Jomayo112

Hey guys,
New to the forum, curious if anyone has done any of the trails offered around the Moab area of Utah. I am looking forward to a trip there next year and I wanted to know what everyones thoughts were on the different trails they offer. I am leaning towards the maze tour, but also wondered what people thought about the white rim, and canyonlands??

Looking for general knowledge, did you bring your bike or rent, who did you book through, ect. Thanks

thegooddoctor

Jomayo,
The "rides" you are talking about are all within Canyonlands. Canyonlands is made up of 3 districts: The Maze, Needles and Island in the Sky. Island in the Sky is the district circumnavigated by The White Rim trail (actually a dirt road). Having ridden all 3 areas a bit, I reccomend the White Rim if this is your first venture into the area and you like multi day trips. If you are a stud, ride it in a day otherwise people typically take 3-4 day trips to ride the entire 100+ miles. Many local outfitters offer package trips (Western Spirit, Rim Tours, Magpie tours etc.). The Maze and Neddles districts have dirt roads to ride on but are more fun to explore via hiking (opinion).
If you are looking for the awesome Moab slickrock and/or singletrack it makes sense to hotel or camp near Moab and ask about rides that fit your style and abillities at the local shops. There are a lot of standard rides like Slickrock, Porcupine etc. that have great views where you can asess the lay of the land and plan the next days adventure. An excellent site to check out trail information for Moab and all Utah trails is https://www.utahmountainbiking.com/

Most posted rides include gps files you can download which makes route finding simple but make sure you get the local scoop, maps etc in town. Bring and drink lots of water!

Jomayo112

Thanks for the response I appreciate it!

NYCJohn170

She went out on her own? wow - I gotta get back to Moab!

thegooddoctor

I included Maggie just because she yelled at me a few years back. I was past The White Crack trying to do the white rim in a day. A hot day, I'm struggling and about out of water and I'm not seeing anyone. Finally this support rig comes toward me, overloaded with god knows what and I ask if she could spare some water..ya know, fill my camelback. She starts hammering me about how we self support people should take care of our own needs...yada yada. I just rode off with her screaming at me as I faded in the distance. I eventually met the good folks from her tour that gave me some water from their bikes.
While driving sags, I have given many strangers water (all they want) beer (all they want) and let lost people camp (drinks and eats included) at our sites many times, always will. I figure she needs help so maybe this guy can find her and help her out! If you could be so kind, tell her she can bend over and crack a smile next time you are in Moab!

thegooddoctor

I found this on The Magpies website:

"Why can’t I just hit up one of the commercial
outfitters out there to give me water?

Mainly because they have a group of people to take care
of, and those people paid for that water. Its just bad form.
Prepare and assume responsibility for yourself or stay
home."

I guess I should have just stayed home that day... I wouldn't want to distract the busy people of the world from their eco-adventure in the desert. Another perspective, maybe it was OK to ask some nice folks for help and get it. I'll let others decide. Either way, I've never been accused of having bad form until now (my pants are on fire).

NYCJohn170

Well, it was nice of you to include her in spite of all that. She's something else! I had a 3 day private when she worked for Rim Tours in 2003. Added on to a ski trip in February. Was awesome!

lubes17319

Just across the border in CO:
https://www.backcountrybiker.com/aboutourtrips.html

My brother & some friends did the Tabeguache tour a few yrs back & had a Bl'ast!