Moab, Utah - Dreamride

Moab, Utah Weather and Tourist Information

Forecasting weather in Moab, Utah during much of the year is an absurd behavior. So, we leave the guessing to people who are paid to be wrong. Check out the links to CNN or WEATHER UNDERGROUND sites and come back to us after you have had your fill. The statistics are perhaps the best judge, if you are working with a specific time of year.

Click on CURRENT MOAB, UTAH WEATHER FORECAST from the Weatherunderground site. If you are looking for a short term forecast, this is it.

Click on MOAB WEATHER STATISTICS for average monthly weather conditions on this site (no pop up windows here). This information is best for guessing what the weather is going to be like far in advance.

MOON PHASE and season dictate night riding schedules. Booking any package at the ELITE LEVEL makes night rides possible. Click on the link to see just what will be going on with the moon on any date. Dreamride's night rides are offered during a two week period from waxing half moon to waning half moon, and only from May through September.

Click on DESERT SURVIVAL INFORMATION to find out just how bad it can get, even when it looks clear and perfect. Being prepared and riding with us are the best ways to avoid unpleasant situations.

Click on MOAB MOUNTAIN BIKE SKILLS for helpful information on bike techniques and equipment concerns specifically for Moab terrain.

Though we like to talk to people on the phone, we don't particularly enjoy being the Moab information center. If you have questions that do not directly pertain to what we do, please call the real Moab Information Center at (435) 259-8825.

News 2009

As of March, Moab is in the dumps with the rest of the country, and thank God! This town was on the verge of completely loosing its soul, needing a wake up call. The bad economy is doing good things for us here. Electricians are no longer charging $500 to fix a $200 problem. Real estate pigs wallowing in selling the soul of Moab to disgusting people with money are now freaking out--nothing is selling. Yay! Builders who received financial assistance to produce "low cost housing" then built condos selling for $300,000 each are now actually finding that those condos won't sell for what they thought they'd get. Moab's era of supergreed is toning down a bid, and, if we are lucky and the Obama administration actually changes things, Moab could conceivably survive. Let's hope "socialism" kicks in.

ATLAS TAILING PILE IN THE AIR

The Atlas tailings pile is being moved, so wear a particle mask when driving into town. That radioactive arsenic might give you cancer on your cancer benefit road ride. The company "Energy Solutions" is moving the pile. Another company called, "RECYLCING WHATEVER" is building a garbage dump near Hovenweep National Monument. The era of George Bush English is still with us.

DREAMRIDE COMPANY AND CLIENTS RIPPED OFF BY TRAVEL AGENTS AND LOCAL HACKS

First, understand that we do not work with travel agencies. This policy is about safety and cost. We save you money by not giving them 10% and we save your life and enjoyment having people contact us directly, evaluating health and skills thoroughly so you don't ride with people of vastly different skills and interests. We keep it personal!

Dreamride recently had two Italians show up at the shop thinking they had reserved a trip with us, when actuality, they reserved through a travel agent, asking to be booked into a 3D at the ELITE level. The travel agency, working with local tour company that rhymes with Grim Tours, mocked up a package using our website. Grim then put them into a huge resort complex on the river ten miles outside of town where they wouldn't notice the difference. When Grim Tours was late picking these guys up for their first ride, they drove into town to find the company they thought they had booked with, Dreamride, to complain to. They gave us the story, took us onto our website and pointed out what they had booked, then headed back out of town to deal with the situation by simply riding with Grim Tours (you don't want to ruin people's vacation!). They were very nice fellows. We were sad that we didn't have a chance to serve them, and even sadder that they had to ride with the Grim guides. As it turns out, we have lost quite a bit of business this way. A lawyer is looking into this for us (see the warnings with each package).

Sun Fun, another hack tour company in town, not only copied the code in our website from the start, but are still trying hard to copy our methods, rewording our marketing spew and placing it on their site, looking like total hacks. These folks came into town, bought a long standing tour operation (just like the folks who now own Grim Tours), then directly patterned its operations from this website. If you want lesser services, bad food, to ride in a mixed group with inexperienced guides, a square trip with squares, contact them, please. They'll take you, if you have a pulse. We like the fact that they accept the idiots for us, but they also trap people who would benefit greatly from our REAL experience and TRUE knowledge. Funny thing, you cannot copy education and experience. It would take them another twenty years to know half of what we know about Moab.

News 2008

2008 will be a watershed year for Moab, Utah. It seems that the growth economy has a bead on the area and wants to rape every duck, coyote, bobcat and rock with a hole in it. Mountain biking organizations are piling on, building the most environmentally irresponsible trails ever conceived. The OHV lobby is watching and has now become a primary consultant in the contruction of all trails, including mountain bike trails. It seems that mountain bikers are a key in a land grab by every sort of "beauty loving, beauty destroying" recreation lobby. The news is not all bad, but all "improvements" in Moab infrastructure and public access will certainly mean more visitation and more environmental damage.

I recently wrote a letter to the Moab Times Independent complaining of irresponsible mountain bike trail construction happening north of town. I am posting the first response I received via email here so our clients can see what it is like to be an environmentalist in a right wing state like Utah:

"YOU ARE A RETARD TREE HUGGING P*SSY I HOPE YOU ENDO OFF DEAD HORSE, I CAN NOT WAIT TO TAKE MY GAS TO MOAB IN MARCH." ~ Peter Arneson --This was sent to my mailbox in a very large font. If you are looking to hire this guy for a job and have had the sense to do a search of his name and location (I'll bet it is "Salt Lake City") on Google, I'd consider his words. He cannot spell "pussy." And, when you wish someone dead, it is usually followed by the loss of something in your life. I hope he doesn't loose too much, just enough, like Goldilocks.

Moab's Colorado River Bike Bridge

COLORADO RIVER BRIDGE TO BE COMPLETED BY MID SPRING

Construction of a bridge for foot and bicycle travel over the Colorado River just east of the Hiway 191 Bridge is nearly completed. This may be the single most important project for local riders who have been risking their lives on the old, narrow and very dangerous highway bridge to get to roads and trails from town on a mountain or road bike. The bridge will give us much safer access to trails north for our "Ride From Town" packages.

CRAZY RICH MAN PUSHING TO DEVELOP THE MOAB VALLEY WEST RIM

Some idiot rich asshole wants to build a lake above the rim, a massive tunnel through the rim to build a gallery, mucho condos and massive homes into the face of the cliffs, and a bunch of other insane crap. He calls anyone who opposes him a "dirt worshipping tree hugger." Meanwhile every exploiting speculating creep from elsewhere is trying to buy up the valley to turn into condos and vacation rentals using every nasty, sneaky tactic these turds are capable of. It is getting silly in Moab. Will the greed outrun the coming depression or will we end up in fascist fantasy canyonland? We have decided to sell our Dreamride commercial property for $4,000,000. Anybody wanna buy it?

News 2007

REAL ESTATE PRICES SHOOT INTO THE STRATOSPHERE

A home in Moab is no longer inexpensive and rentals are now being turned into nightly and weekly rather than monthly. One of the owners of several hotels in Moab, a local Chinese American, has turned one of our favorite level 2 lodgings into monthly rentals for his workers due to the growing need for low rent housing. Moab used to be funky and cheap. Now it is just funky. Our city government is struggling to spend more money than it takes in to eliminate the funk, but it is going to take a miracle and more money than they could ever steal from the locals. Our new library is finished. An indoor swimming pool is in the works. Hurry, let's put a silk hat on this pig before the gas runs out.

Old News

EARLY AUGUST 2006: THUNDERSTORM WASHES ATLAS TAILINGS INTO COLORADO RIVER

Massive crews in full HASMAT outfits with breathing apparatus were running around the hiway north of town for a month. The entire area's soil had to be removed and replaced. You won't find information about this toxic spill anywhere but right here, but don't get in the river downstream from Moab. This spill was so dangerous to health, but mainly to tourism, that local papers did not carry the story and the town and the company responsible for destabilizing the tailings pile over the past ten years did their best to bury the news that the Moab Valley just south of Arches National Park is now as radioactive as a nuclear bomb zone. For a bit of what the town is doing about the tailings, go to MOAB TRAVEL COUNCIL LIES.

DREAMRIDE HAS MOVED

We are in a NEW BUSINESS LOCATION in Moab, at the end of 200 South past the Gonzo Inn. New office and shop space is enhanced by a family-style meeting room with a view of the La Sal Mountains, fair sized kitchen, guestroom and bath. The property is next to a small Moab park. There is singletrack right out the door. A lion was trapped in the backyard a few years ago. The move to the larger, more complex, comfortable, off-the-beaten-path, private shop space signalsfocus on personalized service, vacations and full custom bike sales. Access is by appointment only. More privacy and comfort for vacation clients. Skills clinics are enhanced by our new xc/trials course, the Bullock Park singletrack and a BMX park just a short distance from us via the singletrack.

MOAB GETS NEW AIR SERVICE AGAIN ~ WILL IT LAST? NO, BUT THERE WILL BE ANOTHER AIR SERVICE TO TAKE ITS SORRY-ASS PLACE WHEN THIS ONE FOLDS.

Fly directly to Moab with "God Knows Who Airlines." We have seen at least five different airlines provide lousy service to Moab over the past ten years. You can reach the Moab airport by calling (435) 259-7421 to ask them what the name of the latest airline hacks to give it a try. Do not expect your luggage to arrive with you, and don't even think about taking a bike.

THE BLUE BUFFALO IS LONG GONE!

the Blue Buffalo pictograph, the well known ancient Ute rock painting on Courthouse Butte, was wiped out in 2002, along with a few other pictographs in the area. The handprints finally vanished in 2004.

Speaking of rednecks, April's Jeep Week is currently the single most damaging annual event in the Moab area. It's not just the renegades, stupid. Go to ECO for more info. Go to STEAD'S STORY for an article about what it is like to book a package with Dreamride during Jeep Week.

As bad as Jeep Week is for our trails, Rod Benders seems to be a great direction for Moab as a destination. These guys bring in cool toys and don't trash the trails. Their kids look a bit more genetically endowed, as well. In 2002 there were between 3 and 4 thousand hot rods in attendence. In 2003 the event more than doubled to 8 thousand visiting rods. Just as Jeek Week had its crack down, Rod Benders got the crack down in 2003 with lots of cops and ticketing. A huge fight broke out. Now, that is what it is about. Just like the good ole days.

OIL COMPANIES WRECK LANDS ON DEAD HORSE POINT AND AT TOP OF GEMINI BRIDGES TRAIL

If you don't know what is happening in the pictures above, read the information on cryptobiotic soil crust (that 250 year old dark colored soil in the picture to the left) at ECO CARE. As soon as Bush was in, 25 ton seismic oil exploration trucks with 8 foot tires created a tight grid network of roads all on top of Dead Horse Point and throughout the Gemini Bridges area, destroying wildlife habitat and generally making your drive out the Canyonlands National Park an ugly affair. Oil wells going up, rearing ugly heads on the Knoll. Later, I'll bet we see more development. Once you touch wilderness this hard, it ain't wilderness anymore. Before and after photo courtesy of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. This is currently happening on the Navajo Reservation, as well. Natural gas is toxic, by the way. On the rez, they don't even bother telling locals living within yards of an unprotected well. Wells usually have a tank of smelly stuff to mix with the gas so that you can detect a leak of this odorless and invisible toxic cloud. On the rez, no tanks. Navajo people were once rounded up and killed. That is no longer necessary. We now kill them with sugar, liquor, gambling, Iraq, and natural gas fumes. Out of sight, out of mind. destroyed dinosaur trackway

DINOSAUR TRACKS AT KLONDIKE BLUFFS TRAIL DESTROYED

An unknown group of people in 4WD vehicles have been using Great Stuff housing spray foam insulation to make casts of dinosaur tracks on the Klondike Bluffs Trail. Due to this acidic plastic foam and the complete stupidity of the people doing this, the tracks are eroding very rapidly, disappearing in front of our eyes. They are hundreds of millions of years old and all it took was Great Stuff and some not-so-great people to make them erode away in a matter of seasons. Most of what were the best tracks are now just pits in the rock with distinguising features erased forever. There is also evidence of people recently trying to remove the tracks with drills and hammers. The photo shows a good before and after example. This trackway is the only one of its kind with easy access from Moab and you can see that two of the tracks eroding away due to the foam castings.

CLOUDROCK DEVELOPMENT CONTROVERSTY

This housing project for wealthy folks would sit atop one of the areas most beautiful mesas above the Moab Valley. It appears that the economy has done what the local hippies couldn't---kill it. Click on CLOUDROCK for a letter written to the editor of the Moab Times by Dreamride's Lee Bridgers.

THE NORTH END CHAIR LIFT IS STILL IDLE. THE MOAB RIM LIFT WENT BOTTOM UP.

As of April 2004, the grafitti is still getting better at the north end of town on the walls of Moab's most visual glaring useless eyesores. The project grew too expensive and those involved went away and sued each other. After a buy-out by one of the partners the project was completed, but it has not seen one day of operation. The county is asking for reclaimation funds that they somehow forgot to mention to the owners before the project began.

Moab's newest mess While this lift remained idle, people would come into town and think that it was the Moab Rim lift and be turned away without even knowing where the other lift was. I guess the other lift was not ugly enough to be noticed. The original tramway was eventually sold at aution. The new owner turned the area into a recreational park, screwed up the environment on top of the rim for the next five generations, and then went belly up, too, then blamed it on the bike shops. What an idiot.

HORRIBLE TRUTH ABOUT THE 24 HOURS OF MOAB RACE

The 24 hour mountain bike race continues to trash lands rich in archeaological resources next to the Wilderness Study Area in Behind the Rocks, and along the road into Back of Behind. In 2002 they built new trail once again, right over badger and collared lizard habitat. In 2003 they return and I guess we see just what they mess up next. Click on ECOLOGY for info.

NEW DREAMRIDE PACKAGES

Check out our new ELITE PACKAGE OPTION that includes special rentals, extended travel radius, and cushy homestead perks.

DREAMRIDE REPEATERS AND SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA DWELLERS GET SPECIAL ATTENTION

Click on SAN FRANCISCO for information on new special travel services for anyone coming to us from the Bay Area. Lee and Miki Bridgers raised their kids in the Haight Ashbury. They return annually to see friends, research the drive and eat at the best restaurants. You can take advantage of this knowledge by purchasing a travel package for your drive from San Fran, or simply pick Miki's brain over the phone when you book your Moab package. For repeaters or friends we offer a San Francisco vacation package that takes advantage of our connections. destroyed dinosaur trackway

LEE BRIDGERS --CONTRIBUTING ENVIRONMENTAL WRITER FOR MOUNTAIN BIKE ACTION (MBA) MAGAZINE?

The first-ever truly environmental article to be printed in MBA appeared in the October 2002 issue. The article was a new direction for them, and a bit risky, but we had many coming into our Moab shop to say that they now have a different opinion of the magazine. The piece entitled THE JAGGED PILL deals with mountain biking and its impact on Moab ecology by focusing on damage to cryptobiotic soil crusts. The picture at the right is from a series taken for the article. It shows what a single track can do to cryptobiotic soil crusts that can take over 250 years to form or recover from damage. When rain finally comes, this track will be a watercourse. Stay on the trail, please. For more on cryptobiotic soil crusts, click on SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT.

Mountain Biking Moab guidebook second edition now best selling Moab guidebook!

"There are trail guides; and then there's the real deal." ~ Bike Magazine

"Mountain Bike America's Moab guide is setting a new standard for guidebooks. Lee Bridgers' first-hand accounts give the reader a sense that they have some behind-the-scenes information about Moab." ~ Brian Fiske, Senior Editor of Mountain Bike Magazine

To order a signed copy from Dreamride call 1-888-MOABUTAH. To order a copy on-line from Amazon.com click on the book's cover above.

Call 1 (888) MOAB UTAH in the states to reserve.
If you are calling from foreign shores the number is 435-259-6419.
FAX number is 435-259-8196.
or write to:

Dreamride
P.O. Box 1137
Moab, UT 84532

copyright Dreamride 1997 None of the material, written, graphics, or photographs, may be broadcast, published, re-written, re-edited, or used in any way outside of this site without the written consent of Dreamride Mountain Bike Tours and Film Services and Lee Bridgers. Use of this site signifies agreement to terms of use.

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