first parking area to switch to my preferred mode of transportation - my bike. I happily headed down the main park road on my nice blue bike. It was a day of many stops. I stopped at every viewpoint and formation, and took all of the short walks back to see the wonderful sculpted rocks. I was carrying a lock with me, so I had no problem with leaving my bike. OK, OK, my bike had a problem with me leaving it behind, but there's no biking allowed off-road in this park, so it had to be happy with waiting for me!

While I was thinking ahead far enough to bring a lock, I didn't think about carrying a change of shoes with me. It's not really the smartest move to wander in sand and on rocks wearing cleated and very stiff cycling shoes. I use Speedplay frog pedals, which do use a recessed cleat, but I still hear a little bit of clicking as I walk, and my preferred shoes are very very stiff - excellent for riding, but not so good for walking. This wasn't a huge problem since I was only walking short distances, but I think if I ride down this road again I'll carry my Chaco sandals and switch shoes before I start walking.

I talked to a lot of people along the road today. Many of the sculpted features of Arches are easily seen from the park road, and in many cases only a short walk is required for a closer view. I guess you could say that this is a very accessible park.

The flowers were absolutely amazing. I guess I caught the spring flowers just right, and one of the rangers told me that this is one of the best springs in years in terms of the flowers. It seems that Arches had just the right kind and amount of moisture over the winter to cause an explosion of spring blooms. Wonderful!

It was a slow riding day, both because I kept stopping to look around, and because I was moving pretty slowly. I occasionally wondered why, but I chalked it up to leftover tiredness from my travel day yesterday. Turns out it wasn't that at all; I didn't realize until I reached my turnaround point at the end of the road that the road was tilted at a slight uphill grade. That in combination with the higher than normal altitude (for me, that is - the bike didn't care) is what caused my "why am I riding so slowly?" thoughts. In spite of those thoughts I really enjoyed all parts of my day, and the ride back out (yes, it was an out-and-back ride today) was easier.

It was a very hot day, so I was happy to find water at the picnic area at the end of the road. While I had enough drinking water with me, I didn't want to risk using it up by splashing myself with water. With the picnic area and campground all of the way in the park, I had access to cool water to splash on my face and to replenish my Camelbak. I took a short rest here - a good spot for a snack, and a chance to talk to others who were enjoying the park as much as I was.

As I was heading back along the road at the end of the day, I started to bypass a parking area and scenic spot. I'd stopped there earlier in the day, and I wasn't going to stop a second time until I hear some people commenting on my little-wheeled bike. So of course I stopped to talk to them! It turns out that they were a group of mountain bikers who were about to set off (in a couple of days time) to do the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park. They were touring Arches by car and foot (no off-road riding allowed here), and they were as fascinated by the park as I was.

Park Avenue... well the other side might remind one of Park Avenue, but these formations feel Egyptian to me

It's amazing to me to see these monolithic pieces of rock emerging from the landscape.

Another view of Balanced Rock - it's amazing how different it appears from the other side

2 planes, a car, & a bicycle

2001-05-24T10:20:00.001-04:00

It's interesting heading off on a bike trip that is a series of day trips instead of a tour - no pre-trip jitters!

Today was a reasonable travel day. The first leg was smooth, landing in Denver on time. I headed for the gate for my commuter flight to Grand Junction, only to find that my flight was going to be late by an unspecified amount of time. Hurry up and wait... Oh well, it gave me time to find some ice cream in the airport. The flight was an hour late, not too bad.

I got off the plane and headed directly for the rental car counter. By the time my car arrangements were complete, my bike and my duffle bag were circling the baggage conveyor belt. I guess that's a positive point of flying on a little plane into a little airport. I picked up my bags, and I was off. Almost there!

I headed west on Interstate 70. It's amazing - it almost seems that you can tell where the state line is. I noticed this on my Rocky Mountain tour as I crossed from Idaho to Montana. This time the line was from Colorado to Utah. Even though Grand Junction is in the dry southwest corner of Colorado, I still noticed a difference in the terrain as I crossed the state line. I stopped at the first rest area after I entered Utah to pick up a state highway map and to put on some cooler clothes. Shorts were definitely in order!

I arrived in Moab and quickly found the Hotel Off Center. All of the rooms are on the second floor of a building that doesn't have an elevator, so I had to haul my bike case up the stairs. Not a problem - I learned that it's pretty easy to roll it up the stairs! I checked in and settled into my room.

My first task was to reassemble my bike. This is the third time I've traveled with my Pocket Rocket, and I'm getting better at the packing/unpacking thing. The bike went together pretty quickly. I changed into bike clothes, and went out for a quick spin to make sure that everything was OK. I had some trouble getting the front derailleur to behave itself, so I headed off to one of Moab's many bike shops to get some help. No one blinked an eye when I walked into a shop that sold only mountain bikes and asked them to help me with a road bike. It took the mechanic a bit of fiddling to convince the derailleur to behave - which made me feel better about my inability to correct the problem - and I left there with a perfectly tuned bike.

Looking back... I have no idea what caused the problem since the bike was working perfectly when I packed it. I'll probably never know, but that level of problem only happened on this one trip. Sometimes the adjustment will be a little off, but nothing like the problem on this trip. Guess I was lucky that the one time that I had a problem where I needed help to fix it that I was in a town that knew bicycles!

There was still daylight left, and I was already dressed to ride, so I decided to wander around a bit on my bike to get the lay of the land. A short ride was just what I needed after a long travel day to make me feel normal again. Back to the hotel for a quick shower to wash off all of the travel grit, then it was time to find some dinner. My last task for the day after a satisfying dinner at the Slick Rock Cafe and ice cream treat (yes, it was a two ice cream day!) was to stop at the grocery store to stock up on snacks for tomorrow.

It was a good day, and I know tomorrow will be better since I plan to spend the entire day on my bike!

2001: Heading to Moab for the first time

2001-05-20T10:18:00.001-04:00

My first trip was driven by my desire to see Arches National Park, which is just to the north of Moab. It seemed like a good place to go for a long weekend. I know, it's a bit far, but I've never let that stop me before. I found decent air fare, and decent connecting flights - Boston to Denver, Denver to Grand Junction. Everything just clicked, so the planning continued...

I started looking for a place to stay in Moab. I was leaning toward a B&B, and I really wanted the place to be in walking distance of the center of town. Even though I would have a car on this trip, I like to be able to walk to get food. I was also looking for a place that was reasonably priced, and many of the B&Bs were outside of my target price range. There is a hostel in town, but I wasn't in a hostel mood... I found a funky sounding hotel that turned out to be wonderful - the Hotel Off Center. The name is a bit odd, but the place was wonderful. The owners are very friendly, and very bicycle oriented. Unlike other hotels in town that don't welcome bicycles, the Hotel Off Center welcomes bicycles in the rooms along with their owners. The rooms - well they are definitely interesting. Each room has a theme - one looks like a beach, one like a mine shaft, one like... well, I'm sure you get the picture! The bathrooms are down the hall - and they turned out to be spotless, with extra towels waiting to be claimed. Guests generally sat in their rooms with the doors open, leading to many conversations...

When I called to make a reservation for 5 nights I found that the Hotel Off Center had a room available for the first 2 nights and the last 2 nights that I needed, but not for the night in the middle. Hmmm... what to do? If this was a tour I'd be moving every day, so I decided that switching hotels wouldn't be too much of a pain. I took the 4 available nights and reserved a room in a more standard hotel for the missing night. I asked to be notified if there was a cancellation, but as it turned out I did have to move out for a night and then move back in. The plus to this hotel movement was that I got to experience two different rooms at the Hotel Off Center!

Update on November 5, 2006:The Hotel Off Center changed hands a couple of years ago, and along with new owners it also sported a new name. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find any reference to the old hotel. And based on this article, this wonderful property appears to be gone. The linked article references some other motels in Moab that are bicycle-friendly.

OK, that's it. Plane reservations, a place to stay, a rental car, it's time to pack my bike and take off.