Putting the dates on the calendar for our first club trip to Moab.
Moab, UT is an outdoor adventure paradise. So much to see, do, and ride. If you haven’t been to the Moab area, you really should try to make this happen.
- Dates: Thursday, March 19 through Sunday, March 22. Come for all, some, arrive early, leave late, whatever your schedule allows. Thursday would be a travel day to the area, with an afternoon riding opportunity depending on when you arrive. Full days of riding Saturday and Sunday, then maybe a half day Sunday before heading home.
- Lodging: I’d like to encourage people to disperse camp with me north of town, between Moab and Green River. If camping isn’t your thing, plenty of options in town, about 20 minutes south of where we’ll be,
- Riding: soooo much to explore. Moab is best experienced on a smaller dualsport. The best riding involves sand, rocks, ledges, etc. That said, there are a couple of ADV / big bike routes available.
- Abilities: solid beginner to intermediate/advanced if on a dualsport. If you’re on a big bike and want to do the DS stuff with us, you’ll need to have solid intermediate skills. Sand game, in particular. That said, there’s a nice loop from camp that I’d be comfortable riding with my wife with her on an XT250 or similar.
I’m happy to lead a “Sand Class” either late Thursday or early Friday morning, to get your mind right and give you some sand game before we head out to explore.
Interested?
Post comments, questions, input here. Thanks!
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PLEASE READ: The Ride Plan
Note that since this is our first “big” multi-day organized ride as a club, it appears that this is the first Moab trip for many of us, and we’ll likely have a wide range of bikes and abilities, our #1 priority is to offer a riding weekend that is a safe, successful and enjoyable event for the club first, individual riders second. And so we’re offering organized rides to accommodate a range of abilities and to serve as an introduction to the area. We’d like this to become an annual event and perhaps there’s an opportunity for a more freelance, DS, dirty bike ride in the fall.
The Plan:
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Wednesday: a few of us will be going out early. I’ll scout out a camping area for the group and publish the GPS coordinates here when that’s done. Note: I’ll do my best to find a spot that will accommodate all of us, but we don’t really have a good idea of how many there will be, vehicles, etc. Again, I’ll do my best but I’ll ask you to be flexible and if you’re not satisfied with the arrangements, you can always blame @mulebarn.
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Thursday: I’m going to pre-run what I have planned for Sunday. This will be a fun day of exploring, as I’m just gonna make it up as I go. Small bikes only. I’ll offer a sand riding class Thursday evening, probably about 6p.
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Friday: White Rim A, A-, and B options. This is a Moab classic, ludicrous scenic ride. A-ride will be the Full Monty White Rim, counterclockwise, entering from the Gemini Bridges area. This puts a sandy bit by the river at the front end of the ride. We’ll exit the loop via Shafer Trail and Long Canyon. It looks like there will be an A Minus group, riding the same route but at a slower pace. The B-ride will be an out and back: Long Canyon to the plateau, down Shafer Trail, White Rim to Murphy Hogback, flip it and return the same way. You can always shorten the day to not going all the way to Murphy.
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Saturday: another very scenic day, very chill with some excellent pavement sections and overlooks. Pavement along the CO river, then Onion Creek to Castle Valley to Kokopelli to the LaSalle Loop. B-riders can continue on this paved road back into Moab. A-ride will get back on Kokopelli, descending to Sand Flats. We’ll take the pulse of the group to see if we want to play around on Hell’s Revenge, Slickrock, or Fins and Things.
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Sunday: 2 options – Rich’s Wild Ride (small bikes only) or Hurrah Pass / Chicken Corners. Rather than creating a formal track for my ride, I have an idea of what I want to do and how to put it all together, but the highlights will be Dead Cow Wash (if open…or at least not “formally” closed), Mary’s / Bryan’s Trail (classic slickrock, follow-the-white-dots), and White Sand Dunes. Hurrah Pass and Chicken Corners is another classic route, as an out and back.
White Rim: Permits required
White Rim Day Use Permit Information HERE
- Day use permit is required, online starting at 8 am mountain time the day before your trip . To obtain a day-use permit online, visit Recreation.gov
- Permits for 25 of the 50 permits allowed each day on the White Rim Road and any permits not reserved online for all roads will be available in person at visitor centers the day of the trip. We issue permits up to one hour before the close of business each day.
What are group size limits?
For the White Rim Road, we can issue day-use permits for 50 vehicles (including motorcycles) per day and 50 mountain bikes each day. Group size is limited to three vehicles and 15 bicycles. Larger groups must be separated by 30 minutes of travel time. To get around this, “I have no idea who those clowns are up / back there. It’s just me and these 5 knuckleheads.” You do not need a permit if you plan to drive only on the Shafer Trail and Potash Road. Note that I’ve ridden WR in groups of 6-8 riders and have never had an issue
How much does a permit cost?
For permits obtained online there is a $6 Recreation.gov reservation fee. Recommend you get / create a login well advance of the trip so you’re ready to pull the trigger at 8am on ThursdayThere is no fee for day-use permits obtained at the visitor centers the day of the trip.
GPS Tracks
See tracks attached to this post.
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white-rim_a.gpx (526.3 KB)
onion-creek_caste-valley_kokopelli.gpx (414.4 KB)
white-rim-b-route.gpx (523.7 KB)
D3_b-hurrah-pass-chicken-corners.gpx (354.5 KB)
Attendance Poll
- Yes, I WILL be attending the BCADV Moab Ride
- No, Not Attending
