>>> 5.15.06 - Slickrock Trail - Moab, Utah

Description: THE Mountain Bike Trail
Distance: 12 miles (we rode from town, 18 miles total)
Elevation Gain: 2,000 ft. +
Information: Moab, Utah

Review: Three friends and I traveled to Utah and hit one of the baddest mountain bike trails in existence. The Slickrock Trail in Moab, Utah is made up of petrified sand dunes that are perfect for bikes or jeeps. We rented some full suspension mountain bikes and stocked up on as much water as we could carry. It's no joke, the rock was helping the temperature reach over 110F. We started the trail out with a sense of adventure, hitting the rollers pretty quickly. We tried our luck on some climbs that had to be around 30% or more. Climbs that you have to mash your front wheel down just to keep from going over backwards. We were pretty successful but those climbs wore us down after a couple of hours. If you don't have cleats, you won't finish some of these climbs, and if you do have them, you will go down hard sooner or later. But at least you'll have good stories to tell like this one:

I watched my buddy Charlie try to power his way up a steep climb, only to loose momentum, go backwards in the air with feet still clipped in, and bend like gumby as his bike landed on him while both slid down the rockface maybe 10 feet to the bottom. That left some marks... but hey, great story!

The views of the Colorado River and LaSalle Mountains were fantastic. It's a serious trail in the desert. Lives have been lost here, many from dehydration. If your planning on going in the summer, make sure you are off the trail by 11am at the latest. You'll thank me.

As far as a destination, Moab, Utah is it. It's currently my favorite city in the states. A playground where you can never get bored. If you love the outdoors this is a must see.