Another annual Moab Fondo trip is in the books, as usual… what a fun weekend! Every year I look forward to this fun weekend of bikes and buds and this year did not disappoint.
I headed down to Moab a day early this year and got in a few extra rides, including the Whole Enchilada. Upon arrival, I met up with my bud DougBobDude at the Field Station Hotel. Got unloaded pretty quick and changed into a roadie kit and we headed off on a ride from Field Station up Potash Road to about the Petroglyphs (15 miles round trip). Absolutely gorgeous weather this time of year in Moab.
This was the first time I’ve been on my road bike in almost a year! Felt pretty good and it was enjoyable to be out on a pretty ride. I think I’ll try to ride my roadie more often this year. Post ride we went to Arche’s Thai for some dinner. I feel like we’ve eaten just about everywhere in Moab and Arche’s Thai is definitely in my top 5 favorites. Consistent, it’s really tasty, nice portions and it’s not too overpriced like most of Moab is.
Day 1 – Whole Enchilada (more like a Half Enchilada)
Since we were down a day early this year and had all of Friday to do something before the Fondo on Saturday, I really wanted to ride the Whole Enchilada! We thought they’d be taking us as high as the LaSalle Loop Road at this point, but we were wrong. Up the dirt road out of town, past Falcon Flow and dropped at the top of Eagle Eye.
Not a bad spot really! We rode the connector trail from the lot right over to the top of Lower Porcupine Rim. As you can see in the map screenshot below, we were dropping The Snotch almost right away. It was actually a great place to start!
Absolutely awesome morning on The Enchilada!
When the rest of our crew finally arrived later that day, we all decided to get out on a short hike to the Corona Arch. What a cool hike! Can’t believe I’ve never done this one before, so close to town and the arch is amazing. About 80 feet tall – For scale, back in the early 80’s a Cessna plane was flown through the Corona Arch. Pretty rad!
Moab Gran Fondo Day
I think we were all pretty disappointed about the last minute route change this year due to construction, meaning that we would not be riding the LaSalle Loop. Instead we were riding aa 52 mile out and back route towards Dead Horse State Park and back with half the normal elevation. But, it turned out to be a pretty fun and enjoyable morning! I’d ride the route again, but wish it would have at least been the full distance.
This year, TransRockies Race Series added an additional fondo to the weekend on Sunday, the Moab Gravel Fondo. I don’t have a gravel bike so I didn’t participate. From what I heard about the route + the insane winds on Sunday, I’m glad I didn’t. Sounded like a brutal day! Type 2 kind of fun.
Arches National Park
Instead of the gravel rice, I woke up early and headed to Arches National Park. Reservations or “timed entries” seem to be required most of the year now. I didn’t have a reservation since it was a last minute idea, but it turns out as long as you’re in the park before 7am you don’t need a reservation. This was my first time making it to the Delicate Arch. It was beautiful, really cool to see in person. The winds at the actual arch were insane. Maybe 50+ mph gusts. If someone wasn’t careful and standing too close to the edge of the trail leading up to the top where the arch is, they could easily be blown off and down the cliffside.
3.2 miles out and back, not too bad at all! Pretty quick and easy. I headed back to town after the hike and caught up with a couple buds for a quick MTB ride and margaritas for Cinco de Mayo. Packed up shortly after some chips, salsa and margaritas and headed on back to SLC – and into a late season snow storm!
Moab Fondo weekend 2024 was a wrap!
