Anyone ever rode the Moki Dugway?

[adventureduo]

Ok, so maybe it's not that hard? or even at all? Or is it? I don't know. It climbs fast for a car, but maybe not for a bike? Is it easy? Or mild? It looks like a slight grade and not that big of a deal.

The reason why i ask is that i will be in that area for my dads 'what would be' birthday this year and he passed away on his bike. I was thinking of riding up it as a small tribute to him on his bike.

Im looking for a small challenge.. is there any? Or is it just a regular road bike type climb that you can kill on a mtb?

I've been riding for years and used to race NORBA cross country. Don't really ride much at all anymore. Im game for basically anything... i know how to pace myself well

Anyhow, figured i'd ask.. .not hard to throw the bike on the rig and do it.

 

[ttora4runner]

I think it wouldn't be too bad at all since it's not really technical just steep. The ride back down would be fun.

I'd say bring a mountain bike.

 

[Token]

Rode it back in 2005.. Loaded to the gils.. Would have to dig out some old backups to find some more photos from the trip..

Oh wait.. This is the OTHER 2 wheeler board..

The Moki is in the middle of frickin' nowhere.. Mexican Hat is maybe 10 or 12 miles away (ya prolly know that) Valley of the Gods Road is near the bottom of the Moki and would make an interesting ride on a bicycle.. Kinda been wanting to go back in the truck and check some of those side roads out. Was thinking about it back then, just couldn't bring myself to venturing very far off road on that fully loaded bike. There's another interesting looking road east of there called The Burr Trail. It leads from Boulder, UT east across Capital Reef and down to Glen Canyon Rec Area. From there you could take 276 over to 95 and then to 261 down to Moki.. Seems like it'd be at least 3 or 4 days worth of trip on a bike though..

But back to Moki.. Interesting place with some interesting history and an interesting site to see.. But riding it in hopes of a challenge might be a bit of a stretch.. Unless of course you nearly get ran over by a 30 Wheeler (18 wheeler pulling TWO full length trailers) loaded with bails of green alfalfa.. Yeah, I was followed down by two of them.. I'd have to go find the pics to prove it..

 

[CanuckMariner/Nomad]

Dave: Very tight and steep but good on a bike. I did this some year ago in my TLC 73 and watched some bikes do it. :costumed-smiley-007

 

[cnynrat]

We've been up and down the Moki dugway several times in our truck. The dirt sections are usually well graded, but still probably mountain bike territory. That said, I have seen a video somewhere on the net of a guy riding down it on a road bike. Most if not all of the switchback turns themselves are paved now, and as with most switchbacked trails or roads they tend to be the steepest sections.

The dugway itself climbs about 1000' over a distance of 2-1/2 miles or so. You might think about comparing those stats to some other climbs you're familiar with around here. As an example, we used to ride up Rt 39 out of Azusa, and then up along the west fork of the San Gabriel river to Cogswell reservoir. That climb is 1700' over 15 miles or so. To me that was a long sustained climb, but never really steep (BTW, we did this on road bikes). The Moki Dugway is about 4x as steep as that. Also, be aware that the starting elevation is about 5400'.

Given your experience and background, I'd guess you'll find it to be a challenging climb but not at all a problem if you pace yourself.

Have fun.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

I was on it back in June on a moto and have been on several times before. With that said the it is a hard packed dirt road that everything with wheels travels on without any issue. On a mountain bike should be no problem Im sure you have been on a lot more challenging dirt roads on your bike. It would be fun going down, going up would just be a lot of work nothing else IMO.