Colorado River Overlook via E-MTB

Cave Spring Road

Today we headed out early to bike to the Colorado River Overlook. The bright blue sky and cool temperature was a wonderful way to start the day. We took a short detour along Cave Spring Road to add a few miles to the ride & see if there was anything of interest along the road. 

Wooden Shoe Arch

As a bonus we did get a shot of the Wooden Shoe Arch. We stopped at the Overlook for Bill to take the short walk out to check out the Stone Storehouse. Only a quick 10 minute walk out to it. I stayed with the bikes since we didn't bring any locks with us for the ride

We made a quick stop at the Visitor Center to check the road access for the Overlook. All was good so we headed down the dirt road that was designated for 4 x 4 high clearance vehicles. 

*Stone Storehouse from NPS site Veronica Verdin

Lizard tracks in the soft sand

A mile in we ran into some deep sand that turned out to be really tricky to ride...sometimes we failed to maintain a proper upright position. We did figure out that riding through the sand too fast did not work. If we maintained a nice steady pace with a little wiggle on the handle bars to match our rear bike tire's spin & wiggle we could ride it out. 

The lizards certainly do a good job at moving along the soft sand. We never saw one actually on the road, but their tracts was everywhere.

The road had quite a few sections of this deep sand which made us wonder how many vehicles got stuck. Neither of us got stuck and managed to get to the last couple of miles without any real problems. 

Deciding which path to tackle

The last section was tricky to say the least. I tried 2 times to ride up the steep rocks without success. Of course the pictures do not show the 'angle of steepness' nor how big the drops were off the rocks. I decided that it made more sense to walk my bike up the incline. Bill, however, managed to get up the rocks on his 2nd attempt. 

We both had a few peddle strikes on the rocks. Even lost contact with a peddle, but no falls...a definite win! Riding over the slick rock was a fun time...our new tires really stick to that rock.

No wonder the Park Service said to park and walk that last mile. Driving a vehicle up it looked darn near impossible for normal people. We made it over the last mile of slick rock & shark fins to the Colorado River Overlook.  

Cindi on the Colorado River Overlook Road

Colorado River Overlook

From the overlook the river looks pretty tame...a lot of muddy slow moving water. The red rock views were stunning. We even had a phone signal because our phones started pinging with missed messages. No idea how we managed a signal out in the middle of nowhere. Took a break to keep hydrated and watched the water before heading back toward camp. 

The trip back was uneventful...figured out how to negotiate the sand piles & shark fins without any problems. 

Red Pillar down below the Overlook

Cindi taking in the view of the Colorado River

Our ride ended up being a total of 27 miles in 2 hours 40 minutes with an elevation gain of 1089 feet. 

Never saw a single vehicle or person the entire time. Tomorrow we are planning to hike the Slickrock Trail bright & early.