Moab Training Camp Part 2

Slick Rock Over Looking the Colorado River

The Last few days of our trip to Moab fell into a routine. Wake up, do core exercises, eat, ride, eat, swim, eat, and sleep. Even though the last two days were just a part of the routine, I loved them. The Fourth day we rode Slick Rock. It was the first time I had ridden it, and was actually a little scared to do it. My dad had told me the stories of how difficult it was, and the crashes him and his friends had. Along with the story of my mom getting airlifted off the trail, I was pretty scared. But to my surprise I found the trail rather easy. The amount of grip made it rather difficult to fall. There were a few people who crashed and tumbled down the amazingly steep climbs, but none were too bad. I was fascinated with how much grip I had. I tried everything I could to lose grip, but I couldn’t. I just got my body weight forward, and spun up the climbs.

Even though the actual trail was only 12 miles long, we were all super tired from the constant climbs and descents. By about half way through the trail it was the hottest it has been. It said it was only 80 degrees, but the sun was reflecting off the rock making us like the eggs in a frying pan. We ran into another line of jeeps on the last part of the trail, but this time there was over 70 jeeps going up the jeep trail. We were all thankful that the cyclists have a separate trail. We got back to the parking lot and regrouped to ride back to the hostel. It was a short climb then a long Flagstaff like descent back into town. We all bombed down it, got back to the house and collapsed. It was my new second favorite trail, and almost everyone else loved it too.

The final day of the camp started off fairly slow. We didn’t do our morning exercises, everyone woke up late, and most people packed to go home. A few of us were smart enough to pack the night before, so we sat and played cards while the others packed. When we finally did get going I was excited to get back to my third favorite trail, Pipe Dreams. We had a hard time finding it again, and we were running low on time so we decided it was best to split up into groups. All the groups would turn around at a certain time and meet back at the trailhead. I went to the front and just hammered. I looked back at the first junction to find that I was a good minute ahead of everyone. I waited for the group, and when they caught up I went hard again. The trail flowed when I pushed my limits. I kicked out the back end on the tight switchbacks, and floated over the small rock gardens. The steep, thin, and technical trail made me concentrate the whole way which I love.

However on the way back I started to bonk. I didn’t have much breakfast, and didn’t drink any water up until then. I was still able to stay with the front of the group, but I wasn’t flowing like before. Instead I was making

stupid mistakes like letting my front wheel go off the trail. It made me concentrate even more which was hard, but when that happens in a race some day I will be glad I have had practice. When we finally got back to the parking lot our coach was waiting for us. Half the group splintered off and went back to the hostel to pack and rest. So we decided to get in a pace line and get back as fast as we could. I was on the front for most of the time charging, but I did slid in line once in a while for a rest. When we got back we had some lunch, packed up, and left the crazy hostel. I was sad to leave the great trails, my teammates, and the warm weather behind, but I was ready to get home and sleep in my own bed again.

Last Few Minutes Before Heading Home