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Moab, UT Training Camp: Wed April 18 to Sun April 22, 2018
Team,
Coach Patrick put out a call for member-led training camps and I volunteered to led a Utah training camp in Moab. If you've never been to Moab, it is one of the most wondrous and epic places on the planet. Personally, it's my favorite for outdoors adventures. I've included some pics below from my various adventures there to whet your appetite.
@Gary Lewis
@Peter Noyes
@Jonathan Rothberg
This is a very family friendly destination. My girls have a blast every time we go and they always ask when we're going back to Moab. Consider getting a twofer and bringing the family along.
In terms of swim/bike/run, there is an embarrassment of riches for biking and running. Here are some examples:
Cycling:
Another option if you want to make this a family trip would be to fly to Las Vegas (or drive up from So Cal) and hit all five of Utah's National Parks on the trip: Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, and Canyonlands. They are all roughly along the way to Moab. You could also do this from SLC as a sort of loop.
Lodging
I've booked the first condo at 469 Williams Way, which is part of the Cottonwood development. I've stayed here multiple times with friends where we book 3-5 condo units in a row. That way we can scale as additional camp members sign up.
Tagging all the EN peeps in UT and CO that I know, as well as those who enjoy a crazy adventure: @Brent Bills, @Teri Cashmore, @Mark Cardinale, @Stephanie Stevens, @Al Truscott, @tim cronk, @Francis Picard @Scott Alexander, @Scott Dinhofer, @John Withrow, @Dino Sarti, @Alvin Hom, @Clark Mitchell, @Shaughn Simmons, @Coach Patrick, @Mariah Bridges, @Brenda Ross
Feel free to tag others who you think would be interested.
Coach Patrick put out a call for member-led training camps and I volunteered to led a Utah training camp in Moab. If you've never been to Moab, it is one of the most wondrous and epic places on the planet. Personally, it's my favorite for outdoors adventures. I've included some pics below from my various adventures there to whet your appetite.
Current Status (As of 3/26/2018): 4Signed Up
@Gabe Peterson (organizer)@Gary Lewis
@Peter Noyes
@Jonathan Rothberg
Why Moab?
Moab is located on the Colorado River and is a short drive (or bike ride) to Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, and Dead Horse Point State Park. Arches and Canyonlands are two of my favorite national parks, and Dead Horse would the treasure of just about any other state. Moab is considered the premiere destination for mountain biking and trail running. It also has epic road biking and miles of paved paths for road running.This is a very family friendly destination. My girls have a blast every time we go and they always ask when we're going back to Moab. Consider getting a twofer and bringing the family along.
In terms of swim/bike/run, there is an embarrassment of riches for biking and running. Here are some examples:
Cycling:
- Road bike ride on the La Sal loop (pic below). This is a 60+ mile loop through the La Sal Mountains that features a 4,000+ ft continuous climb. It's a real challenge.
- Road bike ride through Arches National Park early in the morning before visitors arrive. 40+ miles out and back through another planet.
- Road bike out to Dead Horse State Park (pic below) or Canyonlands National Park from Moab.
- Here are a bunch more options for road biking: http://www.discovermoab.com/moab_road_biking.htm
- Legendary mountain biking including Slick Rock, the Whole Enchilada (rated the best trail in the country!), White Rim in a Day (pic below), and more than I can list. There are tons of bike shops where you can rent a mountain bike in town. Here is a great resource to get started: http://www.discovermoab.com/biking.htm
- All the mountain bike trails are also running trails. Additionally, you can run many of the trails in Arches where mountain bikes aren't allowed such as Devil's Garden (pic below). I did the Dead Horse 50-miler, and not only was it spectacular but it was also very runnable.
- If trail running isn't your thing, there is the paved Moab Canyon Pathway out of town and a similar path that runs along the Colorado River.
- Options are more limited. There is Ken's Lake, although it is likely to be cold in April. This is where the Moab Xterra swim took place. There is also a community pool.
How Do I Get There?
One of the things that makes Moab so special is that is is remote, making it an undiscovered gem for most outside of Utah or Colorado. It's about a 3-4 hour drive from Salt Lake City, about a 5-6 hour drive from Denver, and about a 9-10 hour drive from So Cal. If you fly into SLC, you'd be welcome to stay at my house the night before or after traveling to/from Moab. There is also a regional airport in Grand Junction, CO that is about a 2 hour drive away.Another option if you want to make this a family trip would be to fly to Las Vegas (or drive up from So Cal) and hit all five of Utah's National Parks on the trip: Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, and Canyonlands. They are all roughly along the way to Moab. You could also do this from SLC as a sort of loop.
When? Arrive the evening of Wednesday, April 18th through Sunday, April 22
I booked the below condo Wednesday through Sunday. That we campers can arrive the evening of Wednesday or Thursday morning.Lodging
I've booked the first condo at 469 Williams Way, which is part of the Cottonwood development. I've stayed here multiple times with friends where we book 3-5 condo units in a row. That way we can scale as additional camp members sign up.So Who is Interested?
I think we'd need at least four to make it worthwhile in terms of renting a house and all the logistics. Also so we could pair off if there are different interests or ability levels.Tagging all the EN peeps in UT and CO that I know, as well as those who enjoy a crazy adventure: @Brent Bills, @Teri Cashmore, @Mark Cardinale, @Stephanie Stevens, @Al Truscott, @tim cronk, @Francis Picard @Scott Alexander, @Scott Dinhofer, @John Withrow, @Dino Sarti, @Alvin Hom, @Clark Mitchell, @Shaughn Simmons, @Coach Patrick, @Mariah Bridges, @Brenda Ross
Feel free to tag others who you think would be interested.
Road bike ride on the La Sal loop looking down at Castle Valley.
Road bike ride to Dead Horse Point.
Trail run to Dark Angel in Devil's Garden at Arches.
Remote desert on the 80-mile mountain bike ride on the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands.
Road bike ride to Dead Horse Point.
Trail run to Dark Angel in Devil's Garden at Arches.
Remote desert on the 80-mile mountain bike ride on the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands.
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Comments
Hopefully, this camp will take off and become annual, because, 2018, Mallorca. April 15-20.
I totally forgot about Mallorca happening at the same time! Hopefully, we can still get an EN crew together because I'd love to make this an annual thing.
To Al's point about Delicate Arch, here's a picture of me and my oldest daughter Skye standing under it. It's about 3 miles round trip and both my 7 and 5 year old daughters made it. There's a bunch of family friendly hikes like this around Moab.
and @Jonathan Rothberg are also doing Santa Rosa.
@tim cronk keep it in mind if your plans for R2R2R change. R2R2R is still on my bucket list...
@Robert Sabo that would be great! The more the merrier! Let me know if I can answer any logistics questions etc for you.
@Francis Picard keep it in mind if your IMTX plans change.
I've done some research and found a few properties via AirBnB to serve as homebase for this camp. I've used AirBnB for all my races this year and had positive experiences. Much better than staying in a hotel when traveling with family and/or friends. The drawback is that most of the properties have strict cancellation fees, which means you only get 50% of your money back.
Therefore, I'm looking for who is definitely in and would be willing to make a $250 deposit? That way I can reserve a place without taking the risk that I'm out the money for the house. I would need three definite commitments to make this camp viable. I'm expecting the camp to cost $300-500 per attendee, depending on how many ultimately sign up.
Tagging folks who expressed interest. @Robert Sabo, @Gary Lewis, @Peter Noyes, @Dino Sarti @Jonathan Rothberg.
Who is definitely in and would be willing to make a $250 deposit?
- Road bike. Most of the road rides involve significant climbing/descending. While you could do it on a tri bike, it would be way more fun on a road bike.
- Mountain bike, if you have one. As Al noted, Moab is the mountain biking mecca. There are also a number of bike shops in Moab that rent MTBs.
- Tri bike, if you don't have a road bike.
I may bring all three.Let me double check with my wife before I say I am in for sure. I would probably bring just a road bike.
@tim cronk it would be great to have you there. I just need to get a couple of commitments to book a place. We can add more attendees as people's schedules clear up.
@Peter Noyes, yeah April 19-22. It's probably about a 9-10 hour drive from LA, so you may want to break up the drive with a stop over in St George or someplace along the way.
@Dino Sarti if you bring your family, do you want to arrange separate accommodations? We can probably find some condos that are closely located.
So I think we have critical mass with the three of you plus @Gary Lewis to make this camp happen! I'll send you guys a separate message with payment instructions.