Her first time off roading...

[vulcanbill]

and mine in about 25 years as well.  

(Back Story)  We're pulling a travel trailer around the country trying to do and see as much as is affordable.  We decided that renting dirt bikes was high on the list of must do activities while in Moab.  We were a little worried because the mountain biking here has been much harder than we expected.  The trail ratings are different than MD or even some of the ski areas where we've been downhilling recently in Idaho, Montana and Washington.  In fact the best day we've had was at Big Mountain in Montana on a trail rated as "more difficult".  It was not and we had a blast doing 4 passes and having a stupid good time.  In Moab, the "easy" or "beginner" trails are challenging and anything considered moderate is downright taxing.  That said, we were a little concerned about what "easy" dirt bike trails would be like out here.  I see other peoples off road ride reports and envy the smooth gravel roads with the occasional cute stream crossing and really want that to be a nice introduction to off road riding for Kim.  It was not to be...

I did the research and found the guy that rents street legal bikes.  This makes a huge difference as many people rent dirt bikes but you have to trailer them to the trail head etc.  A total PITA if there are loops involving roads.  So we get there and get the bikes set up.  He rents KTM 450 EXCs.  I know...not a small bike for a first time out.  My philosophy here is that Kim rides a 91 FJ that weighs in at around 600 + lbs loaded for tour like it usually is.  Even a larger and heavier (by dirt standards) bike will seem like a toy to her.  Jim, who was extremely laid back and accommodating, made some final adjustments including lowering Kim's bike for better reach to the ground.  I, at five eight, was tragically able to compress the suspension to the point where I could touch with some comfort.  I was hoping that 25 year old dormant dirt bike skills would surface when needed.

We headed out to get used to the bikes.  The plan was for some nice gravel roads to get acquainted.  We took Potash road to Shaffer Trail which climbs out of the canyon to the Canyonlands NP visitor’s center.  This was rated at easy.  At the risk of sounding like a whiner, I would probably not use the word easy.  Check the pics and judge for yourself.  Would you want to do that rocky climb after 15 minutes on a dirt bike?  The upside is that the bikes stayed upright and Kim’s learning curve is steep.  Her mountain biking experience surely saved the day as this wasn’t the first time that a cycle has gone its own way under her.  We’ve been riding some sand here on the mt bikes and she basically just held on, pointed toward the least intimidating line, and trusted her machine.  It worked.  It was fairly hair raising at the time but confidence quickly climbed and so did we.  We got to the top and chatted with a few guys we followed up who were on nearly identical bikes.  There’s a KTM Adventure Rider’s Rally here this weekend.  They were more than a little surprised that this was Kim’s first time off road.  We had lunch and discussed the riding for the remainder of the day.

We headed over to Gemini Bridges Road and proceeded down that.  Mostly nice for the first few miles then it gets rocky and has some ledges to contend with.  Things were going well until I came up on the first drop.  It wasn’t huge but the first time you ride down a drop on a rock slope that’s already descending steeply, it gets your attention.  Kim was gaining confidence and speed and I slowed to evaluate the line.  She came up on me quickly and went around me to the left.  At this point, I had established that the right side was the best line and the middle would suck.  She comes up beside me just as I’m dropping off.  I hear her bike and see where she’s going.  Then I hear the forks smash against their stops and some other unpleasant crunching noises as I’m hard on the gas to get out of the way.  Again, trusting her machine, she plowed through it and all was fine but a tad shaken and stirred.  We both remained upright so I’ll call that success.  I looked back and she just shook her head but gave the thumbs up so we rode on.  There was much sand and many more rocks and ledges to contend with.  A few close calls but that’s probably just the street bikers in us that aren’t used to just how tweaked you can get on a dirt machine and still ride right out of it.  They’re amazingly capable machines.  It would have been nice to have more than a few minutes to get acquainted before being thrown into being tested.  

We got gas, talked to a few more orange bleeders then proceeded to find Long Canyon Road which was also supposed to be easy according to the local guy we talked to.  Mental note, do NOT use the advice of the locals as a means of determining what is easy.  “Boringly easy” I believe he said.  We started up Long Canyon Road and found that the sun was coming right into the canyon as we were trying to go up.  Between the shadows, the glare and the dust that was covering the road, we opted to bag it after a couple miles.  It wasn’t particularly gnarly but the challenge of being able to see the road added an unwelcome dimension.  Keep in mind these are jeep tracks up canyons.  No guardrails or shoulders to keep you nice and safe.  One minor mistake could be instant death!  We turned around and headed back toward town.  It was getting chilly and our lights were more for legality than actual lighting so we didn’t want to be out in the dark.  We were also getting tired as navigating slickrock, ledges, loose rocks, sand, steep blind switchbacks, deep sandy washes etc apparently takes a toll on the body.  We were bounced around quite a bit on those rocks.  

At the end of the day, we considered it a raging success.  It’s one of those things that you have to take the time to appreciate afterwards because you’re so engrossed at the time that it is hard to consider it fun as you’re at 100% concentration the whole time.  It might have been nice to just tool around on dirt or gravel roads without much in the way of challenges but it would also be kinda hard to justify paying for that if we were teetering on bored all day.  We were NOT bored and got every penny’s worth even if we were on the easy stuff occasionally fearing for our lives.  

[garry]

Very cool. At least you had some of the best bikes possible for the ride.

[bubba zanetti]

Perfect bikes for the area.

Moab can throw a lot at you in quick order. Good on you guys ! That sounds like a wonderful and memorable day.

BTW ... what was the cost for the days rental ... all in ??

[vulcanbill]

Perfect bikes for the area.

Moab can throw a lot at you in quick order. Good on you guys ! That sounds like a wonderful and memorable day.

BTW ... what was the cost for the days rental ... all in ??

Prices are on the website if you dig.  

http://www.dualsportutah.com/

His joint is more expensive than the other guys but again, we simply rode away from his "shop".  This isn't a big storefront operation.  In fact, it was a little frightening but don't let that throw you.  We talked to him a couple time and ran into him at the KTM truck where he was set up as a vendor.  He took his dog for a ride on one of his bikes and that pretty much sold us.  We discussed the price being out of our range and what kind of riding we would be doing.  He basically hooked us up with a discount since we told him we would be sticking to the sissy trails and he didn't think there would be much dropping of bikes going on.  Plus, I think he really liked FJs and figured that if Kim rode that bike, she'd be OK on the 450.  

[bubba zanetti]

I am thinking that a rental KTM 450 might be the ideal way for me to do Moab again.  No trailering the 950 and a world of difference off road. Two days of riding would be about right for me. Hmmm ... thanks !!

[vulcanbill]

If we had dirt bikes or quads or something fun, we could stay here for several weeks and not ever be bored.  This place...  "rocks".  

[birdrunner]

I am thinking that a rental KTM 450 might be the ideal way for me to do Moab again.  No trailering the 950 and a world of difference off road. Two days of riding would be about right for me. Hmmm ... thanks !!

+1

I've tried following some locals on KTM's for a couple rides,   I'm thinking the BRP (Big Red Pig) XL650 might not be the weapon of choice for something like Moab.

[DogBoy]

Thanks for the write-up and review.  

[DNA]

Glad you guys tried it our - next time take my 250 - it rocks.  Gonna join us at Hatfields next year?

I'm also glad you don't need the name of my ortho  

[vulcanbill]

Glad you guys tried it our - next time take my 250 - it rocks.  Gonna join us at Hatfields next year?

I'm also glad you don't need the name of my ortho  

Sure...put the knobbies on the tard.  

[twotrackhero]

  It’s one of those things that you have to take the time to appreciate afterwards because you’re so engrossed at the time that it is hard to consider it fun as you’re at 100% concentration the whole time.   

This is one of the main reasons I still enjoy hitting the trail after 30 + years of offroading   Once you hit a technically difficult trail, it take every ounce of energy and concentration to maneuver through areas at a nice pace without killing yourself. When you are finished for the day, it's nice to reflect back with the people you were riding with on all the Oh-S%*T moments or the almost impassable areas that you had to ride through    

Congrats on your adventure looks like you had a great time    

[R Doug]

Great report.  Now I know how to ride moab if I don't have my bike with me.