Thanks for your reply, Stephen. It sounds to be an interesting spectacle - so long as I can get away
from it when I want to!
Pat.
"Stephen Younge" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> We "accidentally" spent a mountain biking weekend in Moab during Jeep Safari weekend. It was fun!
>
> It was pretty fascinating. Imagine bumper-to-bumper traffic on Moab's main strip, with half hour
> waits at gas stations, as a great mix of people (old folks with families sitting on lawn chairs in
> the backs of their pickups; younge punks who are barely old enough to drive) cruise up and down
> the strip in a wide variety of contraptions. Food fights at the Pizza Hut, etc. The noise is
> deafening, 24 hours a day, and the smoke is thick.
>
> We biked the Gemini Bridges trail on the first day. Not only was this a boring ride, but it was a
> bad choice as it was filled with 4x4's kicking up dust that we could taste after about an hour.
>
> We biked Slickrock the second day. This was an excellent choice! I hardly saw anybody on the trail
> -- most mountain bikers had been scared away by the Jeep Safari, I suspect. I only saw two
> motorcycles on the trail, and couldn't really complain, as the Slickrock was originally designated
> as a motorocyle, not mountain bike, trail. Another bonus: the Slickrock is somewhat intertwined
> with 4wd roads where you can watch the bolder folk attempt the seeming impossible (e.g., drive up
> a 45 degree rock ramp in their Jeep) and sometimes fail dramatically.
>
> All in all, it was an amazing cultural experience (almost like a real life "Mad Max" situation). I
> would stick to singletrack trails and expect that you would be okay. I would expect that you would
> enjoy LESS crowding than normal on the singletrack trails.
>
> Depending on your frame of mind, the scene can either be enjoyable or unbearable.
>
> > I am mountain-biking in Moab during the start of the Easter Jeep Safari
> (13th
> > April). How much of a problem will this be? Is there an itinerary showing where the focus will
> > be on different days? I have the list of the 2003 trails from the Red Rock website but live in
> the UK so
> > I don't want to phone around. Any recommendations for good spots to have a quick look at the
> > action?
> (Well, I
> > might as well have a gawp!) I guess the weather will be variable but is there anywhere to
> > avoid at
> this time
> > of year? (or anywhere improved by "dampness") - Standard? - I thought
> Porcupine
> > Rim Loop from Moab was tough but good fun. Thanks, Pat.
