ADVENTUREMOTO
"LIFE SHOULD BE AND ADVENTURE"
MOAB UTAH OCTOBER 2006 DAY 3
DAY THREE OF OUR SECOND TRIP TO MOAB. TODAY MIKE AND I WERE GOING OUT TO "TOP OF THE WORLD" ROAD, A POPULAR RIDING TRAIL ABOUT 30 MILES EAST OF MOAB.
WHILE THE HEAVY RAINS HAD LET UP, THE MUD AND STANDING WATER MADE FOR DIFFICULT RIDING.
THE TURNOFF TO TOP OF THE WORLD ROAD IS OFF HIGHWAY 128 AT THE DEWEY BRIDGE, WHICH WAS BUILT IN 1916. IT IS NO LONGER USED AS A BRIDGE, BUT IS PRESERVED AS A LANDMARK. IT IS A CABLE SUSPENSION BRIDGE, AND IT'S CONSTRUCTION REFLECTS A TIME WHEN PEOPLE TOOK PRIDE IN THEIR WORK.
WE SAW SEVERAL OF THE LARGER FOUR-WHEEL ATV'S IN THE AREA, AND THE DAMAGE DONE BY THE HEAVY MACHINE'S WAS OBVIOUS. THEY ONLY ADDED TO THE RUTS CREATED BY THE HEAVY RAINS. THE RIDERS WERE APPARENTLY OBLIVIOUS TO THE "TREAD LIGHTLY" MINDSET ADOPTED BY THOSE OF US THAT CARE ABOUT PRESERVING OUR RIDING AREAS.
THE PROBLEM CAME HOME WHEN WE TRIED TO CROSS A LOW SPOT THAT A GROUP OF ATV'S HAD PREVIOSLY GONE THROUGH. THE WET SANDY SOIL HAD BEEN SO DEEPLY RUTTED THAT THE AREA HAD TURNED INTO A SAND BOG. I WAS ABLE TO GET MY LIGHTER DRZ ACROSS, BUT MIKE'S KLR LOST TRACTION AND QUICKLY SANK IN THE MUCK.
BY THE TIME I GOT OFF MY BIKE, MIKE'S KLR HAD ALREADY SUNK BELOW THE REAR AXLE. THE SATURATED AREA HAD TURNED TO QUICKSAND AND THE BIKE WAS LITERALLY BEING SUCKED UNDER.
WE WERE FORTUNATE TO FIND SEVERAL LARGE TREE BRANCHES, WHICH WE USED TO LEVERAGE THE BACK TIRE OUT OF THE SLUDGE. IT TOOK US ABOUT 45 MINUTES TO FREE THE BIKE. WOULDN'T YOU KNOW THE SAME GROUP OF ATV RIDERS THAT HAD CREATED THIS MESS CAME BACK BY AFTER WE GOT THE KLR OUT. ALL THEY SAID TO US WAS, "WHERE'D THOSE BIG TREES COME FROM? THEY WEREN'T HERE WHEN WE CAME THROUGH AN HOUR AGO"?
I ALWAYS SAY. "COMMON SENSE IS NOT SO COMMON"!
DESPITE BEING PARTIALLY SUBMERGED, MIKE'S KLR CRANKED UP AND GOT HIM BACK TO THE HIGHWAY. MOST PEOPLE WOULD HAVE CALLED IT A DAY, BUT OURS WAS JUST STARTING. THERE WAS MORE RIDING TO DO.
HEADING BACK TOWARDS MOAB, WE TOOK A DETOUR OVER TO SEE THESE "CASTLE" ROCKS. SUPPOSEDLY THESE FORMATIONS HAVE BEEN USED AS BACKDROPS IN A NUMBER OF MOVIES.
THIS AREA IS OPEN TO HIKING, BICYCLING, AND MOTORCYCLING. THIS WAS THE FIRST PLACE WHERE I SAW MORE THAN A FEW CARS. MOST OF THE MOAB AREA IS WIDE OPEN WHICH IS IT'S MAIN ATTRACTION TO MANY OF THE TOURISTS. AFTER TAKING A FEW PHOTOS, WE HEADED BACK TO MAOB WHERE MIKE TOOK HIS KLR TO A CAR WASH FOR A THOROUGH CLEANING.
AFTER CLEANING UP AND GRABBING A QUICK MEAL, WE HEADING OUT FOR ONE LAST RIDE BEFORE PACKING UP. I WANTED TO RIDE BACK OUT AND TAKE ONE LAST LOOK AT MUSSELMAN ARCH. ON THE WAY OUT, YOU RIDE THE WHITE RIM TRAIL, NAMED FOR THE LARGE WHITE ROCKS THAT LINE THE SHELF ROADS.
THERE IS SOMETHING THAT KEEPS DRAWING ME BACK TO MUSSELMAN ARCH. I WAS TEMPTED TO RIDE ACROSS, BUT SOMETHING TOLD ME THIS WAS NOT THE TIME.
DESPITE THE RAIN, MUD AND ALMOST LOOSING MIKE'S KLR TO THE QUICKSAND, THIS HAD BEEN ANOTHER MEMORABLE TRIP TO MOAB. I CAN NOW FULLY UNDERSTAND THE EXCITEMENT EXPERIENCED BY THOSE THAT HAVE RIDDEN HERE. IT'S TRULY A MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE. I KNEW I WOULD BE BACK!
ALL PHOTOS AND TEXT ARE COPRIGHTED BY RON PETITT AND CANNOT BE USED WITHOUT HIS EXPRESS PERMISSION
