The following continues where we left off in the July LINKS. Having a great time and expect to see everyone in the fall.     Alan

MOUNTAIN BIKING ROAD TRIP II

4) BLUE MOUNTAINS: I left Moab after Memorial Day. Detoured up into the Blue Mountains just west
of Monticello, UT. This is high and cool country with elevations over 11,000 feet. I camped in a
meadow surrounded by Quaking Aspens at about 8300 ft. This is really a beautiful site and free
camping too. Rode a very rough and steep trail near camp that took me about 2 hours to go 4.5 miles.
Way too much hike-a-bike. Later I did some careful map reading and found a good trail a few miles
from camp. Also steep and rough in places, but some buffed singletrack too. The trail crosses several
meadows covered with wild flowers and surrounded by Quaking Aspens. The word beautiful is
inadequate to describe this area, but I am taking lots of pictures. The weather here has been perfect
with highs 75 to 80 and lows about 45 to 50. Not a sign of rain so far. I mainly just wanted to rest here
for several days after all the frantic pace of Moab (too many tourists).

Spent about 5 hours fixing up a local trail here; removing loose rocks, logs, pruning etc, just so I can
get in a decent ride without spending all my time carrying the bike. Drove back to Moab to buy a GPS
unit. Decided this could be a real safety issue with all my riding alone in strange country. Now I've got
to learn how to use another gadget!

Did a killer ride June 12: down a steep and rough forest road from camp, down a sandy and rough
singletrack beside Indian Creek, then stopped at Newspaper Rock (covered with Indian Petrography)
for a rest and lunch. They key word here was down, as almost the entire trail was down hill to
Newspaper Rock. You guessed it: 2300 feet of climbing back to camp.... all on hot pavement,
completing a 24-mile loop. Also just switched to Time Pedals, so this made the technical sections
interesting. Why Time? Favored over Shimano by a wide margin out West. Shimano's get clogged
with sand and grit and can be very difficult to get out of.

They tell me the "monsoons" start here in the mountains about mid-June and run through August.
Never would have believed that in this dry country, but they have arrived. Thunderstorms pop up
around noon and usually bring only light rain but can have severe lightning. I have read that lightning is
the number one weather-related killer in Utah, so I do my rides early.

The last ride in the Blues was a great climbing trail (1800 ft) with superb views all around once on the
ridges. I kept noticing tracks in the trail in front of me, too small for cattle, but too big for deer. Finally
came on the source: Elk.

5) NORTH RIM: June 22-23 drove through Monument Valley en-route to Jacob Lake, Arizona and the
Kaibab National Forest. This is another Western Spirit tour destination and it has lived up to their
billing. Compared to what I have been riding these trails are really buffed, though in reality they are
rougher and harder than the North/South in LBL. I camped on the east edge of the plateau at 8800 ft
where I could actually see the Grand Canyon from my camper window. So far have ridden 34 miles on
the Arizona Trail. The AZT goes from Utah to Mexico, but I have no intention of tackling it all. We had a hailstorm

June 29 that left 2" of slush on the roads. I was gong to ride that day but earlier rain kept me inside so I

 missed the winter conditions on the trail.

Moved my camp to Timp Point on the west side of the Kaibab Plateau and on July 1 rode most of the
Rainbow Rim Trail, 18 miles of sweet singletrack right near the edge of the Grand Canyon. At least
that is what I thought. It actually goes near the edge at five points of land (Timp being the most
southerly one), the rest of the time you're weaving through Ponderosa or Aspens and climbing in and
out of canyons. A fair amount of the trail is rolling and fast... reminded me a lot of Tsali. Wanted to do
the whole thing as an out/back but had a flat with complications so only did 30 miles. Two days later
tried again with two new tires (running tubes for now, back to Stan's No-tubes later) and was able to
finish the entire 36 miles and almost 3000 ft of climbing....talk about being tired! Did a night ride on
the RRT with some folks from Prescott, AZ. This was my first night ride since last winter in LBL. Great
ride except for the dust, which really seems to hang in front of the lights. Even a Flamethrower is
ineffective in the dust, of course you can drop back about 1/4 mile, but then your riding alone at
night in mountain lion country...

6) BRIAN HEAD: July 6 moved again, this time to hot and dry Hurricane, UT. Have seen temps as high
as 107 here due to lower altitude of 3300 ft. Did the tourist thing a few days back in Zion National
Park. This is an amazing park and well worth some of the tourist hassles (like no cars in the park, you
must ride the buses).

Rode a neat trail called the JEM Trail (it was a gem) that went from near Hurricane to Virgin (no, did
not find any) through the desert. It sure is different riding with no trees to keep you on the path but
the cactus does a good job at that. It did not appear so on the trail map, but this trail was all
downhill, so it was a tough grind back to the truck. A LBS had told me this was a very easy and fun
trail, but it would have been more fun in the other direction, especially in the desert heat here. I had
wanted to do Gooseberry Mesa but heard it was a tough trail and I don't need to get on one like this
in the hot, dry desert heat. Maybe if I started at 6 AM... Yeh, sure!

Rode another Western Spirit Tour in Brian Head and Dixie National Forest July 12-16. Another great
WSC trip completed, the forth one now. This one may have been the most difficult, although the
climbing in Sun Valley last year was longer and steeper. It certainly was more technical, with one trail
called Old Dark Hollow possibly being the most challenging trail ever with steep descents over rooty,
rocky and slippery stuff for about five miles. Total descent on this trail and road was about 5000
feet. The last day's ride was an absolute "ten" with a ride starting in Red Rock Canyon, over Thunder
Mountain, followed by a long, fast (20-30 mph) descent back to the highway and camp. Thunder Mtn
was covered by weird red-rock formations called "hoodoos" along a superbly constructed trail.

Drove on into Nevada to check out Great Basin National Park where I stayed a few days and did
some serious hiking. MTB's are not allowed on the trails of most National Parks. First "hike" was a
ranger-led tour through Lehman Caves. The next day I hiked into a stand of Bristlecone Pines, oldest
living thing in the world, then on to the only glacier in Nevada. After a few days of recovery did a hard
hike/climb to the top of Wheeler Peak. This is the second highest point in Nevada at 13,063 feet
with nearly 3000 feet of elevation gain in about 4.5 miles of trail. It really wore me out but the view
was worth the climb. I also did a road ride there, from camp to about 10,000 feet. Took nearly an
hour to go up, 12 minutes down with a 24 mph average. The average speed could have been faster
but there is always at least one fool in some oversize RV taking up the whole road, and these roads
are already too narrow. First stop in Oregon was Crater Lake NP. I have seen photos of this place
 for years and always wanted to see it for myself. While now I have and it was more than worth
the wait. Incredible beauty, easy access and not crowded (a weekday). The only downer was the
smoke in the air from nearby forest fires making for reduced visibility (photos washed out). I had
wanted to do a bike ride on the 33 mile rim road. After driving most of it I nixed that. Way too much
climbing for me!

7) BEND: July 29, arrived in Bend, Oregon prepping for another Western Spirit Ride. Did a warm-up
ride on the Deschutes River Trail a few miles from town. This is a nice trail running alongside the
mostly whitewater river. Pretty much just fast cruising like the Barkley side of the Canal Loop, but way
more scenic, but a few rocky climbs keep one honest. Lots of rental raft traffic on the river can be
distracting (I may have to try this myself).

I have now completed my fifth Western Spirit Tour, Cascade Lakes August 2-6. Every trip I have done
had some special quality, whether it be descents, scenery, great trail or some combination. This trip
simply had superb trails. Not too technical, moderate climbing, fantastic fast descents and good
scenery. WSC always saves the best trail for the last day, and did it again here. Phil's Trail was way
high on the grin factor. Miles of whoop-te-doos (or wuups as there called here) 1-3 foot high with
sweeping banked turns everywhere on a gently descending slope. Everyone was laughing and giggling
at the end, even our guide Kristi who came from Bend. There is a local beer named after this popular
trail; Phil's Trail Ale. I asked our guide if you had to shake it up before drinking. We had a good range
of weather from sunny highs of 75, to rain/hail and one cold windy afternoon when no one could find
enough clothing to wear. Both camps were on lakes, the second one being a super swimming lake.
This trip had several riders near or over 60 (one was 67) so it was fun for us to keep up with the
younger crowd. We had a couple of tough hills that all were challenged to make and we stopped to
cheer each rider's effort. The first hill only the two 61 year olds made (I am including me though I am
not quite 61 yet), the second one only I made. Of course I am not including our guides George and
Kristi, they could climb a wall. Another great trip, great riders, great food, great everything...

I plan to camp and ride in Bend a few more days then on to Hood River for more riding. Hood River
was featured in a recent issue of Bike magazine and sounded good to me.

To be continued...