Moab May 2-5, 2003

Photos from our Moab trip. A mix of photos from Ollie and I.

Friday

Saturday

The first group rode out to Gemini Bridges and then back to Gold Bar Rim and on to Portal/Poison Spider/and Golden Spike (broke into 3 groups at the end). The late car skipped Gemini Bridges and did Gold Bar to Golden Spike to Poison Spider.

The Aarchway, our home away from home... For Moab atleast	But of course we have to work on our bikes before a ride.	What a photo for Ultimate Bike Stands...
This way our bikes are perfect right? :-)	How many engineers/managers does it take to fix a bike?	Loading up the bikes...
Little did I know we realize Raphael's bike was going to be switched out in a few moments..	Pulling out of the hotel, Slickrock is on top of that cliff!	On the road to GoldBar/Gemini trailhead. Gold Bar rim is up on top
At the trailhead	A lovely shot of Ric enjoying the dust and climb!	View towards Moab.
And a view north of Rick climbing..	Ahh, flat trail for a while. The road back to where Gemini/Goldbar trails split.	Nice sandy Hill Raphael is climbing. Gemini Bridges is up the hill, Gold Bar trail is behind. The two groups trail choices diverged at this point.

Next set of photos is of the non-Gemini Bridges group.

A closer view of farther up the hill... Nice and steep and loose	A nice view back towards the trailhead.	The easy way to do this!
Chris, Keith, and Leith on Gold Bar.	Me on Gold Bar	Came across these Jeeps.
He actually finished up quite nicely.	Paul and Phil heading down from the rim working towards Golden Spike	Paul and Phil and a wider view
Looking north form Gold Bar Rim	Looking south-east from Gold Bar Rim to the La Salle's

I didn't feel like getting the camera out once we got out to Poison Spider, the dust and 30+mph breezes weren't pleasant.

Views from Ollie and the Gemini crew

A sign... Just in case one got lost.	Getting closer to the end...	plants will try to grow most anywhere out here...
Tom & Ric Looking off the edge of Gemini Bridges	Rick, Andrew, and Ric looking down (with Ollie holding the camera)	A view across one of the Bridges (arches)
Back on Gold Bar Rim.	Riding along the Rim and following the dots...	Watching some 4wheelers come through
Driving through a tough spot.. Never do these straight!	Getting some advice.	Ahhh, nice, soft sand... Just what I ordered with my Poison Spider..
Another view of/from Poison Spider	Paul obviously didn't get enough sunscreen on... (courtesy of Leith)

Sunday

We split into two groups today, one group did Porcupine Rim and another did Hurrah Pass/Jacob's Ladder/Amasa Back. We rejoined for Flat Pass.... Back to the site of the incident!

Photos from Porcupine Rim with Raphael, Chris, Keith, and I. Fun fact on this trip, the designer of my bike (Chris Titus of Titus Bikes) as well as got passed twice (once as she rode up Porcupine and we down, and again as we were going down) by Alison Dunlap (one of the top female mountain bikers). Fun ride.

Chris and another group walking a difficult section	Trail down Porcupine. Raphael is hiding with another camera beyond the corner.	Looking back up the trail again.
Chris riding down.	The Colorado from Porcupine.	Chris hitting the jump at the end... If only the digital camera clicked faster!

The other group did Hurrah Pass. Photo's courtesy of Ollie.

Driving up the road to Amasa Back/Hurrah Pass	Driving up the road to Amasa Back/Hurrah Pass	One of the switchbacks to Hurrah Pass
Paul & Tom almost at the top of Hurrah Pass	At the top of Hurrah Pass... Should be easy, it's lower than Ft. Collins :-)	Everyone resting & enjoying the scenery.
Camels?! Camels in Jackson Hole	Phil havine a close encounter of the camel kind.	Waiting for them to pass
Maybe it's safe now...	At least it's wet sand...	Uh, oh, the hike's coming...
Jacob's Ladder	Paul resting before starting the hike.	A better view of the nice little hike a bike section :-)
See those specs? Can you recognize them?	I just love backpacking with my bike...	At the top, looking back down. What a climb.
The view from the top of Amasa Back	Ric's leg relaxing at the top of Amasa Back	A bike and a view
Riding back down Amasa Back	Looking at Jacob's Ladder from the Amasa Back trail... We climbed that?!	A jeep coming down the last obstacle on Amasa Back.
People actually BASE jump off those cliffs...	Ahhh, post-ride refreshments and bike fixing!

Then we got back together to ride Flat Pass... Well a subset of us. Combo of Ollie's and my photos. I went by the scene of the fall last year and road down it with no trouble.... But the bikes didn't come through unscathed. Chris had major chain suck problems and Ric managed to tear another derailler off his bike...

This is right before the gate	Chris almost to me now.	The damage from Flat Pass this year. At least Ric was able to ride out on his single-speed	Keith wins for thinking ahead and packing half a sub for the end of the trail and beer!
Standing around and enjoying the scenery and a good days ride.	Phil, Tom, and Ric, relaxing by the stream (courtesy of Leith)

Flat Pass is always a fun one when you have a cooler and car at the end! Sitting in the stream is quite nice!

Monday

Can you say Slickrock?! Well, four of us could. Keith rode it earlier before leaving for Texas, and Leigh, Raphael and I rode it as well. Rick and Gary rode Porcupine, Ollie and Paul rode Flat Pass (see photos below) as they didn't ride it yesterday. Everyone else didn't ride... Though at least Chris & Ric had reason :-)

Keith climbing back towards us	At the top of the hill	Keith getting up to us
One of the canyons in Slickrock	View towards Shrimp Rock	View of the north west side of Moab (hotel is hidden to the right)
Leight and Raphael looking at the Colorado from Shrimp Rock	Raphael and Leith (in front) taking off from Shrimp rock	Leaving Shrimp Rock.
Me by the loaded Avalanche	View towards Portal from the hotel.	Avalanche loaded to go home.

Flat Pass photos from Ollie of Flat Pass. It would probably have been easier if biking shoes were remembered for this ride, right Ollie :-)

The bikes at the trailhead, but no riders...	Paul riding towards the stream crossing	The stream, canyon, and LaSalles
Paul walking through the stream. The first crossing was a bit deep.	Paul at the top of a hill	Looking out at the La Salles
Paul descdending a rough section	Finishing that section.	Ollie riding one of the last streams... Note those stylish bike shoes!
Paul finishing.

And now photos from the way out of town along the Colorado & Highway 128.
Colorado River & LaSalles.
Vail Pass... Wasn't it just summer an hour ago?
Ahh yes, can ski & mountain bike in one day. Gotta love Colorado!

All in all, no one got major body damage, so a good trip!