MTBNJ Road Trip 2008: Zion/Gooseberry or Bust

Shaggz

A strong 7
MTBNJ & Hermosa Tours are proud to announce that the destination of the First Annual MTBNJ Road Trip will be to Zion/Gooseberry.

Details as follows:
* Date: Oct 12-17, 2008
* Tour itinerary will be based on the following: http://www.hermosatours.net/sw_utah.html
* Price: 15% off the $1895 sticker ($1610.75)
* 1 lucky TRIP participant will be chosen at random to receive a free Hermosa Tour Package, excluding air fare. Norm, Jake, Shaggz and El Zoller are not eligible for the free trip, and the winner will be announced in mid-September
* Space is limited, so please contact Matt at Hermosa Tours ASAP to reserve your spot (matt@hermosatours.net or 1-877-ROLL-MTB)
* Trip details, including what is and is not part of the package (basically everything is included except air fare), bike rentals and trip deposit can be found here: http://www.hermosatours.net/faqs.html

Trip Description (from Hermosa's Web Site):
Ride hard and relax. The seemingly endless stretches of mesas and sandstone rock formations in the Zion National Park area are like nowhere else on earth. The rides we’ve chosen for you to explore this gorgeous region range from a twisting maze over the slickrock of Gooseberry Mesa to the downhill, hoodoo slalom of Thunder Mountain. The weather during May and October is ideal – plenty warm, but we’ll avoid the scorching temps of the summer season.

After we shuttle you in from Las Vegas, we’ll set up base camp at The Cliffrose Lodge and Gardens. Situated a mere 200 yards from the entrance to Zion National Park and nestled along the Virgin River, The Cliffrose is a picture of relaxation with a lush pool and Jacuzzi area, comfortable pillow-top beds and a riverside beach area. We’ll ease into each morning with a healthy breakfast amongst the acres of gardens and then shuttle out to the day’s guided ride.

Arrival Day:
Our staff will greet you at Las Vegas’s McCarron Airport and help you get your luggage sorted out. We will be making 3 separate pickups from the airport: 11am, 1pm and 3pm. With this in mind, please schedule your flight such that you arrive between 10am and 3pm PST on the Sunday before Ride Day One. For those of you arriving in time for the 11am and 1pm pickups, we’ll run you out to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area to our waiting reception area. Once there you can relax in the shade, grab a bite to eat and take an easy spin on the numerous trails.

Once we’ve collected the whole group it’s off to Springdale, UT and The Cliffrose Lodge. Everyone will have plenty of time to freshen up and get settled before we head out for dinner at the Bit n’ Spur restaurant.

Day 1:
We’ll get rolling in the Hermosa Tours van around 9am; content from a pleasant breakfast. The start of today’s riding is at the north end of the Prospector Trail; a gentle rolling singletrack through Red Cliffs Desert Reserve. Soon we will connect right into the Church Rocks Loop. The Church Rocks Loop is a fun route over mostly slickrock and in the shadows of the dome formation Church Rocks. This area is great for photos and offers many pleasant rest stops on the warm slickrock. We’ll finish up the Church Rocks Loop and return to the waiting Hermosa Tours van. A quick drive into town will have us sitting down for a relaxing lunch. Full and satisfied, the group will spend the remaining time in the afternoon shuttling the Bearclaw Poppy Trail. The Bearclaw Poppy Trail is a rollicking desert singletrack with fast run down into a wash, some very manageable technical obstacles and some hard-packed roller coaster sections. We’ll get in as many shuttle runs as time and the group energy allows. With fresh, adrenaline-induced smiles we’ll load up and return to the lodge where you can get cleaned up and then enjoy a relaxing hot tub soak or a massage before dinner. Ride length is between 13 and 19 miles.

Day 2:
(October Dates) – Weather permitting, we like to squeeze all we can out of the Zion high country. Today we head high up into Dixie National Forest to ride the Virgin River Rim Trail. From various perches today we’ll be looking back down into the high desert and Zion National Park. The beginning of our ride will also provide numerous viewpoints into the Virgin’s headwaters. After a relaxing lunch, the second half of our ride will offer many of the same vistas, but with the added bonus of long sections overlooking the Pink Cliffs. Eroded from limestone, iron in the rock rusts to create an artists pallet of brilliant colors in countless rock formations. Ride length is about 20 miles.

Day 3:
Day Three is Hoodoo Day! Today starts with a scenic drive through Zion National Park among towering cliffs, picturesque sandstone alcoves and past Checkerboard Mesa. An hour later we’ll arrive at the lower Thunder Mountain trailhead where we’ll unload. There are several ways to ride Thunder Mountain, but we prefer to climb the scenic bike path that parallels Utah’s Route 12 and then up a short pitch on an ATV trail. At the Coyote Hollow trailhead it’s time to go downhill. With the exception of a few short ups, this mostly downhill singletrack is like a fast descent on a foreign planet. In addition to weaving between hoodoo formations, this ride features a ¼ mile section atop a “fin” formation some 300 feet above the valley floor. This incredible descent ends at our morning start point where a tasty lunch will be waiting for us. Our second ride today starts with a shuttle up to the Cassidy Trail and another classic descent. The Cassidy Trail (as well as the Losee Trail we’ll also descend) is very similar geologically to our earlier trip down Thunder Mountain. Ride length is about 23 miles.

Day 4:
REST DAY OPTION:
If you’re feeling a little “biked out” this is a terrific option on Day Four. Sleep in this morning and ease into the day. We’ll take you over to Zion Adventure Company to get fitted for a dry suit and other gear for a hike in the Zion Narrows. The Zion Narrows is unlike any other hike on Earth. Imagine walking upstream through a river, picking your way past slippery, round river rocks as you delve into a narrow, towering canyon. 1500-foot walls of smooth sandstone rise on each side of you, drawing your gaze upward and your mouth agape. You follow the serpentine path the river has carved over millions of years, passing waterfalls, deep green pools, and dark, secret alcoves. After your hike we’ll run you back to the lodge to get cleaned up and maybe enjoy an afternoon massage.

RIDE OPTION:
Even we can’t believe how much amazing riding is left by the time we hit Day Four. Our route today is yet another classic: the Gould’s Rim, Hurricane Rim and JEM Trail loop. The Gould’s Rim section is a combination doubletrack and singletrack that snakes through sagebrush to nice outcrop vistas and skirts along the edge of Gould’s Canyon. The JEM Trail section brings much of the same topography, but with the added bonus of a very fast, sustained downhill and spectacular views of the Virgin River. Finally, the Hurricane Rim portion of our route offers up mildly technical singletrack suspended above the Virgin River and some fun traverses over rock slab. As usual, we’ll head back to the lodge to recuperate and refresh, then unwind with a great BBQ dinner around a riverside fire. Today’s ride length is about 22 miles.

Day 5:
Gooseberry Mesa. Just the mention of this world class trail is mountain biker catnip. Your warm-up on Little Creek a few days ago gave you some sense of what you’d be riding, but there’s only one Gooseberry Mesa. Gooseberry is the best of technical slickrock and great singletrack. While the riding is incredible, be sure to keep your wits about you – the cliff edge views are unbelievable and vying for your attention. Long views of stone monuments and Zion Canyons are plentiful. The end of the day’s route is Gooseberry Point and the erratic overhead pattern of the Virgin River, as well as pine-laden vistas of the Pine Valley Mountains Wilderness. To say today’s ride has been awe inspiring would short change the experience.

Final Evening:
After a great week of riding, we love to celebrate the end of the trip with a group dinner in town. Take a few hours to relax and clean up, then we’ll meet at the hotel to stroll over to our closing dinner celebration at Zion Pizza and Noodle Co. This is a great time for everyone to reflect on their experiences and tell war stories accumulated from the many great miles of singletrack. Hermosa Tours thank our guests tonight with some goofy awards and some unique gift bags. Cheers!

If you are leaving the next day Hermosa Tours will shuttle you to the airport for your flight home. Departure time from the lodge is 7am, so please set your flights for after 11am out of Las Vegas.
 
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Shaggz

A strong 7
The chance to win the free trip is only available to those that commit to the trip, following the terms & conditions on Hermosa's web site. I believe there is a 25% deposit to book your spot.
 

NickDavid

New Member
The chance to win the free trip is only available to those that commit to the trip, following the terms & conditions on Hermosa's web site. I believe there is a 25% deposit to book your spot.

Thank you for clearing that up. Unfortunately, I booked a trip to Mexico for May, so that might be my major trip of the year.

If it was a raffle, now that would be something I would consider. Maybe something to look into in the future.

When I used to own a forum (which was for motorcycles), I set it up so that people who donated $ to the website would automatically be entered into each raffle. The more money a person donated, the more raffle tickets they would automatically have entered into each raffle.

It's a great way to get cashflow moving into the site. You can charge for advertising and put in the terms that they need to contribute one item per month for advertising.
 

Shaggz

A strong 7
:mad2::getsome::mad2:
Haven't you had enough? 2 picnic raffles, a beautiful road bike, the mexican lottery...

JK, of course you will be included in the raffle if you sign up. However, we are not responsible for vengeful actions taken by others if you do win :D.
 

walter

Fourth Party
Haven't you had enough? 2 picnic raffles, a beautiful road bike, the mexican lottery...

JK, of course you will be included in the raffle if you sign up. However, we are not responsible for vengeful actions taken by others if you do win :D.

Don't you mean when he does win???:rolleyes:
 

Hermosa

New Member
I'm sorta confused, you have to book a tour to be entered into the drawing?

To clear this up: unfortunately, we are not in a position to have a few hundred people enter a raffle, one person win and then everyone cancel. At the heart of things, this is a discounted trip special to mtbnj.com. We threw in the free trip idea on top, but if it's confusing things too much we can scratch it. Again, this is a MTBNJ roadtrip (as the title suggests), not a raffle.

Matt
 

anrothar

entirely thrilled
i think it makes perfect sense. it's sort of like a bonus. you sign up for the trip and commit, and if you're lucky, you win a free trip just for doing it. quit complaining you wankers.
 
J

Jartread

Guest
Great Location for trip

I have been out to Zion and Gooseberry Mesa to ride. Gooseberry is one of my all time favs. Amazing combination of singletrack and slickrock with tremendous scenery. Watch out for cactus! Oh yeah, don't miss the turn off the highway onto the dirt road for Gooseberry or you will end up in Arizona. Speaking of scenery, Zion is off the charts beautiful. You will come home with a lifetime of wonderful stories and memories.

Great trip and great idea to create an incentive to those who sign up.

Best of luck.
 

anrothar

entirely thrilled
howz about i link to some of my Zion photos as incentive? then anyone with gooseberry/bryce/other area photos post up as well:

1038153893_9d3b7bd3b6.jpg


1818634716_7eb31deb17.jpg


1038153885_eba23e536d.jpg


1038153939_d5ae294f05.jpg


1038153899_343302a325.jpg


more here:

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=3Tzut&page_id=8606&v=0

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=3Tzut&page_id=10072&v=0
 
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Hermosa

New Member
Hey MTBNJ.com Gang...I wanted to check in and gauge your interest for this trip in October. I've had a lot of "maybe's", but not too many commitments. We'd really like to have you all out this fall. A reminder of what's included:

- 5 riding days
- Ground Transportation to and from Vegas
- All Lodging (riverside lodging w/hot tub)
- All Meals
- (2) on-trail guides each day
- (2) massages during the week
- midweek laundry service
- any bike tuning needed
- Gift bag and a trip DVD

Happy Trails!!

Matt
matt AT hermosatours DOT net
 
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Hermosa

New Member
OK, so not looking so good. :)



Hey MTBNJ.com Gang...I wanted to check in and gauge your interest for this trip in October. I've had a lot of "maybe's", but not too many commitments. We'd really like to have you all out this fall. A reminder of what's included:

- 5 riding days
- Ground Transportation to and from Vegas
- All Lodging (riverside lodging w/hot tub)
- All Meals
- (2) on-trail guides each day
- (2) massages during the week
- midweek laundry service
- any bike tuning needed
- Gift bag and a trip DVD

Happy Trails!!

Matt
matt AT hermosatours DOT net
 
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