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This November we ran our seventh staff trip to Moab in Utah for some research into mountain biking. This essential work keeps our staff going through the winter months and helps us to inspire the Cycleshack community with tales of extreme desert riding and beautiful scenery.

This year a team of 4 started in Los Angeles in early November and after a night of recovery we drove to Cottonwood in Arizona to stay at a campsite within reach of the great riding at Sedona with its red rocks and spectacular trails. Dead Horse Ranch State Park is a great campsite with really good facilities, and even has its own set of desert biking trails going straight out of the campground. The desert surface is pretty hard, and you’re given a sun shade too although this wasn’t needed in early November.

Days in Cottonwood always start at Randalls, a local institution where all the local Trump supporters hang out, or so it seems. Mountainous plates of completely nutrition-free food start the day with a carb fuelled bang, washed down with mild warm brown water. It may not be coffee, but if you drink a gallon of it you get just enough caffeine to make it to one of the local coffee stops like The Human Bean (see what they did there?). Or even Starbucks, where you can see the local star dog getting his daily coffee from his car.

A short drive to Sedona  and on the first day we decided to try out a new area as Sam had done his research, and we hit the Chuckwagon – Mescal – Long Canyon trail area for a shakeout ride. Dan discovered his back brake wasn’t working properly and had some interesting moments, but then he rides faster than the rest of us anyway so it was hard to tell whether it was skill or lack of control. We were getting used to riding in the sunshine, all except for Sam who is possibly the most UV averse person I’ve ever met – he gets burnt between the tent and the car without Factor 50.

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The next day we headed for the famous Hiline Trail – a climb up to the top of one of the sandstone towers followed by a descent alternating between slickrock and very technical sections, best avoided by the author who is somewhat older and more breakable than the youngsters! Hiline is a must-do for any Sedona newbie and has some awesome views in between the rocky sections.

The journey between Sedona and Moab takes in, with a bit of a dogleg, the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley, so although it’s a bit of a rive there’s plenty to look at and wonder over on the way. We arrived in Moab early evening and checked in at the town centre campsite. It’s cold at night at this time of year, so the campsites are empty but they still have great hot showers, warm washrooms and wifi everywhere. It’s about zero most nights so not that cold really, a good bag keeps you warm enough.

Moab really is one of the major centres of the mountain biking world – originally this was because of the Slickrock Trail, but since then the range of trails has expanded into the hundreds and they are everywhere. The desert surface is perfect for riding, a combination of packed sand and gravel with slickrock sections – a misnomer as the last thing slickrock is, is slick! It’s a really grippy sandstone which has you riding across some highly improbable slopes and wondering how you’re staying on!

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Whilst in Moab we tried a range of rides – the Raptor rides including Falcon Flow, Amasa Back with Captain Ahab, Getaway and Bull Run followed by Arth’s Corner in the Mag 7 area, Rusty Spur and Sidewinder, and Porcupine Rim for a big day out. Unfortunately the world famous Whole Enchilada (is this the best trail in the world?) was snowed out – we had hopes and drove up as far as we could, but there was no way to access the very top. Next year…

The photos give an idea of the amazing experience of riding in Moab – every day a new, world class trail in bright sunshine and 15-20C temperatures with flow, technical features, jumps – whatever you like. If you want to take it easy you can ride flowing desert trails and enjoy the scenery, or you can push yourself with the best in the world. And then enjoy a coffee in the sun in the middle of Moab at Moab Coffee Roasters, watching to world go by. The town itself is pretty small although clearly enjoying a tourist boom – but it isn’t ruined, particularly if you go just outside of the tourist season. There are plenty of off-roaders here which is the other big thing in Moab, but they’re a friendly lot; and the town has everything you need but nothing you don’t need – so 2 supermarkets, loads of bike and outdoor shops, and tons of coffee.

The return journey goes via Hurricane in south-western Utah, a warmer area with plenty of excellent riding including the best known of SW Utah rides, Gooseberry Mesa. A couple of days here breaks up the long trip from Moab back to LA and also takes in the sites of the Red Bull Rampage, so you can try some extreme jumps and fall off knowing that if you break yourself, at least you won’t miss any more biking.

This was a truly great experience and we hope that it builds on the experience of our staff so that we can help our customers choose and ride all types of bike – especially mountain bikes of course!

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