St George, Utah

ajdonner · **Posted:** Mon Mar 31, 2014 8:00 pm

Couple months ago I met Belizean at Calavera to exchange a derailer for beer and he mentioned that plans were in the works for a late March long weekend in Utah. "Cool, keep me in the loop" I said.

It was hard to get up and go to work this morning; but the stoke from this weekend will get me through at least the next few weeks. Fun rides and good company!

jimbro, Kimba and I headed out Thursday, made good time on the way up, with a stop at the gas station/market at Cima Rd out in the middle of the Mohave. Interesting place...

Anyways, rolled into St George ~5 pm, found a bike shop and learned a cool trail network was just a short drive away.

jimbro and I on the Zen trail mesa looking towards another with a mess of trails on it.

Kimba rounding a blind corner into a technical climb.

A_street, Belizean and Lost One2 left SD around 3 am Friday and got to Utah late morning. Before they could sit down/pass out we headed out to ride Hurricane Rim from the TH near town. On the topo it looked pretty mellow after an initial climb. Ended up being a lot of up and down and I bonked.

Dropping off the back of the group, I saw a lot of everyones backside much of the day.

Views were awesome though.

Saturday we rode Gooseberry Mesa. Mixed reviews on this one. The South Rim trail is constantly technical. I was feeling good and having a blast; but agree there's a distinct lack of flow on it. The full body work out is broken up with some fun rock rolls and chutes. jimbro.

Little further along and great views of Zion came into view.

A_street crusing over a fun section.

Sunday we showed up at the bottom of J.E.M. and the weather was a little threatening. It was clearly raining out towards Zion but the wind was blowing ~20-25 mph towards the east so we figured, "Let's ride."

Super short wind driven rains blew over us as we climbed headlong into it.

About an hour later we reached the top and like most TRs, descending was so damn fun I don't have any pics. Sun came out as the group reached the bottom and as we finished ours beers the wind picked up and the temp dropped and we headed home.

OldDogDan · **Posted:** Mon Mar 31, 2014 8:25 pm

Great TR and photos. You guys packed a lot into that weekend. That's such an amazing place.

Belizean · **Posted:** Mon Mar 31, 2014 9:32 pm

There's another 8 miles from Saturday evening, an out and back, that was just stupid fast on the way back to the cars; then, more beer.

TrailBurner · **Posted:** Mon Mar 31, 2014 9:45 pm

Next week!

ajdonner · **Posted:** Mon Mar 31, 2014 9:54 pm

^^^ Nice. Have fun!

Earache · **Posted:** Tue Apr 01, 2014 8:23 am

Very nice TR, and even better images!
Scenery to die for!

Kimba · **Posted:** Tue Apr 01, 2014 8:34 am

Zen trail. A real nice mix of technical climbing and fast descending, 6 miles feels like 12 there.
The arrive'

After Zen cracked open the first beer of the trip, toasted the mountain gods, went to the pad, burned meat and ate it all, it was that good, then watched NCAA, Ali G, and went to the hot tub. Apparently there was a bottle of wine and some jamming but I don't recall.

Woke up groggy the next day, and the rest of our cohort arrived. We were now at full strength, 6 riders, 5 rides, 4 days, 50 + miles, 1060 miles on the truck, 2 guitars, 2 bongos, 1 keyboard.

Yes, the United Nations of DT/So Cal had arrived in the heart of puritanical values and 3.2% beer.

We rode up and down Hurricane Rim Trail and learned Cryptobiotic also is a trail name there.

Lost One 2

Jimbro

Belizean cleaning the climb

Did he make it?

Here I found a sign I could not resist releasing my inner chink for. It just came out of me like laundry or somting.

The only mechanical of the trip. Thanks Fred.

Guitar!

No matter how hungry you are, do not go to the Burger King in the Chevron.

Third day was full of promise as it was the Gooseberry Mesa day. However, we were saddened to see segregation is alive and well in Utah.

After kicking some cracker ass, we rode the rim trails and crushed them into sandpaper. Very technical riding with great views. Awesome.

Fred was scaring us here

Don rocking the roll

After the Goose, we went over to Bear Claw Poppy and had a blast cruising the fast flowy trails there. The fingers of death had scary looking but easy drops which were lots of fun. The bottom has undulations on buff track that makes it a fast as you dare trail. The post ride beers were very good that day.

We then ate meat drank beer watched NCAA and AliG then went to the hot tub. We left a lasting impression on the young women of St. George who, one by one, entered the hot tub with us. Alas, they finally said they were wondering how many of them it would take for us to leave the hot tub. Kids are so honest out there.

The last day was forbidding with wind and rain. But JEM was calling. We rode up and down it and found out how fun it can be to ride 6 miles downhill without pedaling and a 20 know tailwind and hail, yes, hail pelting out helmets. I was reminded of that old Irish saying may the wind be at your back... The mountain gods were indeed smiling on us as the rain held off until the moment we got in our trucks for the long ride home.

Utah was awesome! I want more.

ozzer · **Posted:** Tue Apr 01, 2014 12:30 pm

Nice one guys.

We're Utah-bound for this weekend. I think it's the best way to waste cash than spending it on a Sea Otter trip.

Was JEM getting too saturated? That would be our warm up before heading to the Mesas.

Canaan · **Posted:** Tue Apr 01, 2014 12:35 pm

Awesome TRs and photos by all involved. I'm going out on a limb and declaring that trip to be "epic."

Kimba · **Posted:** Tue Apr 01, 2014 12:48 pm

ozzer wrote:

Nice one guys.

We're Utah-bound for this weekend. I think it's the best way to waste cash than spending it on a Sea Otter trip.

Was JEM getting too saturated? That would be our warm up before heading to the Mesas.

JEM was not too busy the day we rode, but it was a bad weather day.

k2rider · **Posted:** Tue Apr 01, 2014 1:23 pm

Great TR and photos. I wish we could have hooked up with you guys but it always seemed like we're riding the same trails on different days. Gooseberry Mesa is the crown jewel out there and is generally the big draw. It's definitely different than pretty much anything else I've ever ridden but that's what I like about it. The JEM Trail is definitely a kick ass ride, especially with the wind at your back like you guys had it. This trip, we rode Guacamole, Gooseberry Mesa, Little Creek and Barrel Roll (in the big winds). Barrel Roll might be the best XC loop I've ever ridden and I've heard that Zen is even better. Next time I go back, I'm going to concentrate on the trails over in Santa Clara and St George.

Ozzer....I've never ran into any more than 10-15 people EVER in an ENTIRE day on ANY trail in that area. I've done the JEM Trail (5) times and haven't seen 10 other riders total. We saw (4) riders at Barrel Roll at the TH but never saw them again. I see alot cars at the TH sometimes but the trails themselves are empty.

TrailBurner · **Posted:** Tue Apr 01, 2014 1:43 pm

Barrel Roll? Haven't heard of that one. General area?

bankerboy · **Posted:** Tue Apr 01, 2014 1:53 pm

Utah Mountain Biking

This is a great site for you to hit up prior to heading out. Lots of options.

Just think of it as a Mormon MTB Bill.

Kimba · **Posted:** Tue Apr 01, 2014 2:01 pm

There are at least 5 different trails/trail systems in an open area just south of St. George and by the Santa Clara river valley. Zen, Bear Claw, Barrel Roll, Barrel ____, Suicidal Tendencies are the names I remember. This is why people go back there. Unless you live there, there is just not enough time to do them all, and that is just one riding area.

There are other riding areas like Gooseberry, Guacamole, Little Creek.

Honestly, if I did not have a set up here, I would seriously consider living there. All the local people we met on the trails were really cool and were just happy people. Trails seem to be everywhere. I got the feeling there is a shitload of off the map stuff all over the place.

TrailBurner · **Posted:** Tue Apr 01, 2014 2:48 pm

Thanks. I've ridden there many times, mostly the Gooseberry, JEM, Hurricane Rim areas. Never ridden in Santa Clara River valley area (by Bloomington, the town on the way out of St. George when returning to Cal). I need to check that out. Thanks!

St George, Utah

Who is online