Grand Loop Area, Utah, USA

A foolish attempt at riding parts of the Grand Loop

October, 2021

7 days / mileage forgotten

I was back at combining a bike tour with a professional conference, but this time I was the main organizer of the event. Planning was tricky, preparation was limited, and hosting an event is a LOT of work. I was exhausted when I started riding, and the trip was harder than expected.

I started out riding south from Moab up the valley into a strong headwind. I turned onto what’s called the Rimrocker Trail. A theme for the trip… these things they call trails are more like worn-out jeep roads. The riding was rocky most of the time, but there were some nice spots, and I had a great view of the La Sal mountains on my first night. The riding around Buckeye Reservoir was also really nice, and there aren’t that many people out there. The descent down to Highway 141 is long and includes some turns and uphills that made you wonder why you were going up (?). The final grade down to the pavement is crazy steep and I’m honestly not sure how some of the regular vehicles I saw were getting up it. Somewhere near the start of the descent, I got a puncture, which would haunt me all the way to Fruita.

I had bold ambitions of climbing up to and traversing the Uncompahgre Plateau, but my embarrassing lack of functioning repair supplies and my general exhaustion led me to skip that and ride Highway 141 into Grand Junction. Fortunately, this road was also on my bucket list, and it was a fantastic ride along the river! I found a place to camp south of Gateway that I’m not sure was entirely legal (private), but no one came by thankfully.

I took an unplanned rest day in Fruita to get the bike fixed up and set out for the Kokopelli Trail just after sunrise. I realized quickly this is no country for old panniers. A lot of this “trail” is, again, over-used jeep tracks, and the going was slow and challenging… not helped by the fact that you need to carry a lot of water, and in my case, do a lot of hike-a-biking. Needing to get back to work, I exited the trail to descend Onion Creek – which was really fun, and road the old 128 back to Moab. I’m really happy I completed this ride, but I don’t think I’ll be doing it again.

A nice section along the Rimrocker Trail
La Sal Mountains from the south side
Amazing view looking down towards Bedrock and Naturita
See that setup in the back? Don’t do it. I had a camelbak too, and big tires are a good choice.
near Westwater
Trying to get the silt to settle in my drybag before filtering water from the Colorado River at Dewey Bridge
Rose Garden area. Unrideable for me. Oh, and I remember almost dying by coming close to the edge of a cliff that you can’t see until you’re right on top of it. Double-diamond terrain for sure.
Maybe the highlight of the trip: descending Onion Creek road down to Route 128