Thursday, April 28, 2016

Fiona's last day of riding in Moab area

Quite the day today for the Uralisti who joined the group of 13 Ural sidecar rigs for a ride in the back areas of Arches National Park.

Two more canine monkeys joined us today
That's Kim and Cheryl's Red/White Patrol
These folks have impeccable taste in colors for a rig!

Dana led as usual and soon we were riding on rough trails with plenty of rocks, gravel, loose sand and then more loose sand thrown in for good measure.  The rain we'd had the previous day helped some but some of the spots with reverse camber proved a challenge to many of us.

We did have one rig flip onto its side due to the off camber and loose sand conditions I believe, but rider and monkey survived with only minor injuries; heck they recovered and went riding in Arches National Park!  Kudos to Tracy and Tamara for being such tough Uralisti.

The movie at the end of this posting shows what would prove to be the highlight of the soon to be aborted ride.  It was a steep hill, strewn with rocks of course, but all the rigs proved capable, even Fiona though her rider missed the dang line and got a bit off course near the top!

Due to the accident, it was decided by Dana to turn the group around and head back to the back end of the Arches National Park so everyone could get back onto pavement.

Here's some pictures taken at Arches:

 Balanced Rock is where we emerged from dirt onto pavement


Courthouse Rock

I returned to camp, and joined Milo M for a ride to Mineral Bottom Road.  Milo led as he'd been there before and about 14 miles later, we were descending down a very twisty canyon road to the level of the Green River.  Beautiful area, the river the lined with high rock canyon walls and dramatic rock formations.











Today was Fiona and I's last day of riding for this year's Moab gathering of Uralisti.  Met new friends and rekindled previous friendships.  


15 comments:

Steve Williams said...

Well, a lovely look at the URAL life in and around Moab. I spent a week there many years ago and your pictures depict my memories of the place. Except for the URALs. Seems like a wonderful adventure Dom.

Quit teasing us and make your video public. Right now the settings have it private and your just pushing static.

Safe travels!

Steve Williams
Scooter in the Sticks

Unknown said...

said Video was private

redlegsrides said...

Apologies to Mundo and Steve Williams....I forgot the critical last step with the video, actually saving the changes so it would post as public. It's online now, hope you like the slo-mo stuff.

Learning to Golf said...

Stunning pictures!! Proves the toughness of a URAL and the off-road part makes me want an adventure rig.

Canajun said...

I visited that area a couple of years ago and fell in love with the geography. Your pictures captured my recollections perfectly. Thanks for sharing.

SonjaM said...

Arches NP has always been one of my favourites. Love the dramatic setting of the 2nd picture, Dom. Good job on the video. I was sitting on the edge of my seat during every climb. It looked quite dangerous. I'm glad that nobody got hurt in the process (except for the Ural losing the exhaust...).

redlegsrides said...

Thank you AZ HD, they're tough and delicate at the same time.

redlegsrides said...

Thanks for the kind words David Blackburn

redlegsrides said...

Your always kind comments are always a pick me up SonjaM, thanks. Looking back on such times, the risks involved do make one wonder.

Trobairitz said...

Those rock formations and their colors are beautiful.

Thanks for sharing Dom.

RichardM said...

I especially like the Courthouse Rock photo. The cloud on the left adds a lot to the photo. Nice video though it seems that speed makes things unnecessarily hard on the rig. IMHO, you'd be better off with a side by side or four wheeler.

redlegsrides said...

Trobairitz, thanks and you're welcome.

RichardM, thanks, until post-processing, that cloud wasn't really visible in the untouched source photo....

Montandon said...

These are great! Great to meet you out there!

Casey

TRB said...

Great video. The slo-mo was CLASSIC!

redlegsrides said...

Montandon, great to meet you as well, and thanks.....now work on that "flabby" grip of yours!
;)

TRB, thanks, I hope your video captured the rest of that muffler's arc through the air!