Slick Rock Mecca

The Gods were smiling down at us this morning when we arrived at Slick Rock to go mountain biking. There were huge banks of clouds covering the hot burning sun from beating down on us. To get ready we read many reviews of this trail and learned about the high risk that this trail poses. NOT INTENDED FOR BEGINNERS. MAKE SURE YOUR BIKE IS TUNED UP. VERY STEEP AND DANGEROUS. TAKE PLENTY OF WATER. YOU CAN GET SERIOUSLY INJURED.

Sounds fun huh? We decided to take a trail called Practice loop because it is a 2 mile trail that sticks pretty close to the parking lot. In case you get hurt or your bike brakes you don't have to walk very far or be carried out very far.

The trail was marked by white marks on the rock. Occasionally there was bright yellow XXXX across the trail to warn you off a large drop off and to stay away.

I have written about several of our hikes that were very strenuous and that we felt like our lungs were burning for more oxygen. How our legs were dead weight. Well, it was all either a good training for today or a good measuring stick for how much we got our butts kicked. This is by far the hardest thing I have ever done. The hills were so steep that it took everything you had to climb them. When you got to the top it just felt like you wanted to throw up. In the picture below, I didn't fall but I did collapse after one of these huge hills. I just needed to catch my breath. Please don't laugh. I just wanted to lie there until the vultures started to circle overhead.

I know that Steve DeSatnick and Kenny Bumgardner would appreciate these trails. It is nothing like the trails back east. To start with you're riding on sandstone which is really like sand paper. Your tires stick to it like stink on poop. It was amazing to ride steep inclines and not have any fear of sliding or your rear wheel slipping. It made climbing the steep inclines a little easier because you could stand up to peddle and your rear tire would never slip. If we had more time here we would venture off to try some other trails. They have one trail that has a 900' accent over 3 miles. The reward is that you have a 2,800' descent that takes you to the Colorado River. At that point you better have a car down there to take you out because there is no way you would turnaround and ride back up.

I am very proud to say that Reta was the only women on the trail and she kicked butt. I am also proud of the fact that we did it and survived with no injures. Just very tired, heavy legs. We had such a good time that when we got to the end, we turned around and did the loop going in the other direction. Ok, now my legs are like jello.