MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Summer 2020

59 The problem with trips is that they come to an end. Even when you don’t want them to. But there are moments in your life, hopefully, where you have absolute certainty that everything you’ve done up to and including that moment in time, were the right things to do. When you know each accumulation of decisions led to that single instant. And that instant is right. It’s a beautiful feeling. And a rare one. I had that feeling in Moab—atop a ridgeline on the Slickrock trail, when I could see my wife, son and father-in-law cruising down some slickrock into the desert. I knew that each bike ride had led to this moment; each mile we drove pointed us here. Every dollar earned (and now spent) had brought me to this point in my life and it all finally came together in this instant. In this place. On these machines. I feel truly blessed to experience such a moment. Even once in my life. Moab is an incredible place for a mountain bike adventure. It’s an incredible place to spend time with family and push yourselves in some of the most scenic terrain on the continent. So guess what we’re doing as soon as the border is open again? Driving back to Moab. NAVAJO ROCKS For our first ride, we met up with former Collingwood local Charlotte Batty and she showed us around a quick loop of Navajo Rocks. And while we thought the trails were amazing, we really had no idea of what was to come. KLONDIKE BLUFFS There’s no escaping dinosaurs in Moab. And with a child with you, there is really, really no escaping dinos. The trail at Klondike Bluffs blew our minds; a half hour hike off trail was the largest concentration of dino tracks in the area: 2,300 tracks in two square acres. These are thought to be theropod tracks from about 160 million years ago. Crazy. Oh, and the trails here are seriously fun too: fast and flowy, with very few painful ups. SLICKROCK We attempted the infamous Slickrock full trail. It was ambitious. It’s over 10 kilometres long. And we really weren’t prepared. But we got to see some cool Jeeps and dirtbikes ripping through. And since we were now camping at the Slickrock trailhead we decided to make it our mission to come back and try again. PORCUPINE RIM Eighteen years ago Rheanna and I rode Porcupine Rim as a full loop. Some masochist from Uxbridge told us we had to do it as a loop. And for some reason we agreed. It was a heinous 40-km ride, mostly uphill, mostly on the road. This time Grampa and Taj dropped us off, and we mostly descended for 27 km back to town. It felt like redemption. We both had fun, despite the scary no-fall zones. CAPTAIN AHAB I’d been hearing about the Captain Ahab trail for years and it was on my must-do-with-or-without-family list. Thankfully Grampa was keen. So after checking out some petroglyphs, Grampa and I said goodbye to Moose and headed up, up, up and then up a little more. The great thing about Moab is that the scenery is stellar; grinding uphill becomes pretty easy, and you tend to not even notice how painful it is. Of course the down is why everyone loves Captain Ahab. And I’m fully converted. It’s an amazing run. Technical drops, exposed trails, and good old-fashioned downhill fun. SLICKROCK REVISITED Even though they told us Slickrock wasn’t a trail for a nine-year- old, we did it anyway. We packed snacks, lunch, water, sunscreen and as much determination as we could muster. It’s a freaking difficult trail. Heinous ups, terrifying downs, windswept peaks and everything in between. There was nearly an emotional breakdown, but a good break (some salami and olives) soon turned it around. I’m super proud of my boy for getting this done. He worked hard, pushed through and conquered the “impossible.” GEMINI BRIDGES After nine days in a row of riding, I sort of took a break. Taj and I dropped Rheanna and Grampa off for a 17-km, father-daughter downhill run called Gemini Bridges. Taj and I went and hit some of the raddest “city-approved” dirt jumps I’ve ever seen. When we picked up Rheanna and Grampa they were ecstatic; they absolutely loved this trail. Next time I’m in Moab, I need to ride it.