3 bikes - 3 States - 100's of trails - Big smiles

So riding in the good old US of A then, what's that all about. Well one thing it sure changes your perspective about where your riding. Imagine doing 12 miles of solely singletrack, fun step up challenges, cool fast descents, endless huck/jump potential, amazing views and not another soul to spoil them. Now add to that the fact that its been raining for two days, yet your not muddy, and you never had to open one gate! Heaven your saying, oh yes, this is Moab, so why do we finish the ride so underwhelmed, are we mad or just spoilt. (what the hell is whelmed anyway, while I mention it) It's just that riding in the USA does this to you, that ride didn't even come close to some of the other crackers we did. Best of Photos

I could bore you rigid with graphic day to day details of our trip, but I won't. When we were planning this trip it was difficult to collect all the info to fly drive the hotspots, so lets try and write what I wish I'd found before leaving. You've heard all the names, but where to go?

No need for tour companies here, get a flight booked and a place to stay for the first night, sort out a hire car before you leave (it will work out cheaper) and do it. If we are talking mid to West states, It seems most people fly into Denver for the chance to hit lots of high mountain places and the Moab Fruita area, we went late September so its too cold and snowbound to ride some areas over 8000 ft., Vegas was our choice. Flights All American flight companies will charge for the bike, expect to pay $40 each way at least, its a fixed fee, and don't believe anyone who says you won't. Direct flights will be a lot dealer than one stopover, watch for limited time between transfers though as the US has these new long winded immigration checks where they scan your eyes and fingerprint you. Car Hire We used Dollar, paid via their UK website, go for the full Monty Platinum deal to have unlimited named drivers, all liabilities paid and take it back empty fuel deal. They'll still try and get you to buy more cover there, but you don't have to pay another penny, as usual they'll try and get you to upgrade. We had a Dodge caravan (people carrier) which fitted 3 guys and bikes in easily. As you probably worked out fuel is dirt cheap, and doesn't even become an issue in your holiday cost. Driving around 55 mph limit, it will take ages to get anywhere, really? Well that myth is easy to blow apart. Take a bunch of CD's with you, crank your stereo up, play with the cruise control and set it on 80 mph for the Interstate and the miles fly by. Seriously if your "smokie" alert you should have no more problems than in the UK. Watch out at Gas stations, they like you to pay first !!! best bet is to use the credit card in the fuel pump option for least hassle. Its strange to see fuel dished out in Gallons again. Accommodation. Forget pre-planning anything, maybe a first night Motel to take the stress out of landing on foreign shores, but even that's not really essential. We found it so easy to just roll into town, pick a motel and stop. Look out for lots of free magazines/flyers in the Gas stations for offers, locations and phone numbers. We never paid more than $60 dollars a night for 3 of us in one room, ask for a twin queen bed room and you can get 4 in for that price. Most places are cool for the bikes to go in the room, some even provide sheets. Rooms have TV's microwaves and can offer a self service breakfast of toast waffles and drinks. Food Its no problem getting huge breakfasts for $20 for 3 to set you up for the day. For the apres ride big nosh ups we had fun trying to eat around the world, each night from a different country there's so much choice, their not size XXL over here for nothing. Watch out in Utah, its Mormon country and the max beer strength allowed is 3.5%, take your own in from neighboring states if it bothers you. Shopping Yes its true, stuff is well cheap here, do yourself a favour and if your thinking of buying a camera, or bike use the trip to save yourself big bucks. Mail a shop in Moab and have a brand new bike waiting for you on arrival, have some fun then take it home at half the UK price. Note: Shimano is not cheap here, stick to US or Canadian made goods. Finding the trails Searching the web, gives you an idea, but there's no substitute for hunting out the local bikeshop. Ask them for trail maps, buy the guidebooks and get good advice on the best to do, or most suitable for your ability. The simple rule is if you've heard of it, its probably for the good reason that it's got great trails there. Moab, Fruita, Marin county, Mammoth Mountain, Crested Butte, Durango, Breckenridge, Zion there's endless options. Just don't under estimate the distance between places, we used the driving days as part of necessary rest days over 3 weeks to join the dots. so what did we stumble on;

Las Vegas - Bootleg Canyon Everyone has to see Vegas, its a crazy place and what a dark horse in the riding stakes, they have the dirt demo at Interbike here for good reason. Just head out of Vegas following signs for Henderson and Boulder city on the 93. Your cue for fun is to turn left straight after the Tacho Bell just before Boulder town. Head up the dirt trail for easy trail access from the car parks. 50 metres further on from that turn is the local bike shop, well stoked and yes they'll give you a map. the trails are marked, but its worth some advice on which direction to ride. There's killer down hills here, and it doesn't have the reputation of a bone breaker for nothing. Desert trails and loads of sharp rocks. If you see a drunk cyclist in a Hockey helmet, don't turn down his offer of a ride, unless your feeling unfit that boys fast. Cheers Curt we owe you one. Boulder was the town built to house the Hoover dam workers, the visit and tour there is worth a look, if you can spare time from the Vegas girls. Must do trails - all of them, especially the Lake view top to bottom doesn't via the switchbacks. VEGAS STRIP PHOTO GALLERY

Las Vegas - Cottonwood Valley Wow a hidden treasure, more desert riding, and dependable weather. Vegas is not the biggest expanding retirement home in the states for nothing, 90 degs in November is nice, summer is a big no no unless you get up early. Head for bike Outpost in Blue Diamond for some help, they'll give you a map, but we found the shop in Boulder did a map for both areas that was better. Bikeoutpost has some maps on site that give you an idea of the size, the North and South side of Red Rock. We started from the bikeshop off route 50, but you can use the car park trail head on the route 60, we headed over there on great trails it would be a shame to miss. Use the road underpass from the lower car park for open dessert trails use Badger pass, Red Valley for the Deadhorse loop, do clockwise for some amazing big ring cactus dodging singletrack for max fun. Pick your time here carefully though, even the cactus are dying its that dry, and when the sun goes down late season its one rapid chill and dark experience. Vegas Strip; don't miss the Stratosphere Tower for the ultimate in thrill rides, and the Belagio Buffet is worth every cent, just don't do both on the same day. Must do trails - Deadhorse loop. VEGAS TRAILS PHOTO GALLERY

Flagstaff Never heard of it, seems bizarre to us now. 4 hrs of easy driving from Vegas, this is a spot that should be on every Bikers road trip. A cheap stopover option for a Grand Canyon trip (1 Hr) and home to some great biking. There's tons of accommodation, and you get to cruise some of the legendary Route 66. Hit a bikeshop (use a yellow pages in a Motel try one on Riordan Rd open Sundays.) and grab a copy of the no-nonsense MTB trail guide of Flagstaff and Sedona by Mike Shook....all you need for hundreds of miles of fun. Mount Elden is the Honey-pot, rising to 9000 ft it will blow your lungs, just the warm up for the Humphreys peak trails to 12,600 ft then. Beware though, 2 days after we left they had 5 ft of snow in two days. Its safe to say this place blew us away, and would be a main stop on any return trip, for fast, technical fun its all you need. Killer uphills, top descents and so much of it. At least 3 trails turning us into gibbering idiots once ridden, no other place we visited had that effect. I could easily spend a week based here, and I'm sure I will before long. Must do trails - Shultz creek, Little Elden and Rocky Ridge. GRAND CANYON PHOTO GALLERY

Sedona Flagstaff left us breathless in many ways, and got cold as the weather closed in, so we drove 28 miles and dropped to 4000 ft of Sedona on a great scenic drive on the route 89a. Breathless to gobsmacked, Sedona was sizzling by comparison. Apparently there's a trail that joins the two places now that's one to come back for. Blink and you'll miss the town, but not the scenery. There's redred rockrock monoliths and buttes everywhere. The trails are a mix of Red Rock, slickrock sand and scrub forest, Moab without the commercialism. We parked at the start of broken arrow off route 179, don't forget to buy a permit in town to park in the park. Heading further South for great Phoenix trails is another option we heard. Must do trails - Broken Arrow. Stay off the double-track full of pink jeeps for some greats singletrack and head for submarine rock then Chicken point. Little horse trail and the bell rock pathway to stock up on food and drink in Oak Creek Village. The Budda Beach, Cathedral rock loop from here is awesome, watch out for the sand, and go swimming. Head for the tunnel back under the 179 for the return. FLAGSTAFF AND SEDONA TRAILS PHOTO GALLERY

Moab Heading North through the spectacular Monument Valley [PHOTO GALLERY] (stop off and wreck the hire car on the 3 Hr off road scenic drive for amazing views) its time for the one we had all been waiting for, the stuff of legends. This town is one long list of Motels, Bike Shops, Micro breweries, jeep rides and stores. Take your pick of cheap motels, the further out of town on the North side you get the cheaper it is. For the heart of town the Big Horn Lodge is reasonable and cool. Watch out at the weekends though, the 4 wheel brigade and the moto-x boys fill the rooms up as they seem to have an event every weekend. As usual hit the bikeshops, theres 5 top notch ones here to suck your wallet dry, and offer all the advice you need. Poison Spider is the dogs, or Rim Cyclery for everything Specialized. Get yourself a trail map guide book, and check the shuttle times for lifts to the trail-heads, (we never bothered). There's millions of trails, choosing which to do is the hard bit, Oh and when the guidebook says sand....its means it, probably axle deep and unrideable. One Epic we did had to include the the jewels of the Slickrock trail and porcupine rim. Most normal people get a shuttle from town, we rode from our door. Slickrock's first, but take some cash for the permit fee. Pure slickrock means loads of fun and a tyre shredding test of skills and your leg power. That done its a slog up sandflats road to the Porc trail-head. No way could we have done this without the overcast day we had, 3 hrs for the Porc ride alone had us rolling the last 3 miles into town in darkness. A smoothie on the hoof was our reward for one crazy day out, blew the bikeshop guys away too. To be honest I can't see me returning to Moab, it has to be done and the trails are good but I soon tired of the lack of tree's and got sick of Rock and Sand, its all a bit same look different name. Ok so I'll stop on the way to Fruita and do the Porc one time but that's it. Must do trails - Slickrock, Porcupine Rim, Poison Spider, the Portal Trail and the new Singletrack Moto-x tracks I can't remember the name of. Must do's - Archies national park, [PHOTOS] Moab Brewery, the old Plutonium miners house on the hill which is now a quality restaurant, Denys for a whole peanut butter Pie but NOT Eddie McRipoffs. Now there's a place that left a bad taste in the mouth. SLICK AND PORC TRAILS PHOTO GALLERY POISON AND PORTAL TRAILS PHOTO GALLERY

Fruita If your mad there's a trail from Moab to Fruita, its only 146 miles. The Kokopelli Trail must be an awesome trip, wonder if any companies offer it as a trip. A few easy hours North of Moab, this is where Moab riders go to ride, and not just because your now in Colorado and can get some decent beer again. The small town's easy to navigate round, the junction of the Interstate 70 is loaded with all the quick food joints and fuel. Nip into town and its left turn for the excellent Balanced Rock Motel, and right for the must do stop of Over the Edge Bikes. The owner Troy Rarick is the man behind the whole Fruita thing, he helped set up and build the trails, then wrote the book about them. Thank him by buying his guide book (you could be using it a lot) amongst other things at the shop, chill have a coffee, ask advice and watch videos. Note the Mexican place across the street too, you'll be back later.

There's several areas to ride round here, trails are marked just find the trail-head and pick your poison, but read and observe the trail ethics here, these peachy ribbons of singletrack will only stay that way if we do; The Bookcliffs; North of the town an off road drive away, home to a large open meadow of trails in the shadow of huge cliffs. So good we had to go back twice, and even guide an American round the 2nd time, very bizarre. home of the legendary Joes Ridge view a video herepetefagerlin.com but legends can be bettered. Watch out for the mud (oh yes) round the back of the mountain in Autumn, trust the brits ti find it hey. Must do trails - Primecut into Frontside, Joes ridge, chutes and ladders, Kessel Run and our favourite by miles Zippety-Do-Da. The Edge loop is the big Daddy ride a 29 mile loop to 7,300 ft, not in the wet though. BOOKCLIFFS TRAILS PHOTO GALLERY Kokopeli; Get well rested, filled with Burritos and hit these babys early and you can ride all the trails here in a day. Try Moore fun into Macks Ridge (kin awesome) then lions loop troy built and lions again for one technical festival of rock singletrack with great views of more to come. Hit handcuffs, chill for a picnic overlooking the Colorado river then resume to Steves into Marys loop. Top the day off with the superb fun of Horsetheif Bench, heck go round and do it twice because its worth it. I loved that trail , lots of fun in an awesome location. Fruita has a Fat Tire Festival in April, including a 18 Hr Endurance event and Over the Edge can have a custom speced bargain Turner, SantaCruz, or Maverick waiting for you when you get there.....now there's a plan. KOKOPELLI TRAILS PHOTO GALLERY Rabbit Valley; Unexplored by us but the place to head if its at all wet. Heaps of trails in a sandy area that stands up well to all weathers.

Zion As we rolled into November it was time to head back West for the warmth, after a quick morning scoot up and down Moabs Porc rim again (watch out for shop photographers stationed trailside) we arrived in Zion national park late afternoon after one of the most scenic Interstate drives going. IThis place looks expensive, but the Motel was one of the cheapest and we could not believe they had rooms on a Saturday night. When we also found out that the Red Bull Rampage event was in town we were chuffed. OK I was, the XC jeyboys resisted all attempts to drag them there, and now I here it was the last Rampage ever.....Cheers guys....DOH! Oh yes Zion's riding, Zion Cycles in the heart of town is your pal here. Another stunning place. We went up to the Gooseberry Messa Trails which was difficult to get to, its a 1 Hr off road drive from town, how we got the hire car out of there I don't know. Don't even consider going if its wet, no not at all unless you have 4WD. Wow, we are running out of superlatives, imagine a plateau of slickrock with great views over 360 degrees. Now carve some singletrack trails on the edge of cliffs, dive into woodland, twist in and out of huge rocks and slickrock chutes, add tight turns, technical tests and well you get the picture this place is fantastic. There's barely no climbing but it will work your upper body damn hard. Another must do ride area that I've not heard Brit bikers mention, they must take those blinkers off. Must do trails - Park at the windmill area. Try Windmill trail into bowls and ledges (superb description of the trail) North rim trail to the point. South Rim and do the Hidden canyon trail as an out and back to finish all the south Rim which is stunning. ZION TRAILS PHOTO GALLERY

Moab and everything So why does Moab get all the Press, being Honest its a case of "been there done that" for all 3 of us, where as we were gutted Flagstaff snowed us out. Possibly its because its easy to find rooms, the bikeshops sure help, maybe its the shuttles. I considered it the Blackpool of mountainbiking, you have to try the Pepsi Max once but you either love or hate the commercialism. Maybe I'm just a tree hugging Brit who needs some obstacles to avoid. One things for sure, we never even touched other raved about hot-spots of Crested Butte, Durango, Breckenridge, Aspen, Leadville, Steamboat Springs, Mammoth Mountain, Downieville, Lake Tahoo, Santa Cruz, oh the list goes on. Trust me and don't base a whole holiday on Moab, what a waste of a trip. If your In Vegas and have a few days to play, then there's 3 spots you can do real easy, don't miss Zion. Now guys about the 2005 trip................