Southern Utah
04-26-10, 01:02 PM
#1
Which bike should I ride?
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Southern Utah
Hi all. I'm gonna be in southern Utah in late June to do several rides in the Zion/St George/Cedar City areas. Anyone know if goat head thorns are a problem in that area? I'll be riding on paved roads (no MTBing for me).
04-26-10, 04:10 PM
#2
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Although I live in Southern California, my parents had retired and are now living in Cedar City. While visiting them, I had brought my road bike with regular Michelin's Pro Race tires and I did not have any flats. For reference, I had rode in Cedar City and the surrounding areas and had driven down to St. George and met up with some local riders. Or you could google the bike shop in Cedar City and ask for their opinion. IIRC there is only one bike shop in Cedar City.
04-26-10, 04:58 PM
#3
Which bike should I ride?
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Yeah, I've thought about contacting some shops in the area. Bike club web sites I've been able to find were of no help. What time of year were you riding there?
04-26-10, 06:06 PM
#4
Keep on climbing
I did a bike tour two years ago that went from Zion over to the Canyonlands area. I don't recall anybody on the tour (20 people or so?) having abnormal flat-tire issues, so you shouldn't have to worry about goat-heads. I run Vredestein Fortezza tires.
The scenery is unreal, and there's no traffic to speak of (outside the parks themselves at least). As far as we could tell, the wind never stops blowing. (We did ask some resident of some tiny town if the wind ever stops blowing, and he looked at us like we were from Mars and just said "no"). I was there in mid / late September, so the highs were in the mid-80s or so -- pretty comfy. I think it's going to be a LOT warmer in late June. There's a whole lot of nothing out there; i.e., be prepared to carry a lot of water.
The scenery is unreal, and there's no traffic to speak of (outside the parks themselves at least). As far as we could tell, the wind never stops blowing. (We did ask some resident of some tiny town if the wind ever stops blowing, and he looked at us like we were from Mars and just said "no"). I was there in mid / late September, so the highs were in the mid-80s or so -- pretty comfy. I think it's going to be a LOT warmer in late June. There's a whole lot of nothing out there; i.e., be prepared to carry a lot of water.
04-26-10, 08:38 PM
#5
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I'm down there somewhere between St. George and Blanding twice a year. I absolutely wouldn't ride anything less puncture resistant than Pro Races but I haven't ever had a big problem with flats down there. There are just too many places where the highway with all its flotsam and jetsam is the only option to get from one place to another. I generally take Michelin Krylion Carbons which has been my #1 tire for a few years now. One flat from steel belt remnants on the shoulder and one from a big shard of quartz is all I've encountered over about 1000 miles. I got home after the bit of quartz but had to boot the resulting cut before feeling good about finishing the weekend.
