KLR650 Rally - Moab - Page 3

The Sand Flats Road Trail out of Moab to the east is a good "first trail" to ride in the Moab area. It is interesting, not too challenging and very scenic as it climbs out of the Moab Valley into the La Sal mountains. The trail is packed with mountain bikers and one has to give them credit for the effort they expend to see the same trail we are leisurely riding up! As a matter of fact, mountain bikes were on every trail we rode during the week. We soon learned the etiquette of the trail and shared the trail with bikes and four wheel drive vehicles.

The ride to Porcupine Rim Campsite was uneventful but a perfect start on a clear, cool day! The Campsite is a spectacular place for camping! If one is a camper I would suspect this campsite would be one of those places campers dream about! The campsite is on the rim of Castle Valley with a shear drop off of at least a thousand feet or more! To me, it seemed like a lot more! We spent almost an hour here just enjoying the view and the day. Cameras came out and we all "profiled" for a shot with Round Mountain in the background. The return trip to Moab was fast as we connected with the La Sal Mountain Loop Road and headed back to town for lunch.

At this point I would like to point out a place in Moab that soon became our favorite "hang out" and eating place. The Moab Diner is one of those old wooden diners that survived the 1950's and is still providing the atmosphere and food that makes it different and special from the many tourist eating spots in Moab. Our group ate all our breakfasts here, met other riders for planned rides and in general it became our "headquarters." It became the custom to stop here at the end of each day and order a Root Beer Float. This was Ken's favorite drink and soon became ours too!

On to Shafer Trail! The ride out to Shafer Trail is a joy in it's self! Simply ride out of Moab to the north on Highway 191 to County road 313. Follow the signs to the Island In The Sky Visitors Center. It is 32 miles from Moab to the Center and the entire ride is filled with great scenery and nice twisty roads! Pay the $5.00 admission fee to the Park (keep the receipt as it is good for five days and you will need it when you do the White Rim Trail) and about one hundred meters on your left will be the dirt road that leads to Shafer Trail. Watch for bike traffic - they are everywhere!

The Shafer Trail begins with a spectacular steep descending trail to the bottom of the valley and runs close to the Colorado River for most of its length. The road is good, but the views and scenery require that you stop every now and then to take pictures! It is just too good to pass up. I think we spent an hour just working our way down the descent taking pictures and looking at the panoramic views.

For those of us from the south eastern United States it was just overwhelming! A camera could never capture the full extent or impact the vistas provide. We descended to the bottom and began a great ride along the trail heading to Potash Road and the ride along the Colorado river back towards Moab. The trail is not challenging but does provide enough interest to "warm one up" for the White Rim Trail ride the following day!

Heading back to Moab we decided to stop by one of the many Micro Brewery's in Moab. Our favorite place was one on the south side of town. Buffalo Wings and pitchers of beer soon became the "norm" for ending the day! John and I ordered two pounds of wings! No dinner that night! The group was still dressed in our riding gear, dirty, dusty, and in general did not look like the mountain bike folks who were dressed in their clean, colorful jerseys and tight pants. I could never ride a mountain bike because I would never where those pants! I think John liked them! Anyway, we were soon telling "lies" about how well we had ridden that day and all the "close" calls we had avoided by our expert riding skills. We finished our "wings" and headed for the Moab Diner for a Root beer Float. Back to the motel and early to bed - tomorrow was the White Rim Trail!

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