Recomendations for road rides in Moab?

[Skrawny]

Anyone have any good recomendations for road rides in Moab, UT? Trigger and I will be meeting a handfull of my friends out there for a week. They mostly ride Mtb, but although I will be taking my (unnamed) mountain bike I also want to get some road rides in as well.
-s

[PBWrench]

PM me your address and I'll snailmail you some maps. I rode the Moab Century last fall and the SkinnyTire festival (4 days) in March. The road riding is superb. Hilly though -- but you're used to that riding in SF. Poison Spider ia a great shop and can help you out in any way. They have rentals or you can FedEx your own bike to them. Also, click on the attached link for more info on road cycling in Moab. http://www.skinnytirefestival.com/ Have fun!

[victoryfactory]

Check out the Arches Nat'l Park road. Hilly, not a perfect road surface, but an
awesome ride nonetheless, about 35 miles out and back.

VF

[g3neration]

I just sold my Moab 3 mountain bike cause I was riding on the road too much. Figured its better off getting a road bike instead. :D

[gdw]

Poison Spider has a free brochure which provides information on several of the better known local road rides.
http://www.poisonspiderbicycles.com/
Send them an email and they'll mail a copy to you. Arches, the La Salle loop, Canyonlands/Island in the Sky, and Potash are described in detail and rides I would recommend if you have the legs.

Arches is a classic through a landscape which will make you think of those old Roadrunner and Coyote cartoons. It can be crowded with tourists so start early.

The La Salle loop is part of the Moab Century route. You head south from Moab and climb into the LaSalle mountains and then descend to the Colorado River which you follow back to town. Scenic and challenging.

Potash Road runs along the Colorado and is pretty flat. The cliffs next to the river have some interesting pictographs and the ride is easy and scenic. Watch out for the trucks.

The ride from Moab to Canyonlands is worth the effort if you have the time. Ride to the end of the Island in the Sky road and enjoy the scenery from Grand View Overlook before starting back. You can drive to the Islands in the Sky visitor center and park if you're not up to the ride from town.

Make sure you have plenty of water, take a Camel Back because the standard two water bottles most roadies carry isn't enough for the longer rides, and bring raingear if you venture into the mountains.

[No Circles]

My wife and I have ridden Moab on MBs many times. The roads are rough. We were in the same hotel where the Moab Century was based and there were some chewed tires. If I were you (and I am not) I would bring 100 oz bladder of water and two bottles of whatever "stuff" you use (e.g.Cytomax). It is sneaky dehydration because of the altitude. If it is super hot I might even put up with the weight of a second bladder. We MBed from the main road to where they filmed the last scenes for "Thelma & Louise". It was around Memorial Day, over 100 degrees and there is no shade on that road. Went through both bladders and the bottles of Propel on the out and back. One other thing, and it sounds stupid. Moab is big and western roads don't have many branches to shorten the ride if you are running out of water, food, etc. Be aware of where you are in relation to where the cell tower is. It has gotten better over the years but it is still a "tin can" area when it comes to cell phone service. Hope this helps a little. Poison Spider LBS is interesting. I would really advise that you take a walk around the shop and the repair room and see if there are any "strange" odors. Nice people, very mellow, but check if all the bolts are tight.

Bruce