UT: Moab - Capt. Ahab

 The HyMasa - Capt. Ahab Loop is a classic ride. It's only about 9 miles in length, but man, it packs a punch. The first half is mostly climbing, then the downhill is littered with technical rock features and exposure. I rode it last year on the singlespeed, but had a 30x20 setup, this year I swapped cogs for this trip and was rolling a 30x22. I really liked how it rode during the Navajo Rocks Loop and was interested to see how the climbing would go on this one. I walked a bunch last year.

This ride would be a really good measuring stick to see where Kara was at and if our planned routes along the Whole Enchilada and Mag 7 would need to be altered at all. I really wanted her to ride some technical stuff, but also enjoy it. 

There were quite a few cars at the trailhead when we arrived, although it was later in the day. We figured most of the riders would be finishing up their rides as we climbed.

The ride starts out with a nice mile of singletrack, then a bit of the Cliff Hanger jeep road.

These jeep roads are a different animal in Moab.

We caught up to a group of 5 on the jeep road and they were amazed I was able to pedal some of the chunk. I do take pride in at least attempting the hard stuff as I like to see how far I can make it. A few of the climbs, I surprised myself!! I didn't have to walk much before the HyMasa split. Now the real test.

It's not steep, but it's a steady uphill most of the way.

A rare bit of downhill during the uphill.

Near the halfway point of the climb. So far, riding most of it.

Cool rock ledge near the top of HyMasa.

Nice place for a quick break in the action. Photo by Kara.

Not quite at the top yet, but you get an early reward for your effort.

Doing great!! Colorado River, potash ponds, Canyonlands NP and the White Rim all pictured here.

We took a few minutes to soak in the views, it's quite the spectacular viewpoint. The famous White Rim ride follows below the far cliffs, but across & above the Colorado River.

A couple of others guys rode up and also took a break above us. As we were getting set to continue on, they got rolling. There was a solid punchy climb approaching and I was catching up to them, I went around the first guy and as I passed the second the guy, the first guy yelled out: Holy shit!! He's on a singlespeed!! That made me smile, but now I had to clean the climb. I dug deep, but made it. I held them off for a bit, but by the next uphill burst, I needed a break. As they rode by, they told me how impressed they were. Thanks!! That climb right there proved to me, that switching to the 22t cog was definitely the correct choice for me. I know I walked most of that climb last year.

I'm really embracing and enjoying the singlespeed riding, probably more than I thought I would. It really hasn't limited my rides whatsoever. I don't really walk much more than before. I'm stronger for it and so far this year, at least since early February, I've been healthy. Something that didn't happen for an extended period last year. I'll stick with the one gear as long as my body allows and I still enjoy it. If you haven't tried it, why not? Give it a go, if anything, it's another reason to have an extra bike. :)

Kara eyes up the line.

What an amazing place to ride bikes. Kudos to the route finders through this maze of boulders.

Yeah!! Let's GO!!

I love the bottom part of this route. Photo by Kara.

Heading into the exposure section.

The trail hugs the cliff's edge.

I'll say it again, this is a 'must do' ride when here.

Fun photo collage of a rock slab section. Yeah, they are out of order, but they look better this way. Photos by Kara.

Slickrock, singletrack and slabs...repeat.

Kara providing a sense of scale for those boulders.

She was definitely getting her Moab ride style going, confidence building. I knew by this point of the ride, she'd be fine the rest of the weekend.

We caught up to a large group of riders at the end of Capt. Ahab, including the group we leapfrogged on the early sections of the Cliff Hanger jeep road.

Back on the entry singletrack section.

Kara putting the final touches on the loop.

What a fun, challenging ride. I try to ride this loop every time I'm here. Late in the day is nice too, so much less trail traffic. Kara loved it. We briefly had thoughts about adding the Slickrock trail after this, but we were done and it was now getting late. Not sure if we'd have time to fit that one in or not. I guess there's always a reason to come back.

On our way out, we drove up the road a bit farther to find a petroglyph site.

It's a giant boulder, covered in petroglyphs.

Right off the road too, so easy access.

Impressive.

Some smaller scenes around the base.

Brooding skies over the La Sals as we return to town. Photo by Kara.

Back at the house, Max was awake from his nap and suggested a place to eat within walking distance.

The Broken Oar Restaurant really hit the spot.

When we returned home, Karin had arrived!! She was trying to swap out rear wheels, but running into hub issues before our scheduled Whole Enchilada ride the following morning.

Mountain biker kitchen.

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UT: Moab - Navajo Rocks

 My friend, Kara, and I had been planning a Moab biking weekend for a while. She had never been there, so I wanted to maximize our ride time and show her all the popular routes. We settled on a weekend in late April and as luck would have it, we now have a few friends who live there. Karin and Max offered to host us and we reached out to a few other friends to check on their availability to ride.

It's about an 8-9 hour drive from Phoenix, but it's a fairly scenic drive. I worked a few hours in the morning, then we hit the road. The nice part about this drive is you get to go through Monument Valley.

Can't really argue, it applies to the entire Four Corners region.

Yeah!! Here we go, Kara doesn't yet know what Moab does to you as a rider. Photo by Kara.

We were laughing at all the people standing in the road for the Forrest Gump shot. It's a bit ridiculous.

Mexican Hat rock, always a cool thing to see. Geology is neat.

We rolled into Moab a bit after dark, but with just enough time to grab a bite to eat at Moab Brewery, as the kitchen was closing in 20 minutes. All fueled up we made it to Karin's place, but she was driving back from Colorado the following day, so we were quiet and tried not to disturb Max - who was planning to ride from home for a huge White Rim Lap, some 150+ miles. We have cool friends.

We reached out to some other local friends, Eszter had recently settled down with a house in Moab and another friend, Amanda was visiting. Andrew & Katie Strempke (Dispersed Bikepacking) don't live too far away and everyone was free for a ride around Navajo Rocks in the morning.

Max had taken off on his ride around 1a, but was back home by 6a due to numb hands & feet, it still gets quite cold in the mornings here. He was also game to join the group, might as well, he's warmed up now!!

We met at a fairly empty trailhead around 9a on a Friday. Looked to be a beautiful day. Let's ride!!

I kept up with Andrew's pace for a couple of miles, but was dropped on the longer slickrock climbs. Surprising no-one.

A rare stretch a super smooth slickrock, which is really fun when you can find it.

Katie, Amanda & Kara mashing up a steep grinder.

Amazing views at every turn. Dots on the landscape.

Pedaling dots.

I was really curious to see how the singlespeed hardtail was going to treat me over the weekend. So far, so good. Photo by Max.

Amanda & Katie on a smooth section.

What a crew!! Myself, Andrew, Kara, Katie, Eszter, Amanda & Max.

Rockstars!! Like, literally.

Andrew cruising down a wide open slope of slickrock.

Max!!

Eszter!!

Kara!!

Amanda!! A really nice surprise to ride with her again.

Katie!! Zoom!! and they were all gone. Time to catch up.

We neared the halfway point of the loop and Andrew's hands hadn't quite recovered from his impressive southbound AZT300 ride a week or so prior, so he and Katie opted to cut it short and get some shopping and chores done while in town. It was so great to see them and get a few quality miles in as well. If you are in need of bikepacking bags, look no further than Dispersed Bikepacking - field tested by the best!! Perhaps our schedules would align again before we headed back to the desert.

Follow the dots, they lead to cool places.

I really like this shot. Photo by Max.

Snack break with a view.

Navajo Rocks is a great way to get your Moab legs going.

Kara lining up a big, fast descent.

This outer loop is a riot.

Slightly awkward move here as the small step-up is angled and slippery, plus you have to navigate between boulders. No problem for Eszter.

Amanda glides through.

No problem for Kara.

Nice view of the La Sal Mtns. over the final miles.

Fun trail routing through here.

It's desert bloom season.

A rare wooden feature, Max took the opportunity to snap some cool pics:

Eszter!!

Me.

Amanda!!

Kara!!

We wrapped things up shortly thereafter and as we were heading out of the parking lot another friend came riding up...

Haha!! Lindsay Nohl was in town teaching a clinic. Rad.

We made our way to the food truck court in town for lunch. What a cool spot.

Subtle reminder about filtering water in the wild. There's uranium in them thar hills.

What a fun way to get things started. So great to see and ride with everyone and the weather was perfect. Kara was beginning to see what Moab was all about. After our lunch break, we still had plenty of daylight, so I thought this would be a good time to show her some of the local chunk. Capt. Ahab loop would be up next.

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