Rough Riding on the Slickrock Trail in Moab and in Canyonlands National Park

In May, 2003 I joined an epic trip organized by Dan Dominy, the adventure video cameraman extraordinaire who shoots the Badwater Ultramarathon and Furnace Creek 508 every year. He's also a Toyota Land Cruiser 4x4 fanatic who organizes an annual trip to the Moab, Utah and Canyonlands National Park area for fantastic off-road cycling, hiking, and exploration. Each trip is supported by Land Cruiser, however nobody is the designated SAG driver. Instead, each trip participant takes a turn driving the Cruiser one day and also contributes and prepares a meal. It's a great way to get out there for little cost and with great camaraderie.

This trip in 2003 was, and still is, easily one of the best and most memorable trips I've ever undertaken. It was visually breath-taking every single day. The cycling was fantastic. The hiking was peaceful and otherworldly. The campsites were spectcular. The natural curiousities were everywhere and innumerable. The pictographs were beyond words. I'd enjoy visiting this area every year. It would never get boring and there would always be new things to see and experience.

I was the only participant that didn't have a mountain bike with suspension. I rode my Rivendell All-Rounder with rigid fork, a 34/48 double crank, Ritchey Z-Max 1.9" knobby tyres, and moustache handlebars. My low gear was a 34x27, which did the trick nicely. The itinerary and basic route is below, with links to further information about this fascinating area. Be sure to check out the full slideshow. A picture tells a thousand words.

- Chris Kostman

To see a full slideshow with 50 images from this trip, click here.

Route:
May 11: Poison Spider Mesa Trail and Slickrock Trail, Moab
May 12: Drive to Canyonlands National Park, hike and camp in Horsehoe Canyon; visit The Great Gallery
May 13: Flint Trail Overlook and camp at The Teapot
May 14: Land of Standing Rocks; camp at The Dollhouse
May 15: Ride around The Dollhouse and The Wall; camp at The Dollhouse
May 16: The Wall, Flint Trail, Golden Stairs hike; camp at Maze Overlook
May 17: Maze Overlook, Harvest Scene, hike in the Maze; camp at Maze Overlook
May 18: Maze Overlook, Flint Trail, Hans Flat

Rough Riding on Mt. Diablo with a Cycling Sage: Grant Petersen

Yours truly, Chris Kostman (left), with Grant Petersen

When I lived in Berkeley and Oakland for about ten years in the 80s and 90s, one of our favorite long rides was to cruise out to Mt. Diablo and then climb high above Walnut Creek on that fabled mountain. It's a spectacular state park with epic 360 degree views, all right next door to metropolis. In 1992 though 1994 I was sponsored by Bridgestone Cycles USA, where I got to know Grant Petersen. He designed and spec'd all the bikes, edited the catalogue (a real keeper), and handled the marketing, advertisements, and sponsorships. I was lucky and honored to be one of just a handful of cyclists who was sponsored by Bridgestone.

When B'stone shut down in 1994 due to a variety of issues in the cycling industry and the world economy (strong Yen vs. weak Dollar, among other things), Grant opened his own small bicycle company, Rivendell Bicycle Works, based literally at the foot of Mt. Diablo in Walnut Creek, his home town. I was pleased and thrilled to have been sponsored by Grant at B'stone, where, among other things, he was able to pay for my trip to France for the Triple Ironman and to West Virginia to compete in the 24 Hours of Canaan mountain bike race. So I immediately plunked down a deposit to be one of Rivendell's first customers. As such, I became the proud owner of the first "All-Rounder" model that Rivendell built and sold. The bike even has "CKAR01" - as in Chris Kostman's All-Rounder #1 - stamped on the bottom bracket shell next to the serial number! (Click here to see a full slideshow of my All-Rounder.)

Anyway, more on all of the above later, but for now I wanted to share some photos from a nice Rough Riders excursion up Mt. Diablo with Grant and some of his friends in May of 2005. It was my second ride ever on 650B wheels. We rode up the mountain on the paved road, then back down on a nice fire road with multiple creek crossings. I rode "Grant style" with sandal shoes and nothing attaching my feet to the pedals, plus a button shirt. I did insist on being the only rider who wore padded lycra shorts, though. It was a beautiful day with great company, wonderful bikes (I rode Grant's personal Saluki model), and perfect Rough Riding on a variety of terrain. Thank you, Grant, and thank you, Mother Nature, for a splendid outing!