Utah, Utah, Utah…everybody always talks about how great the riding is in Utah. It’s been called a mecca, a biker’s paradise, a haven. Well, I think this trip proved that all those descriptions are 100% accurate!

            I had the pleasure of roadtripping through the glorious state with two talented Canadian riders – freeride phenom Mike Hopkins, and Canadian DH legend Geoff Pendrel and the trip was absolutely amazing in every way. I now understand why everybody raves about riding there and why Moab is so legendary. If you haven't ridden slickrock, do it now! Go, go now!  Stop reading this blog and go!

          Moab was like riding a giant natural skatepark for mountain bikes in the middle of some of the most scenic desert environment I could imagine. There were huge natural wallrides, bowls, pumptracks, and drops EVERYWHERE! We woke up at 5am to start shooting before it got ridiculously hot and we ended up staying out there for longer than we planned to because there were too many cool things to film and we couldn't stop! Lucky for us, it was a "cold" summer day in Moab...in the 30s instead of the 40s.

          We hit up a bunch of other really cool riding spots like Park City, Deer Valley, Sundance Resort, Brianhead Resort, Thunder Mountain, and Gooseberry mesa, and there wasn't a single spot that we didn't end up saying "that was a great ride" about. Even the climbing in Utah is fun!

          In the southern part of the state we had a great guide named Mark from Mountain Bike Buddies who showed us lots of fun secret spots. Without him we probably would have got lost, died of dehydration, got bitten by a rattle snake, or fallen off of a cliff somewhere! Even though the desert looks inviting, it’s a very dangerous place as I found out when we ran out of water.  Not only was Mark super pumped to show us around and watch us ride (Hopkins almost gave him a heart attack when he did a big gap jump), he was full of some of the craziest stories I’ve ever heard. One time he was riding in the desert and by the end of his ride he was pulling 3 people out of the desert close to death at 4 in the morning – then he went to a hotel, drank 6 huge Gatorades and slept for 4 days straight without waking up. Like I said, the desert is a dangerous place!

          Like most roadrips, there were plenty of shenanigans that went down with the crew. I think the best story came from when we decaled or "deeeeecaled" like the Americans say, our big white Ford van up like an official US government vehicle complete with the big round blue side stickers and 2 American flags on the end of the hood and then as we filmed us driving it around on the dirt roads, a Mexican farm worker drove past us with a look of terror on his face. Poor guy. We probably gave him the scare of a lifetime!

            It is amazing how diverse such a small state can be. We went from riding through Aspen trees in Park city to riding DH in pine forests and huge mountains in Sundance (Robert Redford’s little personal investment!), to ripping rocky tundra at over 11000 feet in Brianhead, to cruising huge red rock canyons in the south. It was like going to a few different countries all in a matter of a few hours or each other. One thing was similar between all the places though – it was HOT. Not a gross humid make you want to pass out hot, but more of a hold your hand over the fire until you can’t take it anymore burning hot. Seeing as Canada really hasn’t had a summer this year, I loved every second of it! I’m already planning my next trip back!