utah cliffs loop

In the window between SOM and SHoP, we sneaked out to southern Utah for a short but intense bike trekking adventure, in search of the original meaning of words like 'gorgeous' and 'massive'. Jetblue to Vegas, bus to Saint George (southwestern corner of Utah, early Mormon settlers’ resort town), bikes out of the suitcases at the Dixie Palm Motel, tent/mat/sleeping bags/kitchen/food/water on the bikes... and off for a five days’ loop around the cliffs and canyons and forests of the Colorado Plateau’s western fringe.



We used cycling maps by the Adventure Cycling Association – highly recommended as they never fail take you across America’s backcountry on the most scenic and quiet roads (check out their nationwide network). Yet we knew in advance we would need to cut some corners off the full 287-miles Utah Cliffs Loop, given our limited time, Utah’s vertiginous staircase topography and the terrain (half of the loop is set out on dirt roads).



Little time for our desk bodies to adapt to muscle-powered transportation – Saint George is the lowest point of the loop, so we end up climbing more than 8000 feet (2700 m) over the first three days. The reward is stunning scenery all around though, continually changing according to altitude, geological make-up and availability of water. Day one takes us from dry redrock Saint George through Snow Canyon, along the Spanish Trail and the Santa Clara river, into Pine Valley, a sleepy town plus campground in an almost alpine setting.





Deeper into Dixie National Forest on day two – beautiful pine-covered hills, sagebrush flats, plenty of streams, lakes and shades of green. Lunch in Pinto, a town served only by dirt roads. The dirt slows us down though, at times hard to negotiate on our lightweight Fridays, but friendly horseshoer Bronson doesn’t hesitate to pick us up for an evening ride into Cedar City.




An epic climb on day three, up another step of the giant sandstone staircase. 3500 vertical feet over 20 (paved) miles, from Cedar City up to the amphitheaters of Cedar Breaks. Thin air and breathtaking views leave little air for a sigh of relief near the summit, just below 10,000 feet.




All downhill from here, great altiplano biking for a while – crisp colors, highland vegetation, cool air (the water in our bottles stays cool throughout the day despite beating sun) – down to Navajo Lake for a home-made raviolini in brodo.




After siesta, we stumble further down the southern flank of Cedar Breaks – an absolutely memorable ride. Still high up, our sandy path crosses a tiny stream – water seeping out of an ‘underground ice deposit’ – that will soon turn into the Virgin River’s north fork, responsible for carving out Zion Canyon, and eventually ending up in Lake Mead as drinking water for Las Vegas’ growing millions.



Apart from a couple of hippie treehouses and herds of deer roaming on BLM lands, we have the forested canyon to ourselves. We manage to find the ‘beatuiful dispersed campsite’ on our map just before sunset – fire pit and icy creek included...



Days four and five bring us back to the inhabited world, more specifically to the geological playground called Zion National (theme) Park. Despite slow erosion under the continuous force of water and millions of overweight tourists, it is still there for your pleasure. ¡Espectacular!





Further downstream the Virgin River we pass through highway towns La Verkin (alledgedly meaning “the beautiful” but no evidence to be found) and Hurricane. Numerous new settlements abound (“Hurricane’s Finest 55+ Adult Community”), neatly fitting into the grid of the PLSS. A string of malls leads us back into (equally booming) home base Saint George, where we head straight for Nielsen’s Famous Frozen Custard.




Great but a bit much, was our five word review at the pool of the Dixie Palm. Utah's cliffs on New York speed. By the time we got into trekking mode, we had to pack the bikes and fly back east. With some more time to adjust, biking up the Colorado Plateau on dirt roads would be just fine. Starting from San Francisco (and taking two more weeks off) could have helped, for example. Next time...



Great to get out of New York though, even just for a week. Life is quite different in the land of the golfing Mormons. Car culture is absolute – whatever is not drive-in is drive-through. So many times we got “alright you’re biking, but where’s your car?” No other bike travelers in sight, lots of Harleys, Arctic Cats and RVs. On the other hand, our loop would have been even smaller without generous emergency pick-ups from Max, Manny and Bronson – thanks guys!



And just when you thought they couldn’t get any bigger...