|   Sleekrock Peeks | AK Ken
Nov 8, 2002 6:02 AM | | We'd driven up to the Slickrock trailhead a couple of times before, but it seemed crowded and we couldn't quite bring ourselves to pay money to ride in a herd. I was also slightly discouraged by the "follow the white line" aspect of the trail.
Yesterday we finally tried it, though, and it was great. When I shifted my attitude from "backcountry bike ride" to "bike playground" it made it very enjoyable. Sort of a do it yourself Disneyland.
Here's Clare.
We went up there just to see what all the hoopla was about and to have a relatively easy ride, but I was WHUPPED afterward. Clare pointed out she didn't see much flat ground. We talked to a guy from Vancouver who pedalled his heavy Cannondale UP some amazingly steep stuff. He said he'd neve had his triceps cramp during a bike ride before, and he wished he had enough energy to do the loop again. I just hoped I had enough energy to do it ONCE and get back to the car.
There is definitley some steep stuff there, but someone pointed out that Cub Scouts on K Mart bikes rode it all the time. You definitely want to make sure your bike is working well, because there's lots of places to remove the hide from your entire body if you wreck.
Ken |
| Great Peeks! | kristian
Nov 8, 2002 6:07 AM | | I really enjoyed about 5 miles of that trail but after that, you've gone up something so steep that you couldn't walk it and down something so steep you couldn't walk it SO MANY TIMES that the novelty wore off. Luckily there were so many beautiful views! If I ever ride it again, I'm going to want to spend more time looking for cool lines off the beaten (painted) path. |
| Great Peeks! | AK Ken
Nov 8, 2002 6:16 AM | | Yeah, there's some fun to be had zinging around those bowls on contours slightly different from the trail. At first I couldn't figure out all the scuff marks in the rock in some of the steep spots--pedal strikes? No, CLEAT marks! I was glad I wasn't trying to negotiate some of that stuff with bike shoes on.
I did wish for clipless on the UP parts, though, as I lost a pedal a couple times.
Ken |
| Where is the snow and moose you usually post about? | Rev Bubba
Nov 8, 2002 6:33 AM | | Sure doesn't look like Alaska. Nice pictures. Glad you are having such a great. |
| 100 grit sandpaper. | TNC
Nov 8, 2002 7:10 AM | | Yeah, you suffer in the climbing sections with a long travel bike, but bombing the downhill sections are seconds of pure bliss. It's cool that Slickrock offers tons of fun for serious climbers on XC bikes too. Some of the runouts are so fun, and it's surprising how many technical spots are available when it looks deceptively smooth. |
| Nice pics! My trisceps never cramp up either because... | Biking Viking
Nov 8, 2002 10:13 AM | | ...I pedal with my legs.
BV |
| maybe because you don't climb w/ a bike that has . . . | narlus
Nov 8, 2002 12:40 PM | | a short tt and slack/high head angle...you'll see what he means when you do. |
| To the point where your ARMS cramp up?? | Biking Viking
Nov 8, 2002 12:53 PM | | My Id has a pretty tall front, not compared to a DH bike, of course, but climbing on it doesn't get my arms - at least not to the point where I'm in danger of cramping up.
BV |
| the ID is a completely different beast | narlus
Nov 8, 2002 4:55 PM | | i'd hazard a guess that you've got
1) a longer TT than a DH bike
2) a longer stem
3) a shorter fork
4) a lower rise bar
add all these up, tackle some steep uphill sections, and your arms will be worked. maybe not cramp up (i've never felt that), but you will definitely feel it in the morning. |
| I believe you. The main difference between climbing... | Biking Viking
Nov 8, 2002 7:59 PM | | ...the Moots and climbing the Id, apart from the weight, is that I have to get out of the saddle a lot more on the Id. Once you're out of the saddle, you use your upper body more.
BV |
| Remember, he's Norwegian . . . | pedalAZ
Nov 8, 2002 1:02 PM | | his ancestors ROWED Viking ships across the Atlantic without cramping. |
| I remember the first time I road Slickrock... | Bonee
Nov 8, 2002 2:12 PM | | It was 1992. A friend was moving to CA for a job (I was living in CT at the time) so I helped him move XC with a 8 day drive. One of our stops was Moab. We stayed at the Lounge Lizard Hostel in the south end of the city. We decided to ride slickrock but agreed an early start to the day was in order and arrived at the trail head parking lot at sunrise.
We're both surfers and for some reason we expected a dawn patrol crowd. But it was just us. We did the practice loop, retuned the bikes a little, and then hit up the main loop. When we finished up we were AMAZED at the scene in the parking lot. It was like a mini grateful dead concert crowd.
I swear, if we had pulled in with that crowd there, I'm not sure I would've been up for doing it. I went a few years ago with my wife and we didn't arrive until 11:00 or so. The crowd freaked her out, but to me it was no big deal this time around.
Glad you got a chance to do it. |
| The first time I rode Slickrock... | radair
Nov 8, 2002 5:16 PM | | ...was in Feb of 89 with my wife and 2 other couples. We were on a ski/climbing trip and rented fully rigid bikes (had to ask to have toe clips). Two of the ladies were new to biking and hadn't ridden that much. We took them around the practice loop to see if they'd like it, then went on and did the full loop. They were so gassed at the end that they wouldn't speak to us.
I went back last spring and did it in the afternoon (after doing Moore Fun in a.m.). We did it in the 'harder' direction and were beat at the finish. Made me respect the effort those girls put forward.
Beer tasted damn good that night. I guess it does every night, though....
Thanks for the memories. |
| definitely | Brodiegrrl
Nov 9, 2002 8:42 AM | | worth doing once. Maybe even twice.
When we rode it we camped at the campground near there and started our ride at 7:00am. There was only ONE other rider there! He had an older bike that needed some lube, you could hear him a mile a way - squeek sqweek, but he rode everything!
By the time we finished, the hoards had descended. Good time for breakfast!
I got a kick out of the white lines. |
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