Customer Reviews

Mountain Biking Moab, 2nd Edition: A Guide to Moab, Utah's Greatest Off-Road Bicycle Rides

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This book is the ultimate guide for anyone headed to the Mountain Bike Capitol of the World...Moab.

I have taken several guided rides with Lee during my visit to Moab 2 summers ago, and believe me, this man knows what he is talking about.

I found his attention to safety impeccable. He was extremely cautious when necessary, and I appreciated that.

There is ALOT more to Moab mountain biking than the Skickrock Bike Trail. As a matter of fact, the Slickrock Trail would have been considered a beginner trail compared to a few of the remote places that Lee had taken me to.

The places I am referring to were so obscure, that it would have been easy getting lost just driving to the trail. The trails were extremely exposed and very dangerous. If a serious injury occured on one of these rides, even a helicopter rescue might not be an option. This is why Lee takes saftey VERY seriously. He leaves NOTHING to chance. A person died on Slickrock while I was out there, and that was not the first time.

In fact, a 13 year old boy died just this week (Aug, 2000). The group he was with ran out of water and hightailed it off of Porcupine Rim, accidently leaving him behind. Death happens. Safety is an serious issue, and Lee knows this!

As for Lee's navigational skills...they are incredible. He has radar. His rides are not found on any map or in any other guidebook of the Moab area. You would NEVER find these places on your own, and you could die trying.

I trusted Lee explicitly and look forward to riding with him again this September, on my return trip to Moab.

Please take into consideration when you read the negative comment on this book that your safety is Lees' business. If it appears that he is pushing his guide service, it is for a reason. His rides are worth twice what he charges.

Please note that I have no affiliation with Lee, or his company, Dreamride...just a satisfied customer.

Buy this book and hopefully you will take from it the respect that the remote Moab territory deserves.

My wife and I have mountain biked in Moab on two separate, week long trips. From this limited experience, I thought I had a pretty good grasp of the best local rides. On our last trip to Moab, we purchased (really on a whim, because we have 5-6 other Moab guide books) the Mountain Bike America "Moab" book by Lee Bridgers. WHAT A GREAT BOOK ! I read it like a novel, from cover to cover. This book has it all. It includes more rides than other guide books, and describes many rides which are in no other books. The ride descriptions are well done, and very complete. Lee Bridgers goes to great lengths to point out interesting history, geology, and excellent "dinosaur details" for each ride. Why does this place (which looks like it could easily be on another planet) look the way it does? What further separates this book from other guide books is the attention to the local color of the area. The author introduces you to the colorful people of the Moab area.

Having read this book, I know I must return to Moab. I discovered I had not even scratched the surface of the rides in the Moab area. I discovered 3-4 new rides in the "Gemini Bridges" area alone, where most guide books describe only one option.

If you go to Moab, be careful. This area should be treated with utmost respect. I suggest you should consider hiring a guide for this area for part of your trip.

I've been going to Moab to ride the awesome Slickrock for years. This place is Mecca for mountain bikers. I just wish I had this book a long time ago. I've bought just about everything that ever came out on trailguides to this area, but nothing compares to this book. The maps and trail descriptions are so detailed. Cool shaded relief on all the maps show every crater and canyon. I really will know what I'm getting into next time I go. Finally I'll have a book that shows me where to go other than Slickrock Trail with maps I can actually read! The best part of this book is the hilarious stories that the author tells throughout the whole book on everything from locals to the film industry. I've read just about every one (there are a lot of stories in this book) and I could hardly put it down. It's obvious thta the author knows this place and loves Moab and the crazy people who live there. This book is much more than I expected from a mountain bike trail guide. Great job!

Most guide books give you an idea of the route, good ones give you a feel for the area, this one makes you want to leave your job, sell your house and move to Moab immediately.

The book combines excellent factual information and clear maps (the kind of thing my husband likes) with great stories of colourful locals and less than perfect Moab establishments (the kind of thing that appeals to me).

It is also environmentally obsessed, which is pretty important in an area that could become ploughed by tires and safety mad --- which is great if you don't want to die in the desert.

It stirs all this up with an appealingly cranky style - imagine a mountain bike guidebook written by Edward Abbey and you are just about there. A book to make you love mountain bikes and the fragile desert landscape

After visiting Moab 11 times in the last decade I became tired of the oft-repeated scene of totally unprepared people heading out on rides like Slickrock or Porcupine Rim. I came to the conclusion that these people come to Moab because they either read about it as a great family experience in "Sunset" magazine or they read a "Men's Journal" article touting Moab as a cool place to test your manly bike skills. Either way, people like me end up fixing their flats, giving directions, or patching up their wounds. These are the same people who head out at noon in 105 degree weather with a single 16 oz. water bottle.."Dude we're outa water..." Later you hear that someone in that group broke an ankle. That's the reality. Just check out the clinics in Moab in the afternoon..ten broken appendages a day is par. The earlier reviewer who complained that this book "cried wolf" is out of touch. Sure you can take the family on Kane Creek Road and up to Hurrah Pass or Gemini Bridges, etc.(totally safe) but the classic rides are best left to intermediate-advanced riders. Books that have glossed over this in the past are doing the average traveller a disservice. Lee Bridgers' book is the first honest assessment of what it takes to ride in Moab. Being prepared doesn't mean the experience isn't fun, in fact it probably ensures that it WILL be fun. I would also like to compliment the author for the many anecdotes and discussions of the environment. They breathed new life and insight into my last trip. Overall, its a great resource and fun to read!

Mountain Bike Moab goes beyond the "here is a trail isn't it pretty" guidebook propoganda that makes you wonder if authors are taking kickbacks from the local chamber of commerce. This book is brutally honest and gives you an excellent idea of what to expect when you visit Moab. The Good, the Bad and the Hilarious.

Besides the beautiful maps and bizarro stories, this books strongest feature is environmental education. Learn about the fragile living soil that covers the canyonlands and how to protect it. Lee Bridgers concern for preserving Moab's ecosystem proves that he is an excellent ambassador for responsible Mountain Biking. If you are an Environmentalist AND a Mountain Biker then this book is for you.

Naturally, a guide book of mystical Moab needs to offer a little more... And this guide delivers. Lee runs a local touring business, and he writes about the trails from the perspective of a rider, not just a fair weather REI wannabe who sits in his truck ticking off the trail on the odometer. Lee's business doesn't take giant tours down the same trail again and again, instead he sets up individualized packages based upon the rider's skill level, so Lee knows all of these trails intimately. So you'll find info on the trails and the terrain that the typical cattle car tourbooks of Moab won't give you...

In addition, this guide offers something else that your normal REI fare doesn't. Namely, it is well written, in an undetatched, thoughtful voice. Lee has lots more to offer than your typical gearhead. Gems of creativity, and especially humor abound. Some of my favorite parts of the book are the downright hilarious tales of the "local color."

So if you are scouting Moab, or are simply looking to supplement your library then this is the guide for you.

This book provided just what we needed to plan and enjoy our vacation. We felt like we'd already visited by the time we drove in. More than just revealing great biking routes, Bridgers' tells it like it is about the local restaurants and accommodations. The funny stories and local environmental cautions throughout the book make it an enjoyable read like no other guidebook we've ever seen. This is a book that will make you want to go, and help you stay safe when you get there. That said, I'd strongly recommend a guide on your first trip. Moab is dangerous.

When I bought this book a couple of months ago, there were favorable reviews and unfavorable ones--About evenly split. I bought it anyway, to see the controversy first hand. I don't have any personal beef--I'm not one of the offended local businesses, I don't know anyone personally in Moab. And I'd been to Moab with the very same family I took this time.

Reading this book made me think I shouldn't be riding in Moab! Especially not with the kids, even though they were now three years older than when we safely rode there last time. I wanted to cancel the trip after first reading the book. That would have been a mistake.

The author describes most trails other than jeep roads as very dangerous. Instead of telling you if the cliffs and big dropoffs can be seen before you fall off, or can be bypassed, every trail with a cliff is described as too dangerous for kids and intermediate adults. Heck, we just get off and walk the bikes. Yet, I couldn't tell which trails would be safe to take the kids on from the book.

For example, Slickrock Trail is "technically very difficult to extremely dangerous. You shouldn't be out here unless you are an advanced rider." (The author defines "advanced" in his book as a very high skill level which most of us will never achieve.) I'm a skilled, middle-aged bike patroller, and my 15-year-old daughter is an athlete who rarely gets on a bike. We rode just part of the main trail because of the heat, but there was nowhere that I got even worried about our safety. Nowhere was there an exposure an experienced rider couldn't see and dismount to avoid. A better guidebook would have told me where to get my kids off their bikes in advance, where not to go because of hidden hazards, and where to just trust my eyes. Because he cries "wolf" so many times, I couldn't tell when to believe the author.

The 4-wheel drive guide book "Guide to Moab, UT Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails" by Charles A. Wells gave better directions to follow for Poison Spider Mesa trail, and for getting around the Moab area. (That book was fun and a reliable guide for a novice 4WD driver with a rental Explorer.)

Nonetheless, Bridgers' book is enjoyable reading. If you tend to be reckless, maybe he'll scare some sense into you. If you normally avoid taking chances with death, you can use a different guidebook whose author is ready to give up the secrets of the trade. If you are so advanced every trail is within your range, you could read this book for kicks, but you wouldn't need it for guidance anyway.

The time for a trail guide to write a book is when he's ready to let go and tell people how to ride without a guide. Bridgers thinks you ought to be hiring a guide instead of reading his book.

There are a lot of rides described in this book however, this guy has a chip on his shoulder! He can't say much good about anyone except himself. As others have said - there are other good guide books with good trail information and not all the drivel!