on my way to Moab, Utah

[marni]

because at some point and another I have expressed a wish to someday be able to ride in low humidity for more than the occasional one day at a time, for Christmas last year the Sag guy gave me a one week tour/ride with Woman Tours in Moab Utah. When she heard about it, my sister asked if she could join in. So here I am on my way to Utah. Spent 9 hours yesterday driving through Texas from Houston to Lubbock- thank goodness for books on tape because I can only take so many "my dog done died and my car broke down and my woman's left" cowboy country western songs before I start to go mad. Unfortunately for the most part this plus gospel and rap are about the only things on the air waves outside the larger cities like Austin, Temple etc. Can't fault the niceness of the locals, just don't like their music. So 9 hours of pretty much straight roman road through various degrees of vegetation from almost lush to hundred mile plains of dry scrubby cotton, ready to be harvested, and wind farms, relieved my an interesting book, an hour of trying to find my way to any motel and or dinner in Lubbock and I am ready to head on up to Albuquerque to pick up my sister and progress on to Moab. The ride starts on the 11, I will try to post some reports and pictures but in the meantime, as you can tell from my babbling, I am pretty excited as is Ms. Red the bike.

[ny biker]

Have a great time!!!

(p.s. This is why my car has s 6-CD changer. I don't know what I'll do when I have to get a new car since CDs are so last century. I guess I will have to start making lots of playlists. Like back in the day when we made mix tapes by recording from albums to cassettes. Everything old is new again.)

[Pax]

What fun! It should feel cool to you up there after the head and humidity of Houston.

[Crankin]

Have a really fun time!

[BikeDutchess]

Should be a gorgeous time to be riding there! Have a blast!

[rebeccaC]

.....and remember red rock bakery on main :)

[OakLeaf]

Have fun marni! Stay warm!

[marni]

I am currently Moab, Utah to enjoy a bike tour together. My time in Albuquerque with my sister was a rich cultural experience. One night we got to sit in on an open rehearsal of the Albuquerque Philharmonic as they rehearsed for an upcoming concert. The majority of the time was spent of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Since the conductor was wearing a microphone and it was fascinating to listen to how and why he molded and accented the music and the various instruments to bring out his vision of the music. I heard finer nuances than I have ever noticed in a recording, more individual parts and voices of the instruments as it were. It was a rich experience and we both came away with a deeper understanding and a more profound appreciation of the music and the energy and efforts it takes to create a really fine performance by achieving a oneness between the conductor, the musicians, the music and the audience.

Today we attended a two hour talk on the history and logic of the Fibbonachi series by David Metzler, a mathematician currently teaching and UNM and several middle schools around the area. He went through the algebraic and regular math involved in the evolution of the series, with side notes into where and when it was first applied and relating it to the golden mean , showing how it had evolved from early Prannic poetry patterns to it's current applications and occurances. and carrying it forward into a comparison between the golden rectangle and the Mendelbrod series in fractals with a glancing look at chaos theory.

Although I have often played with the numbers of the Fibonacchi series in some design attempts for graphics and weaving, I have never really understood how the series evolved mathematically. Now I do and have a even deeper appreciation of how and why it can be used.

Dr. Metzler was an excellent speaker, down to earth and logical, and very simply analytical in his presentation, wandering happily between regressive theories and finite and closed theories and even though my math skills have always been not exceptional, I managed to remember enough high school algebra to be able to understand what he was saying and the points he was conveying. I envy his middle school students and their introduction to higher math through him.

The drive up to Moab yesterday was lovely and peaceful. I was struck by the shades of color in the land, which I remember well from growing up here, but what I found most interesting was how the colors and indeed the shapes of the landscape changed depending on the time of day. The light definitely has the quality of fall light with its golden and slightly dusty character which in the light of morning sunlight tends to soften colors to pastel and round the shapes and soften the shadows so that the land takes on an impressionistic appearance. As the day passes, the colors become less pastel and more solid earth colors with the shadows beginning to define themselves in the nature of an realist interpretation.

The colors, shapes and shadows are exactly as they would be in a photograph or an oil painting from the realism school As the day progresses into sunset the landscape
becomes more and more surrealistic with colors harsh and sharp as if painted in bright acrylics in the style of the modernist school. The shapes become more and more geometric and angular and the shadows become stark and jarring black. It was a continual feast for the eyes and made the drive go very quickly in spite of the distance between Albuquerque and Moab.

We are staying at the Gonzo Inn here in Moab in a very nice two rooms, one the bedroom and bathroom complete with a balcony looking west towards yet more red and grayish brown bluffs and cottonwoods in every shade from dark jade green to brilliant cadmium and gamboge yellow along with some other deciduous trees in shades of green, rust and burgundy. The other room is a combined living room, kitchen, eating space with table, and also a balcony with the same view. There is also a pool and hot tub for after bike recovery.

It's going to be a great week!

[emily_in_nc]

Enjoy your time in Moab! We spent several days there back in 2006 and really enjoyed it. We stayed in the Cali Colchetti (not sure if I have that spelling right) B&B, and it was so charming! In May they had the most beautiful roses blooming on the property in all colors, and the aroma was intoxicating. There were lots of birds in the beautiful backyard and delectable breakfasts. It was a hiking vacation, not a cycling one, so from there we hiked in Arches and Canyonlands NPs. We enjoyed the dining options in Moab as well and the local brews. That is where I discovered wheat beers. Many good memories!

[VeganBikeChick]

Marni, what an amazing and vivid description of your trip so far. Looking forward to the rest of your tour details and even photos if you take some :)

[Crankin]

Sounds really nice.

[emily_in_nc]

Yes, would love to see some photos and hear more about the cycling there. One of my former managers loved mountain biking there, but he was quite advanced and was fine with riding on slickrock that would be above my comfort level. Would love to hear how the cycling is for us mere mortals. :D

[rebeccaC]

Morning and sunset light are both excellent in Arches and each does indeed give a different look. We were blessed with some dramatic cloud formations (from a storm that had gone through the day before) during our ride that added depth and shadows to the views even during mid-day. Wondrous light most of the day though, simply because of the incredibly beautiful rock formations.

I’d luv to go back for a few days of hiking and photography to capture the ways light affects certain views from sunrise to sunset. Arches is one of the few places i'd say that about.

The La Sal Mountains, about 20 miles southeast of Moab, might have some great foliage colors now. It was just the beginning of change a couple of weeks ago when we drove through that area on our way home.

hoping for many wonderful moments on your trip!!!!!

[BikeDutchess]

Moab is well-known for its mountain biking (and yes, there are fabulous beginner trails available!), but there is some amazing road riding in the area as well. We've attended both the Skinny Tire Festival in the spring as well as the Moab Century Ride in the fall and really enjoyed both.

[emily_in_nc]

Moab is well-known for its mountain biking (and yes, there are fabulous beginner trails available!), but there is some amazing road riding in the area as well. We've attended both the Skinny Tire Festival in the spring as well as the Moab Century Ride in the fall and really enjoyed both.

This is good to know, BD! I like the sounds of both the road riding (what scenery!!) and the beginner MTB trails. Just our speed. :D We will definitely have to visit again one day with our "fleet".

[Aromig]

Have fun in Moab! It's one of my all-time favorite places. Make sure to stop at the Moab Brewery. A lot of their beers have biking inspired names, and they have jerseys for each of the beers.