As is our pattern, we now must reverse this trail and ride it on our mountain bikes! We did this last year, when we ran the 100 mile White Rim Trail, after having mountain biked it the previous fall.
We find that the trail is entirely different when you do it in reverse, especially when you change up the mode of travel.
So, we are leaving in less than two weeks to ride the Kokopelli Trail, starting this time from Moab and ending in Loma. We hope to finish in under 15 hours, which is an average speed of 9.5 mph.
Sounds easy from the couch!
But that basically means being on the gas, the entire time. Not stopping unless we have to pee or get more food out of our packs. No dilly-dallying.
We do have the advantage of knowing the route fairly well, since we studied it before Hal's run, two years ago. The trail is very well-marked, according to Hal, so that is also in our favor.
Weather looks like it will be chilly during the night, when we are riding through the higher altitude La Sal mountain sections, and then in the 80's during the day, as we make our way through the desert to Loma.
For 15 hours, we are planning on bringing 5,000 calories worth of food each. For me, this will mostly consist of my delicious Honey Stinger waffles and energy chews!
We are also planning on bringing roughly 170 ounces of fluid, with a combination of water and electrolyte drink mix.
We are going to try out the Camelbak MULE NV for Hal, and the women's equivalent, the LUXE NV for me.
For lighting systems, we got the Nite Rider Pro 1800 Race lights. They should be bright enough to confuse any animals we happen to run across on the trail!
For clothes, we are going super-light. Just a pair of bibs, a short sleeve jersey, some long-fingered gloves, an emergency rain/wind jacket, sun sleeves, knee warmers, and a headband.
And here's a look at our safety/tool kits...Can't ride too far without our trusty Enzo's chamois crème!
We have a Sol Bivy, a patch kit, pump, and Hal's patented "Convenience Packs"! These contain only the essentials to keep moving, nothing more, nothing less. They weigh in at less than three ounces and can be made right in your own home using snack-size ziplock baggies! Message Hal if you want to know more about these convenience packs...He's banking on hitting it big in the endurance sports market when he tires of being a firefighter :)
And here's a final list of everything we've thought of, thus far:
Kokopelli Gear List
- 3 tubes (29er)
- 2 chain master links
- 3 link sections of chain
- 2-25g big air
- 2 patches with glue
- 1 tire lever each
- Credit card and 20 cash in each bag
- 2 convenience packs ( 10 Ibuprofen, 1 Benadryl, 1 anti-diarrheal, 3 wet wipes, Tums, 2-12 hr Sudafed, water purifying tablets, big bandaid, 2 matches, 1 rubber band)
- Lighter small Bic, with Lueko tape around lighter
- Fire starter
- SOL bivy
- Small package of lube
- Helmets, with visors
- Sunglasses, with clear lenses
- Mountain bike shoes, make sure cleats are tight and lubed
- Spare cleat/bolt?
- Maps?
- Chapstick, small sunscreen, hand sanitizer
9- 13 Liter Packs with 200oz
capacity, whistle, 2 bladders, 1-2 bottles.
CLOTHING:
- Short sleeve jersey
- Bibs-Shorts for KC
- Sleeves
- Emergency jacket
- Head band
- Buff
- Riding gloves-long finger
- Chamois cream at start and one each in pack
- Knee warmers
- Warm gloves
- Nite Rider 1800 w/ battery
- 350 lumen light-make sure all lights are fully charged
- Small pump
- Phone???
- Maybe additional insulation layer
- Sun sleeves
- Garmin-fully charged
- Garmin watches-fully charged
FOOD:
- Honey Stinger products, enough for 15 hours (~5,000 calories)
- Skratch drink mix, either mixed in the bladders or single serve pouches
- Bars and homemade ‘go balls’
As always, thanks for reading! Please let us know if you can think of anything else we might need to mountain bike for 142 miles, other than common sense ;)
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