Training Log Archive: 'Bent

Nice final run with Bash, Harps and the dogs Kona and Trek. We ran mill creek, between cliffs and with petroglyphs. The dogs enjoyed swimming in the river as much as possible and it was a nice final run.

Moab has been a great holiday, and I hope to come back again.

(4 hrs) Back to Porcupine Ridge with Bash, Harps and 4 of Harps' buddies.

Bit of a hassle using the shuttle van- Driver was afraid of the 'bent. We finally persuaded him to put it on the roof with a wheel- grabber rack just like all the others, just securing the back tire, and I had to sign a big waiver.

Once on the trail Joe, Mac and I tended to scoot down the steep stuff, while the Harps was climbing like a machine, but made efforts to keep the pack together.

A few incidents- Mark flatted, and Ben gashed his calf up pretty well. I had to put him back together with Butterfly stick-ties, 1/3 of a sanitary pad, a wrapping of gauze, then an arm warmer as an outer layer. He got 15 stitches later.

Even with all this we had a great time with exciting riding and spectacular scenery.
The boys had an absolute blast.

We're gonna miss Moab.

C • Aha. So that's what those t... 5

(2.5 hr)
Back to Slickrock with Bash. We did some more GoPro filming, and found it a bit easier second time around. The place is basically a human-powered roller coaster.

Unfortunately Bash lived up to her AP name with an endo, banging her elbow, hip, knee and ribs. No Princess, we still had a decent ride after a bit of a pause.

Bash and I headed out of the desert and up the La Sal mountains. What a change to be wearing gloves, hat and micro spikes. We had a good hike up to 10 800 feet in the snow and trees, but Geyser Pass is still in the forest so not much view at the top. The drive up was pretty scenic though.

Easy run back down. Some post-holing in the soft snow.

Sovereign and Saltwash Flats trails with Harps and Bash.
Interesting area- bit of a moonscape with undulating rocky ridges and lots of dusty sand. Saltwash wasn't very 'Bent friendly, with loose sand and tight switchbacks, along with sketchy rocky and dusty climbs that I often had to push the 'bent up. Harps schooled us in this area, and had to wait for us a fair bit.

Luckily, the way back on Soverign was much better. Good flow, much nicer rocks and less sand made for a technical but fun finish.

( 2.5hrs) See Bash's log for photos, coming soon.

Met UltraChar and Chris for a run/ tour of the famous Arches park. Char had won her 24hr ultra overall two days before so she claimed she was running a little bit slower than usual, but seemed full of energy to me. We had a great time with stunning views and some really nice desert canyon running, and it was great to hang out with these two.

Slickrock with Bash- woohoo!

We took the bikes to the famous slickrock today. I had been a little nervous about how the 'bent bike would work on this type of rock, worried I might slide off or topple over but it turns out to be just fine.
Very interesting area. Lots of rolling smooth red rock with amazing traction which lets you crawl up, down or sideways on almost anything. Good thing, as the lumps can get very very steep in places, and I used my granny gear a lot. There were a few incredibly steep Granny-Gear-insufficient spots I had to walk, or I'd have wheelied over backwards.

On the first section Bash was really missing her granny gear as her 2 x 10 doesn't have one, but once we got going things were just fine. She rode well and had lots of fun.
I got a fair bit of go pro footage, but it's going to need a lot of editing.

Lots of funny comments as I was able to ride up almost everything and passed a lot of people pushing their bikes. Best comment: Brit- "How does that thing work?" 20 year old kid responds: "That thing's legit. You should see him climb past us."
The Brit begged me for a chance to try the 'bent.

Had so much fun in this really amazing area. I couldn't stop smiling for about an hour afterwards. At dinner, of course I had to order the Wahoo (fish)

Howling winds, with storms predicted so no biking. Much-needed relaxing morning.
Later Bash and I headed to Dead Horse Point for an easy but spectacular run on this finger of rock with Grand-Canyonesque vistas on both sides, but with the gusty winds I stayed well back.

Finally got some sleep last night, and the plan was Magnificent 7 trail.
Off to a poor start as my pack kept slipping sideways, the GoPro died after 30 seconds, my pump handle fell off somewhere and I slid out on a little incline and crashed over, all in the first 15 minutes.
Found the bits, got right side up, stashed the GoPro and got my pack sorted.
Lots of great twisty single track in the first hour, where Hopper Forbes danced up and Bash rode strongly and smoothly, while I didn't get as good a rhythm and lagged a bit. Still a gorgeous ride, with great scenery.

Next couple of hours were on jeep tracks- which turned out to be more technical than the single track. We were stunned to see jeeps climbing ste-e-ep slopes with meter- high rocks steps.

Harps was riding really well, but my bike worked better here so it wasn't frustrating for me any more. Bash was great on the technical, but had no Granny gear on her 2x10.

There were quite a few hard Granny-Gear -required smooth rock climbs and rolling drops, some great views, some soft unrideable sand near the end- this ride had everything! Truly epic.