After spring break with Sage in Santa Fe, I hopped straight into Jeremy’s silver, time-travelling VW Syncro and together we headed for Utah.

Jeremy visited Oaxaca earlier this year but hadn’t experienced the fabled arches, buttes of slickrock of Moab, while I’d been briefly in November to tackle the White Rim Trail with Eric, Charlie, and Yeshe. Given our lack of experience in the area, we kept our plans fluid and our aspirations simple: to ride & run to our heart’s content, fine dine in co-ops, and Syncro-camp under Utah’s 3D starry nightscape.

After seeking on-the-fly advice from friends (thank you Cullen and Sadie!), we loaded up water and supplies in town, and then found a suitable BLM land nook on which to settle for a couple of days, sheltered by groves of low slung junipers from a weekend of springtime bluster. Our spot was close to a fine ensemble of lesser-travelled Moab mountain bike trails – including Navajo Rocks and Mag 7 – into which we whisked short trail runs as well.

Now, a few reference points to help paint a picture of a good friend: Jeremy is an adroit and gifted arborist, he rides a beautifully brazed Mone Bikes La Roca fitted with square taper cranks, and he rarely sits and spins in the saddle. Also, regarding our trail runs. Whilst I say they were primarily short, Jeremy embarked too on a 20+ mile excursion deep into splendid Moab wilderness in preparation for ultra-running exploits in the Jemez, New Mexico. I opted for an overnighter instead, following bikepacking.com’s Kane Creek Pritchett Canyon Loop, my impressions of which I’ll save for another post.

Keen to make the most of this road trip, we paused for the night en route to Utah and rode Aztec’s Alien Run Trails, and on the return drive to Santa Fe, we lingered for a last ride beyond the edge of town – the once renowned 24 Hours of Moab loop. We also worked in a foot gander around White Mesa, near Bernalillo, a trail that I’d last ridden a number of years ago with Jeremy and Goat, of Riding the Spine fame, back when I lived in New Mexico.

To pass the time in the Syncro, we listened to podcasts and audiobooks, including ones on Rickey Gates and Elon Musk. Rickey Gates, because he’s a wonderful individual, runner, and creative soul – as well as being based in Santa Fe and a friend of Jeremy’s. And Elon Musk, because, well… I had the authorised biography downloaded on my phone, and then we saw one of his bladerunner-like Cybertrucks, parked incongruously outside the gas station come McDonalds in forlorn Cuba, New Mexico…

Amongst more weighty topics of life and the pursuit of happiness, we also pondered the top cinnamon rolls in Santa Fe. Or maybe that is life and the pursuit of happiness…

Useful beta

• Moonflower Community Cooperative is Moab’s food co-op, with free water fill ups. It’s a good spot to fill your coffee flask, and seek out day olds from the bakery/sandwhich section for 50 per cent discounts!
• We drank coffee and used wifi at the Moab Coffee Roasters (opposite Moonflower), which has a seat area with plugs.
• In town, we parked up outside . They have wifi too. Overnight parking is available at the Moab Information Center (25 E Center St), if you’re heading out on the Kane Creek Pritchett Canyon bikepacking loop, and there’s wifi too.
• Doughbird is a fancy donut store in town!
• Poison Spider Bicycles helped us out with ride ideas and lent lent us tools to work on bikes. Thank you!!
• Wag bags, for packing out waste, are available at the Moab Gear Trader. You’ll need these to camp in many BLM zones within Moab. Apparently they are available for free at the BLM office too.,
• Free water fillups are also available at the Gearheads Outdoor Store, near the big City Market grocery store.
• iOverlander is a useful app for vehicle parking intel, both paid camping and on National Forest and BLM.

Some of our day rides

NB: Be sure to pack in and pack out all your waste. Wag bags are available at the Moab Gear Trader.

Navajo Rocks from BLM land near Horsethief Campground:

This one was super fun, lots of Moab-style slickrock and great views. We only saw a few riders, too.

Rodeo trail, out of Horsethief Campground:

We were recommended this one by friends. It’s a super fun, relatively short loop.

Mag 7 taster:

We didn’t have time for the whole thing, but this little taster was one of my fav rides.

The 24hr in Moab loop, or at least something close to it:

We rode this as we were leaving town, en route back to Santa Fe. It’s more double track than trail, with a super fun sandy chute!

Oh, and about those Jeremy-recommended Santa Fean cinnamon rolls… I may have got the order and details of these a little wrong, as I had trouble reading back my handwriting and deciphering my annotations. Further tasting research is thus required!

• 1. Angels, from co-op
• 2. Farmer’s Market Cloudcliff (more pricey)
• 3. Sage Bakehouse (great value)
• 4. Dolena (they’re called Morning Buns)
• 5. Fina
• 6. Madame Matisse
• 7. Maven

That’s it for now. Thanks for reading, any questions, fire away!