Snow on the LaSal mountains make a beautiful backdrop for the slickrock of the Moab Brands trails.

Spring has sprung in Moab, UT and Poison Spider Bicycles celebrated this past weekend with their annual Moab Thaw event. Osprey supported the event with a fleet of demo packs that were available for riders checking out the latest and greatest bikes from Yeti, Niner, Pivot and Ellsworth. Thaw HQ was at the Moab Brands trailhead where food and drink were provided so riders could focus on getting as many demo rides in as their winter legs would allow. Conditions were perfect with blue skies, calm winds and temps in the 60s.

The Poison Spider event really is a great way to thaw out from a cold, snowy winter and get excited about the approaching cycling season. This one is worth putting on your calendar and scheduling a trip from wherever you might be. Watch the Poison Spider web site next winter for 2014 registration details. In the meantime, check out some of the shots from this year’s event below.

Events, Photos Moab, moabthaw, mountain bike, poison spider bicycles

Castle Valley Overlook on Upper Porcupine Singletrack

It has been a very busy but extremely productive event season for the Osprey Packs bike crew. We spent much of the summer traveling thousands of miles in our Sprinter van to attend bike events throughout the country and provide attendees with the opportunity to browse and demo Osprey cycling packs. This past weekend our event season came to a close with one of our favorite events. Outerbike takes place in Moab, Utah, just over 100 miles from Osprey world headquarters in Cortez, Colorado.

Outerbike is one of our favorites for many reasons; the spectacular location in Moab, the awesome team at Western Spirit that organizes the event, the amazing participants from around the world, and the opportunity to get some end of the season rides in before snow starts flying. This year marked the third annual happening of Outerbike and it was the best yet. Temperatures were in the 70s with sunny skies and light breezes each day, which provided absolutely perfect riding conditions. There were plenty of demo bikes to keep participants busy on the trails and out of lines awaiting a ride. Osprey had a very successful event, sending out a record amount of demo packs and raising funds for the Moab Trail Mix. Moab Trail Mix has been responsible for most of the new trails that have sprouted up over the past couple of years and reviving Moab as the mountain bike mecca. Extensive new trail systems such as the Bar-M network, the Klondike Trails network, Magnificent 7 and Pipe Dream are well worth a trip to Moab if you haven’t been recently.

The 2013 line up of packs in the Osprey cycling line were very well received by all. This is great news for us as the participants of Outerbike are dedicated cycling enthusiasts and their feedback means a lot to us. With the largest concentration of customer interactions coming first thing in the day and repeating at the end of the day, we were fortunate enough to get a few spins around the local trails ourselves. Here are a few pictures from a fabulous weekend:

Events, Osprey Life Moab, moab trail mix, mountain biking, Osprey Bike, Outerbike

Getting a quick ride in pre-OuterBike

High winds, rain and cold weather greeted us as we journeyed across the state line to Moab, Utah for the 2nd annual OuterBike event put on by the crew at Western Spirit Adventures. As we stood in the expo area, wrapped in down jackets, waiting for the winds to die down so the main tent could be erected, it was hard to believe that we roasted under sunny skies and 100 degree temperatures this same weekend the prior year. The heat in 2010 seemed to do very little in the way of discouraging participants, who came from all over North America, from getting out and having an absolutely fantastic experience.

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Adventure, Events Moab, Osprey Bike, Osprey Packs, Outerbike

Moab, Utah has arguably been considered the mountain bike capital of the US for many years. Of course, there are many that will dispute this claim stating that their location has better trails, more singletrack, or better weather. I even catch myself telling people that Moab is overrated and suggesting they ride in Fruita or Crested Butte or Park City instead. So when the 1^st annual Outerbike event was scheduled to be in Moab this year, I rejoiced in the fact that the event was only 100 miles from Osprey’s Packs corporate headquarters, but scoffed at the lack of really cool trails to truly test the demo bikes. Turns out I was wrong.

Moab truly is an awesome place for anything bike related. New (legal) trails are popping up everywhere, providing opportunities to ride sweet singletrack, slickrock expanses, or freshly paved bike paths in addition to the expansive array of 4WD roads left over from the Uranium mining boom. Fall scenery is absolutely spectacular ranging from bright yellow aspens on the high peaks of the LaSal mountains to the red rock canyons carved by the Colorado river.

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Adventure, Osprey Life, Photos Moab, Osprey Packs, Outerbike