What did we learn? (A Utah experience)

by Mitchell Sprinsky on Sep.25, 2013, under Colorado, Ride Reports

My recent mountain bike vacation to Hurricane, Utah provided some incredible experiences. Yes, I have been there before, but this time it was different. It was a lesson of sorts. The main take-away as we heard one evening was that “life is one big sh!t show, but a damn good sh!t show”.

This was a gathering of friends from all over and some who never knew each other before the first day. But, you know what? Within thirty seconds, you know these are good people. I met some of them years ago just tooling around on the Internet, before the Web became the go to place. I was just looking for people who shared the same passion that had gripped me. There was a small community of mountain bikers then, eager to share how much they enjoyed riding on dirt. Awesome friends who still share the same passion. I introduced one of my local friends this year and here is what we learned.

We learned that 8.5 hours to a ride destination is a long drive until you get there. Then it doesn’t seem half bad.

We learned that Yelp is pretty damn accurate when it comes to fooderies. You shouldn’t give the benefit of the doubt.

We learned that getting a group of eight to the trailhead before 11:00 AM is nearly impossible.

We learned that nobody knows if there is a Gooseberry plant, but it sure is a beautiful mesa.

We learned that just about everyone had a Go Pro. And to think, I used to ride with camcorder strapped to my helmet.

We learned that my bike is damn purdy in any scenery.

We learned that slickrock means playground.

We learned that following the dots is not as easy as it looks.

We learned that Josh is smart enough not to touch that front brake.

We learned what an edge is.

We learned how to admire singletrack.

We learned there are no bad views from this mesa.

We learned how to stay out of the crack. Yeah, I fell into this taking the picture (well, at least one leg fell in).

We learned to appreciate the obvious.

We learned that Jorge just may take up cliff diving.

We learned that Tim is one crazy mother-f’er and someone even said that to his face. Fully rigid singlespeed and kicked everyone’s butt.

We learned that this is about as close as I will get after falling in the crack.

The next day we had another fun day of learning at Little Creek Mesa. Make that a LONG day of learning.

We learned to listen to Quinton (Over The Edge bike shop in Hurricane), but didn’t know how important that would be until the end.

We learned that we weren’t the first people to enjoy the beauty of what was around us. We learned to respect that.

We learned how to pick a lot of lines.

We learned that the views just continue.

We learned that you can’t learn this. It just happens.

We also learned to not let Chippy out of your sight and then spend two hours trying to find him :). What would we do without cell phones and the find my iPhone app?

That evening, we learned what a great bike shop Over The Edge is. They invited our whole group to their BBQ. We shared Colorado and California bootleg brews and they shared brats and stories with this guy. A true “character” and teacher of the “Giant Sh!t Show” as well as the guy who helped put Fruita and Hurricane on the map.

The next day we learned a new trail (Guacamole) and got to ride with Troy.

We learned that all mesa’s are not alike.

We learned that some people focus on bike parts, others?

We learned that there is very little coasting in Hurricane.

We learned how close we were to Zion.

We learned that going down this, is much easier than going up. My bruised body will attest to this.

We learned something that will require a second visit.

Our last day of riding and what better way than to bring it all home with the classic JEM trail and Hurricane Rim.

We learned the meaning of awesome.

We learned how to find Waldo.

We learned what a gem, JEM is.

We learned that even a Virgin can be dirty.

We learned that after four days of riding, we need more stops.

We learned how to have some fun.

We learned that distance is exaggerated.

We learned there is some downhill in Hurricane.

We learned that people love to call things Panorama Point.

We learned that if we start early enough, we can do something else in the same day. So we did. We hiked up the Virgin River in Zion National Park. We learned just what a surreal place it is.