Western Spirit Cycling

How do you know when it’s spring break in Moab?

When all the cars license plates turns green.

It’s true, the Colorado invasion has begun. Even though the ski season is still alive & kicking for another solid six weeks, Spring Break has begun here in the desert. Our Colorado friends who have endured their own long winter are starting to come over to enjoy the warming temps and drying trails.

In my last post I believe I proclaimed “Game On”. Well, I ALMOST had to retract that statement in that Ol Man Winter just kept givin er! We would get a nice day or two followed up with another snowstorm in the valley. Thankfully the last few storms have been rain in the valley with the snow falling mostly above 7,000′. Recent reports are saying Amasaback & Jacksons are GTG. YES!

In addition to Poison Spider hosting the YETI Spring Thaw event out at the Amasaback T.H. this wknd. we also have the Skinny Tire Festival in town this wknd.  Western Spirit is setting out an extra special lunch for the top fundraisers ride this afternoon which should be a spectacular ride on the Needles Overlook road.

http://skinnytireevents.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/

So if you’re headed our way be sure to check lodging options 1st - it’s going to be a busy wknd. here in town. Camping is always an option, just be sure to bring a toasty sleeping bag since it’s still dipping below freezing at night.

It’s always a challenge to decide whether to go for a backcountry ski in the LaSals or a bike ride in the valley this time of year. Our mtns. are close to 150% of average for snowpack and the skiing is really good up there right now. But at the same time our trails are finally opening up after a long cold winter. Ashley likes to call this a “high class problem”. I guess she’s right - and that’s what makes living in Moab so aweome - all these choices and none of them are bad. I really hate this phrase, but TGIF!

Enjoy your weekend - I know I will!

While fully half of the country is still shoveling out from last weeks snowstorms it seems Spring has finally arrived here in Moab. I’ve been wrong about this before, but I think we had three consecutive days that broke into the 40’s! Roadies we’re out in full force over the weekend and friends from Colorado have started to call for weather reports. While the pumptrack is still a bit too muddy, Kip & I brought out the trail a long for to test it’s mudbog capabilities down Mulberry Lane over the wknd. The results were surprisingly positive, but I’m glad we had fenders and ditch boots on.

Since early December it’s felt more like Gunnison, CO than Moab, UT. It’s been such a cold & snowy winter in fact in the Moab valley that folks are really going to get after it as soon as the sun comes out in full force. I think it will be hard to keep us here in the office when spring fever really hits. Good thing I got that new smartphone.

One of the more exciting things that all this snow will bring is an awesome Spring wildflower display. If you can’t wait until it happens in the Moab area, check out our Tucson based Sonoran Desert Tours in mid March. http://www.westernspirit.com/tripinfo.cfm?id=1198805643203 Super fun singletrack on the Arizona trail with blooming cacti everywhere! What’s not to like about that? The 1st two leave on 3/15 & then again on 3/22. The last one 3/29-4/2 is a family itinerary so grab the kids and come on down.

Wow  - the days sure are getting shorter! Every day it’s colder, darker and feels a little bit more like off season. We’re still in a full on drought, but our latest weather reoprt;

“A MAJOR WINTER STORM WILL IMPACT THE REGION MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY.

BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED FOR THE SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL

MOUNTAINS”

Well……

It seems positive to say the least. Rode A Rockstacker to Jackson’s loop yesterday and didn’t see a single

person! Even on a Saturday. granted the high was like 35F or so.. but the trail was dry, the skies we’re … kinda blue and the skiing pretty much everywhere STILL sucks.

That should(hopefully) change soon, but all those signs point to the depths of off season.
Western Spirit has sold it’s entire rental fleet, the guides are all off at the ski areas and those left are thinking of Holiday X-mas parties or soon to be deep dayz @ ALTA.
Well it’s time to stick another log on the fire & refresh my cocktail, so until next time keep those wool knickers close by and the skis waxed.
And since it was Der Kaiser’s b-day a few days back… Have a braut or three for the Holidays

Wow - just got back from a recon camping trip last weekend over in the four corners area and am really excited about a new family trip we’ve got coming up for next season.

It’s going to meet in Durango, CO and explore the best of Hovenweep National Monument and Mesa Verde National Park over the course of a week.

I could go on and on about all the amazing discoveries we had, but you can read the details on our website right here;

http://www.westernspirit.com/tripinfo.cfm?id=1256329684915

It’s that time of year again where Western Spirit sells off their fleet of bikes. For this year it’s not just the mountain bikes either. It’s our entire lineup of Specilized’s incredibly popular Roubaix road bikes as well as many of our kids bikes - all which are in top notch shape.

A used bike is one of the best investments you can make. They’re watched over by our trained guides all season and babied compared to all other rentals out there. All that and at a fraction of what you would pay at retail.

After the season is over our ace mechanic goes through each and every bike with a fine toothed brush, bringing them all up to snuff before boxing them up and shipping them to your doorstep. If you’re not 100% completely psyched (which you will be) all you have to do is send it back to us within a week for a full refund.

These are the same bikes that consistently rank #1 in not only virtually all of the cycling publications, but in such non-biased periodicals as Popular Mechanics and Consumer Reports.

They’re priced to sell, so they’re going to go fast this year. Call us for more details and to reserve yours today. Or if you’re in Moab this fall, stop by to pick yours up in person and save $50!

http://www.westernspirit.com/used-specialized-mountain-bikes.html

Wow- Can’t believe it’s been over a month since the BC Bike Race wrapped up. Since then I’ve “participated” in BIKE Week, sat on the beach for a week with family, held down the office for almost 3 weeks and most recently just got back from guiding a Colorado Singletrack trip. Now it’s back to Moab to endure the dog days of summer. “How can you live in Moab during July & August?” my Crested Butte friends ask me. Well my friends, you have to be smart. And well hydrated. I think I have about a dozen water bottles strewn about my office, garage, truck etc. Basically any time I feel even remotely thirsty, I can reach for some type of liquid. H2O & gatoraide are probably my two favorites, but I’ll mix up a high tech Clif recovery drink if I’ve gone out for more than a couple of hours.

To answer those CB folks with more detail, I guess I would say that you need to be flexible. Flexible as in getting up @ 6am to ride before work, or to not ride at all if it’s in the triple digits. Swimming is a lovely option for a little exercise (and refreshment) during the heat of the day. Triathalete, I’ll never be, but I’ve been known to ride 10 miles out to Ken’s Lake on the road bike, swim for 20 minutes and ride back in to work during a lunch break. If the 9-5 thing wasn’t part of the equation the logical fun hog would go up to the La Sals to ride the beautiful singletrack 5,000′ above town. Burro Pass to Shuman’s, Moonlight Meadows, The Trans La Sal Trail  - just a few of the classics you can attempt if you’ve got the better part of the day. The temps are at least 20 degrees cooler and the mountain streams, aspen trees and wildflowers make it worth the drive. If it were not for the LaSals it would be pretty hard to make it through the summer months here in town.

After all that fun is over, one of the best parts of Moab in summertime is the outside cocktail hours and late night dinners. When it’s still in the 70’s at 9pm you can relax on the porch in short sleeves mix up an icy cold G & T and enjoy the comfortable evening temps - while your CB friends are bundled up in their down sweaters. Checkmate.

So while I’m looking forward to the cooler temps of September, I’m in no rush to lose those delicious heirloom tomatoes, fresh organic peaches and warm summer nights that only the dog days of summer can deliver.

Reporting in from the 2009 BC BIKE RACE.

Did the first edition of this back in 07 with my teamate Kip Mikler from BIKE magazine. Our only goals then we’re to finish and still be friends after the seven days. This time around I’m racing solo, so in theory, it should be a little easier for me - right? We’ll, not so sure about that.

So I’ve made it through five stages and finally rolled into beautiful Squamish this afternoon where we’ll be for the next two nights. The 08 S-works Stumpy is running well, except for a blown rear shock on yesterdays stage. I milked it through today w/ mostly smooth steady seated climbing, but after checking in w/ bike tech this afternoon, I learned that for $30 I could get a brand spankin new one! Schwing! That’s easier than if I was back home in Moab. Hope it’s as easy as it sounds. Hmmm…

Today’s stage was 65K w/ let’s just say, thousands of feet of climbing. The singletrack today, and all week for that matter was truly world class. While the mileage may not be what LaRuta or TransRockies is, riding very technical singletrack for 4 hrs at race pace can certainly make you a little blury eyed. Currently I’ve managed to climb into 3rd place in the G.C. for my group (over 40 solo male). Some blistering fast guy name Roger from NorCal Bike Shop in Santa Rosa is kicking our arses. (Thanks Glen -he’s probably your shop ringer!). Everyone here is super casual though. No attitudes and just a great vibe around the camp and in the pits. The staff that Deane Payne has put together is unbelievable in every way and it really shows what a great promoter he is. Thanks Deane and thanks BCBR staff! Just one more big stage left here in Squamish tomorrow, then our finale in Whister on the 4th of July, then, well, you know what Americans do on the 4th - right?

heh heh heh

So after a heinous flight from Moab to DIA with the “bag at the ready” and an aborted landing, I finally made it to Canada. Only problem was my bike & gear ended up in San Fran. WTF?! United… I guess the measly $30 charge for my oversize XL bike was too good to be true, so I had to pay up somehow.

Thankfully the good folk at Vancouver International tracked it down and got it to me here at the host hotel in time for a quick build and short shakedown ride in Stanley Park before handing it off again to be “checked in”. After transferring gear from one Dakine bag to the new Dakine BCBR bag I was ready to exhale and go find some grub. Unlike most other race venues, the BC Bike Race is one host city you can comfortly indulge in the freshest sushi the night before a big race and still sleep soundly. With a few pints of Stella to wash things down and a fat dessert to top it off I’m finally ready to tackle the north Shore course of Day # 1 tomorrow.

Not sure if I’ll get any other chances to blog during the week, but rest assured, the fine folks at bcbikerace.com will have you covered with race results and beautiful photos of this special part of Canada. By next Sunday, 4th of July, we’ll be up in Whistler toasting another journey complete. The forecast looks good, the legs are (over)rested and the S-works Stumpy is GTG. The rest is up to me.

Wish me luck. Over & out

sevy

Happy 2nd day of summer !

Can’t believe it’s been so long since any posts! WTF?!!! I guess we’ve all been super busy around Western Spirit World HQ’S. Ain’t that the truth. Late May into June has been a whirlwind of wrapping up Canyonlands season and getting everything in place for our busy summer season.

Take last week for example. Three different rigs getting ready to leave Moab for almost 3 months. Besides the obvious rig with tents, coolers stoves, groovers, etc. we need to rig for our satellite locations spread out over the west. That means getting hundreds of water bottles, Western Spirit Cycling tee shirts & of course our lovely Western Spirit coffee mugs into the trucks, vans & trailers getting set to go. Not to mention any number of our 80 plus strong fleet of rental bikes. Logistics…. that’s the name of the game these days.

To make it even a little more fun, I’m prepping to leave town for three weeks myself. I’ll be flying out of tiny Canyonlands airport this Friday for Vancouver, Canada and the 3rd edition of the BC Bike Race. My friends Deane Payne & Andreas Hestler made it possible to trade a Western Spirit Cycling trip for a free number plate in their race. I raced it in their 1st edition and had the best time so I’ve wanted to go back ever since. Turning 40 this September was just the catalyst I needed to make it happen, so now that I’m four days from leaving, it’s really sunk in. The training and miles are in the bag - too late for any more fitness at this point. Really I just need to dial in the Stumpjumper, pack the bags and make sure I’ve got enough chamois butter to get me through 35 hours of racing.

After that I’ll be roadtripping with Dre from Whistler down the coast to Ashland, OR and the start of our annual BIKE Week trip with the fine folks from Bike Magazine and some of their best friends & advertisers. That will be a super fun trip I get to help guide and it’s turned into a reunion of sorts now that we’ve done it for so many years. This years edition is on the Umpqua River Trail which just happens to be some of the sweetest track anywhere. After 11 of 12 days riding singletrack I’ll be ready for a little R&R on the beach with family, so a trip out to CT will wrap up the three weeks before coming home to Moab in late July. Whew! Kinda tired just thinking about it, but can’t wait! More to come on the race if I get a Internet connection.?

NewsFlash: MORE NEW SINGLETRACK IN MOAB !!!

That’s right - this isn’t an April Fools joke, we really do have a whole new trail system that’s entirely legal! It’s called the Intrepid Trail (after Intrepid Potash - one of the trail’s sponsors) and it’s located up off Hwy. # 313 at Dead Horse State Park. 

The trail was a combined effort from Utah State Parks, Moab’s very own Trail Mix and even some generous help from the National Park Service. With many hands on hours from Jeff Van Horn, Trail Mix volunteers and various trail work groups, the trails we’re finally finished this last month. Govenor John Huntsman came down from SLC to officially open the trail on a beautiful Monday morning and rode the entire loop with all the local riders that helped make the trail a reality. 

The trail itself is comprised of one 9 mile outer loop and a shorter 4 mile inner loop. There’s a wonderful trailhead and the system is marked quite well with signs at every intersection showing “you are here”. There’s several world class viewpoints that look down to the Colorado River and far off into Canyonlands National Park. It would not be a stretch to say the views from this trail rival anything, anywhere. I’ve ridden everywhere form the Italian Dolomites to British Columbia Canada to the Grand Canyon, but the view from the Big Chief Overlook crushes them all. How’s three mountain ranges, the Colorado River, Behind the Rocks and Dead horse State Park itself sound for starters.

So all this sounds great right? Well the best thing about these trails is how FUN they are. Unlike pretty much any other trail we have, the Intrepid Trails are pretty easy. That’s right, I said it - easy singletrack in Moab. Sure there’s a few sand pits, and a switchback or two that might make you dab, but 98% is fully rideable by a beginner rider. So next time you have friends in town who may not be quite ready for Porcupine Rim or even the Soverign Trail, send them up to Dead Horse State Park to check out our latest and greatest new offering. And better yet, go along with them. You won’t be sorry.