The Desert Ramble
Photos and words by Erik Mathy

It all started some months back when Jason, aka Gnat, set off a discussion amongst a small group of us. The topic? A fatbike only bike-packing trip along the Kokopelli Trail to celebrate his birthday with Glenn, Eric, Lelan, Jim, Bobby, Brady, Cass, Tim and myself. The Kokopelli is a gorgeous, 142-mile, multi-use trail connecting two of the great meccas of mountain biking in the United States: Fruita, CO and Moab, UT. It features a ton of technical single track, rocks, places where we’d carry our bikes up embankments, and long stretches of desert. Once we got to Moab, we’d spend a day riding the Porcupine Rim Trail before doing one last incredible overnight camp on Kane Creek Road.

Over the course of the 7 day trip, named the Desert Ramble, we rode and hiked through almost every possible condition and terrain. Rain, mud, hardpack, singletrack, dirt roads, pavement, sun, creek crossings, sand, rock…you name it, we did it! The riding in Fruita and Moab, and all points between, is absolutely stunning. If you go, be prepared for the time of your life! If you’ve never ridden the Kokopelli Trail, Kane Creek, Fruita or Moab, I can’t recommend them enough!

(Huge thanks goes out to Jason for organizing the Desert Ramble, and to Glenn, Eric, Lelan, Jim, Bobby, Brady, Cass, and Tim for their friendship out on the trail. )

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See Erik’s work at his website and on Instagram.