'OuterBike' - Moab

Well enough about Interbike, here's --- OuterBike; it's a brand new show happening one week after InterBike, but aimed at the Consumer. Unlike InterBike's dealer focus, Outerbike is all about Consumer awareness, enjoyment and er uh riding bikes.

Put on by the good people from Western Spirits guiding company and based in the Mountain Bike Mecca of Moab the recipe is simple; $160 dollars, a shuttle or 2 each day to a different location in Moab, lunch provided (wicked sandwiches-Dagwoods), guides provided and 4 days of demo bikes, that works out to 40 bucks a day plus tax and you get to Demo cool bikes like the Rocky Mountain Element and Slayer (or some other brand if you want).

This is the first year for Outerbike and me a Moab newby made it the perfect chance to get out and explore this amazing area. Day one we arrived set up and liaised with our Colorado Rep and US sales manager, Ephram and John respectively. Changed some pedals, talked to some peeps about the bikes and generally got the fleet ready. By the afternoon it was time to ride, first shuttle was headed to the Sovereign Area, "ok, sounds good" I said. The heat was climbing as we got out of the Van, about 35 degrees and it was 2pm, ouch. Feeling like a sauna we headed into the trails, fortunately we had two guides with us and they knew exactly which way to flow the trails-if you don't get the flow right it feels like uphill all the way, we got it right!

The Sovereign trail system is a newly developed area that will eventually link with the Outerbike zone creating a whole new venue for Moab.

Temperatures during the week were hot, but only between 11am and 2pm after which things cooled to about perfect. This years temps were unusually hot by about 10 degrees, so expect normal but warm temps next year.

Day 2 saw the crowds pick up as the consumers rolled into town. It was friday and though it got busy we really didn't expect to see the rush until Sat. Fridays shuttle/ride took us over to the LPS, or Lower Porcupine Singletrack. This was again my first time and wow, I will have to add this as one of my all time favorites; down-ish, pedally-ish, technical and fast, but it's so much about the crew we were with and I had a freight train of talent to hang with. It was perfect terrain for the Slayer or Altitude.

At noon on Friday they also commenced a Super D race coming down from the La Sal mountains directly above us. They would race down through Burro pass and onto the LPS. This made for some fun entertainment, but some confusion for those who didn't understand the nature of the racer - Agro! Perhaps as a whole having 2-300 shuttle consumers on the flight path of some 30 nut bar DH racers wasn't the brightest idea? Win time was about 1h .35min and something like 7500 feet of descending - I'm doing it for sure next year.

Sat and Sun came like a fog; altitude, sun and beer soaked into all aspects of our life. The crowds thickened and the rides (for us) shortened but the parties lasted longer into the night (check out Woodie's if you are ever in Moab).

Saturday was a shuttle/ride to the infamous Slickrock, and Sunday was the Amasa Back trail while the entire weekend had a sweet loop right in front of the venue. I finally ventured out to the local trails in front of our demo set up on Sun, what a great place to demo your new bike before buying it.

As you can see after 4 days of shuttles, demoing different bikes and exploring the trails of Moab, that the whole Outerbike experience is something not to be missed. I have barely touched on the cool aspects of Moab, the local restaurants or the swimming in the Colorado river, but suffice it to say, this is a great event and it's here to stay.

Get on down to the Outerbike and find your Outer-Limits..?

Cheers

Dre