Any Mtn Bikers on RME?

[benjy]

Awesome! Excited to see the vid on YouTube. I have an older Salsa mukluk that would be a perfect bikepacking rig. I had dreams of kids in a bike trailer and going out for 3 day adventures. Tested it out last fall. That bike trailer weighed 80+ pounds just with kids and snacks and felt like I was pulling a sled. Only made it 4 miles on a dirt road and was spent.

 

[2002maniac]

Thanks for sharing your experience Steve! I look forward to watching the vid.

 

[sixstringsteve]

we're shooting for the vid to be ready by this weekend. We'll see what actually happens. We have to fit 6 hours of footage into an interesting 20-40 min story. (I realize that's a super long video, but for our journal, we don't want to make it much shorter).

 

[sixstringsteve]

Bikepacking trip, in case you missed it.

 

[Kevin B.]

Ian is a rad rider too. How tall is he now?

Five foot three, maybe four? He's looking his mom in the eye anyway. He's big and getting bigger.

 

[Kevin B.]

I've just got to stop for a sec and show you guys this beautiful view. You can see the poplars down in the river bottom, and the bridge, the railroad tracks, the saguaro... Steve...

Ah yes, bring on the babyheads!

She's cracking me up. That trail looks perfect though.

 

[sixstringsteve]

It was a perfect bikepacking trail. I'm trying to think of a good one in northern utah...

 

[Kevin B.]

It was a perfect bikepacking trail. I'm trying to think of a good one in northern utah...

So I have a sixty mile loop plotted out that straddles both sides of the Mirror Lake Highway and avoids Wilderness. I've hiked on some of it but I haven't scouted the whole thing to know how rideable it is. And then there's this:

There ought to be a couple N-S options along the Wasatch between US6 and Bear Lake too, but I haven't connected the dots. The Great Western is supposed to connect through there?

 

[Kevin B.]

There's a bunch of us headed for Good Water Rim this Sunday, and since most of the guys going are RMEers it seems right to post an invite here too. Forecast is for sun and 45 in Castle Dale, and the ground should be dryish so we're looking forward to a great day.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I'll be in st george for the next month. If anyone wants to ride the area with me and Tess, hit me up.

 

[benjy]

Yes! Do you work 9-5? We're still getting dark pretty early. Even 5pm makes for a short ride. I was planning on doing a few (3?) loops on paradise rim tomorrow afternoon. Shoot me a text, I'm super flexible on time and would love to ride with you while you're here.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I work 7am-3pm. I can get off work at 2pm most days.

We are in California tonight and won't be in st george till tomorrow night. We should be there for 3 or 4 weeks.

 

[Kevin B.]

Gooseberry, last weekend of February! Be there all weekend, looking at riding Gooseberry, JEM, Wire Mesa, plus whatever Steve and Tessa are sadistic enough to tow me into. Come hang out and laugh at me falling off my bike.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Awesome, looking forward to connecting. Are you still on your Fuji?

I'll tow you into anything except flying monkey; that's above my pay grade.

We have been enjoying riding with benjy this past week. He is a killer rider and has shown us some awesome trails. Kentucky lucky chicken is now one of my favorite st george trails. We had a blast on that one yesterday.

 

[Kevin B.]

Awesome, looking forward to connecting. Are you still on your Fuji?

I'll tow you into anything except flying monkey; that's above my pay grade.

I'm still on the Fuji, new bikes are what's above my pay grade. Boogerface has a brand new Diamondback Overdrive he'll be pretty stoked to show you though.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Teas and i rode gooseberry and little creek mesa today. The trails are in perfect condition and the temps are awesome. Gooseberry had a few tricky climbs that I had forgotten about. I rode gooseberry counter - clockwise. I'm excited to try it the other direction with you guys.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I came across this amazing route yesterday:

https://www.bikepackingroots.org/plateau-passage.html

Bikepacking from Vegas to Durango. Route includes St. George, Escalante, Capitol Reef, Moab. Looks amazing. I may have to ride it in sections. I'm also concerned about available water.

 

[Kevin B.]

1200 miles. You'd be like, .08% body fat by the end of that.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I wish! Sounds like a win-win.

1200 miles is a ton. Which is why I'd want to do it in sections. Seems like a cool route to dissect for future trips.

 

[Kevin B.]

Average 30 miles a day and it's only a little over a month. Unsupported would be hard, but with arranged food/water/parts drops I think it's definitely doable.

Maybe a hotel once a week or so to wash off the muck though...