For many Americans the Memorial Day weekend marks the beginning of summer and summer travel. Well, that may work for many Americans, but for the three of us that rode the May Trail of the Month it just didn't come soon enough. Itching for a road trip and wanting to feel the hot days of summer on our skin, we packed up a truck and headed across the state line for a weekend trip to Moab, Utah.

Not intending to find a Trail of the Month, but instead trying to escape the routine of life the three of us -- Michael, Dwight, and I -- made quick plans to head over to Moab and camp.

Some of the hardest of obstacles that were encountered happened before we had a chance to leave the Denver parking lot. To begin, none of us had a suitable truck to travel with. My truck was desperately in need of some repair that left if unworthy of highway travel. Michael's truck was also in need of some serious automotive repair. That left Dwight's truck that runs like a champ, but is a Nissan extended cab pick-up. Imagine if you will, three guys, each 6 feet tall or more, squeezing into this thing for a six-hour road trip. Well, we didn't take pictures, but I'm sure it looked a lot like the Barnum and Bailey clowns trying to fit into a VW Bug.

The cab was so full, everything else had to fit in the back of the pick-up. This included camping gear for three guys plus three bikes. Up to that point everything fit like a glove. Then we saw the only thing left to pack was a beer cooler for the post ride campfire. Excited to leave, but worried we would have to choose between the camping gear and beer cooler, we shuffled things around several times before we were able to fit everything into the back of the truck. Once everything was tied down, the back of the truck looked a lot like the one on the old TV show "Sanford and Sons," but we got it to fit so we headed out of Denver.

We left around 6 pm on a Friday, which probably isn't the best time to leave if you are expecting to find a camping space in Moab. Camping is abundant, but so are the number of people visiting the area. We rolled into Moab around midnight and continued to look for a camping area until 1 a.m. Fruitless from the endeavor we ended up finding a-not-so-desireable spot next to the river, whipped out the sleeping bags, and called it a night. The best thing about the camping spots in Moab is that they are constantly in a state of change. We woke up early, went searching for a camping space, found it, set up camp, and started our biking weekend.

Wanting to ride Slickrock simply because it is a staple of mountain biking in Moab, we were torn between riding the famous, but busy trail, or a not so famous trail that would have fewer riders. Spoiled by our first ride of the weekend over Flat Pass, where we rode the entire trail in complete solitude, we opted for the less famous -- but no less impressive -- Amasa Back.

We parked at the second of two parking areas. Had we started at the first, the only difference would have been another ¼ mile of dirt road on which to warm up. After the initial dirt road warm up you begin jeep trail that takes you down a steep section that includes several ledges which allows the gutsy riders to ride off, and the not so gutsy (and uninsured) to dismount and walk down. This is probably the most difficult section of the trail, both uphill and downhill. In general, Amasa Back is not an overly technical trail, nor is it an extremely grueling climb, but there are sections, like this one, that will certainly be both. The initial climb out of the canyon is rather difficult, with large rock obstacles and deep sand, but once you get past that the trail becomes really fun.

Imagine riding on a trail that isn't a dirt road, where you can ride three abreast, and still feel like your riding skills are being challenged. It is the strangest feeling, but this trail delivered just that. It was a relatively short out-and-back trail, but we added a bunch of time and distance to the trip with all the playing around we did on the slickrock.

During the ride Dwight had the bad luck of getting three flat tires. Unfortunately for him, his bad luck was twofold. While he was head down trying to fix the flat tires, Michael and I were able to keep our head's up and look around. Fortunately for us he flatted out on some of the most scenic parts of the trail. We ended up just kicking back, eating some food, and enjoying the views. Of course, once you get out of the canyon walls I don't think there is a bad place to enjoy the view on this trail. Rock formations, distant mountains, and canyon floors really give this trail some depth and really make you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere, even though town isn't that far away.

The top of the trail is marked by a USGS survey marker located right on top of the canyon walls. Standing there would certainly give people who are slightly fearful of heights a feeling of "Well that's nice, time to go!" If truth be told, I'm not a fan of heights and I did have that gut feeling, but the views were so cool I made myself stay and take it all in.

The descent emphasized the fact that we weren't in Colorado anymore. Riding down the slickrock, knowing I had total control of my bike, I felt great knowing that solid ground would be there after any air time I had from jumping off ledges. We had tons of fun on the descent, but in all the excitement I forgot about the final ascent back to the dirt road, not to mention that the lack of a breeze and the mid-May sun made for an incredibly hot finish to the ride. While I drained the last couple drops from my water bottle -- the third one of the day -- I tried to think about how hot Moab will be during the dog days of summer and the thought was not a pleasant one.

We rode for two days before leaving Moab and wished we had another two weeks to spend. If you find that your trip has to be a short one like ours, and you're interested in a shorter ride that offers a little bit of everything Moab is know for, I'd certainly recommend Amasa Back.