still allows for zooming the trails lower in the valley the day after the storm. Winter approaches.
Despite the unalluring name...
that lacks curb appeal, the Mud Springs Non-Motorized Trail System is the newest mountain biking area south of Moab and it is HUGE fun. I explored about nine miles (~14 km) today during its “soft opening” prior to a winter closure that commences 1 December 2025. It’s brilliantly designed and expertly constructed with lots of downhill flowy sections with banked/bermed corners where experienced riders can carry speed through the turns. Once again, it’s enormous fun!
Scenic view from the top of the trail system. (Click on image to embiggen.)
Peering through Eye of the Whale Arch...
on the loveliest of autumn days. This was the destination of a 22 mile (35 km) out-and-back eMTB ride from Utahraptor State Park with friends this afternoon. Life is good.
Eye of the Whale Arch, Arches National Park. (Click image to supersize.)
Rockin' out at Navajo Rocks...
on the mountain bike trail system during a magnificent autumn afternoon in the high desert.
Red beds of the Dewey Bridge Member of the Carmel Formation (Middle Jurassic (174.1-163.5Ma)) share a sharp contact with the underlying cream-colored Navajo Sandstone (Lower Jurassic (201.3-174.1Ma)). (Click to enlargenate.)
Flipped 1,000 miles...
on the new Trek Rail+8 on the singletrack in upper Castle Valley this afternoon. Perfect place to accomplish this milestone. It’s good to be back on Mars.
The view over the handlebars. Click to enbiggen.
UPDATE: This puts me at 72% of the distance of the Earth’s circumference at the equator (since September 2020)!
The five year anniversary...
of me fracturing my femur and requiring a hip replacement passes with hardly a notice, other than it being memorialized on my calendar on this date. Since then I’ve biked more than two-thirds of the circumference of the Earth, so it seems to be working well.
Closing in on 17,000 miles...
(27,000 km) ridden on my collection of electric mountain bikes since September 2020! My riding style is becoming increasingly aggressive with growing experience and time on the trail, so I’m leveling up with a new enduro-style eMTB. But the acid test of this very capable bike awaits on the considerably more challenging trails around Moab, Utah this fall.
It still has the new bike smell: Trek Rail+ 8 Gen 5 eMTB at Fish Lake on its first ride. The sidewalls of the tubeless tires matches the terrain in Utah!
My last early morning ride...
in Castle Valley National Park for the summer as the weather forecast calls for scorching temperatures the week ahead. Time to flee north.
Flipping 5,000 miles...
on the Trek hardtail eMTB on the return leg of this morning’s ride. These bikes don’t ride themselves!
An early morning start...
on a once-weekly ritual commences from Lions Park, then a six mile (10 km) uphill climb on the Moab Canyon Pathway to the Moab Brands trail network where one can play on the singletrack until near exhaustion, then a nice and long downhill return.
Pedestrian/bicycle bridge across the Colorado River on the Moab Canyon Pathway.
Miles continue to tick by and accumulate...
on my trek around the world, with the hardtail turning 4,800 miles (7,700 km) old on today’s ride. And what a terrific place to ride!
Don't believe everything you see these days...
given that AI-driven functionality is being incorporated into nearly all software and apps. My neighbor and riding companion wanted a snap of himself riding across Castle Creek, however, the flow had been diverted leaving a dry channel at the singletrack crossing. Photoshop’s “Generative Fill” function nicely simulated a gently flowing stream where one does not exist. Remarkable.
Here are the annotated La Sal Mountains...
as seen from a remote trailhead into Arches National Park, freshly dressed with snow on the last day of winter. The vernal equinox occurs tomorrow.
Click on image to enlarginate.
A seldom-used entry point for hikers into Arches National Park.
A supremely superb late-winter day...
in Castle Valley National Park. The singletrack beckons.
Another century mark rolls by...
on the hardtail during today’s gloriously nice ride. This also pushes me past 60% of the distance around the Earth at the equator.
Double the fun on the doubletrack...
this afternoon with excellent trail conditions for early winter riding. Cold, though.
Expansive views with endless vistas...
can be found at the apex of the Maverick singletrack at the Moab Brands mountain bike trail system. It’s nice to get out of the canyons occasionally and enjoy a seemingly infinite horizon.
View to south: Arches National Park on the east (left), La Sal Mountains to the south (center) and Gold Bar Rim and the Moab Fault to the west (right).
View into unnamed tributary canyon to Courthouse Wash in Arches National Park as seen from the Rockin’ A singletrack. Note the horizontal contact across the center of the image that is weeping groundwater, separating the Moab Member of the Curtis Formation from the underlying Slick Rock Member of the Entrada Sandstone (Middle Jurassic (174.1-163.5 Ma)).
With welcome precipitation in the forecast...
and another spectacular winter day on tap, I took advantage of the continued mild weather and headed out to Moab Brands for a terrific afternoon bike ride. Few others are out and the trails are in perfect condition. Here’s a self portrait.
A window into the Honaker Trail Formation...
can be found below Deadman’s Curve on the old highway grade west of Arches National Park. This Upper Pennsylvanian-age (~300 Ma) carbonate unit crops out as a cliff former in very few places in the Moab area, seen in the image below as the grayer strata beneath the paved bike trail across the canyon, captured from a high vantage point on the Rusty Spur mountain bike trail.
Back in the bike saddle...
again in Castle Valley, Utah with the Trek full suspension e-mountain bike turning 3,000 miles on today’s ride. Since September 2020 the cumulative mileage on all my eMTBs comes to 14,357 miles (23,110 kilometers), or 57.6% of the Earth’s circumference at the equator. I’m feeling a bit like Forrest Gump during his running phase.
