chain tops
On-line Moab Souvenir Shop
Click on the "curios" cart for on-line sales of Moab souvenirs including bicycle jewelry, Native American arts and crafts, southwestern folk art and curiosities, minerals, rocks and fossils.


OTHER DESTINATIONS

AUTHORIZED DEALER

Lee Bridgers, Dreamride founder Running a lifestyle like a business since 1996.
STORIES | SAFETY INFO | MOUNTAIN BIKE SKILLS INFO | FILM SERVICES
GET TO KNOW OUR GUIDES | DK BRIDGER MUSIC
Moab man

Dreamride is environmentally focused. We aren't talking about our carbon footprint. We are talking tire tracks across pristine desert soil crust and inconsiderate trail building that leads to more tire tracks across fragile desert soils and degradation of sensitive habitat leading to imbalance and collapse of wildlife populations. Dreamride has the reputation for being environmental. You cannot buy that reputation by installing solar panels on your roof. And you cannot say you are environmental when your company is guiding big noisy groups through elk breeding habitat. Only those truly dedicated to profit will send guides and groups of a dozen or more over fragile living desert soils with dogs and kids in tow. We see them. You can ride with them. They are on Main Street, a continuing source of hoots. If you are under 25 years of age, they are your guides. Easy to find. Look for the great big sign, ADVENTURE. Dreamride of Moab, Utah Economic development in Moab, Utah is tourism and mining. Corporate tour companies, lodging providers, and off-road advocacy groups are clamoring to create more revenue and glory. We need more access. We need easier trails. We need trails for the physically challenged and brain damaged. We need trails for luxury SUVs of great size. Sometimes the tour company is owned by the head of the very political advocacy group behind the trail expansion in virgin desert and rare wildlife habitat in the mountains. This is the how it works. So much for politics.

So much for building trails. Riding and guiding is what we do. Will we guide you on the new trails? Hell yea. Once trails are in existence, being ridden by the general public, Dreamride's use is a positive step, taking the form of routine courtesy maintenance and oversight. We cannot stop the madness, but we can educate, care for and help our clients understand the value of being mindful of wildlife and beauty. And we have to admit sometimes a new trail can be a very good thing. This has a great deal to do with "visitation rate." At Dreamride we manage use much tighter than mandated by land management or private land owners. We know so many EXISTING trails and obscure memorized routes in the Moab area that we don't need new ones, but we are always scouting and learning.

Anasazi dwellingStraight up. If you want to experience the best of Moab, to work toward knowing this place and how to ride to preserve habitat, we will do that for you. Our groups are ALWAYS small, not as a slogan, but as a method of operation.

We only accept Earthlings on our tours. It just makes sense. Come ride with us. We make better sense to Earthlings.

Virgina Creeper rails to trails rideIt all started in rural North Carolina in the 50's. When I was in the second grade my dad gave me a Schwinn cruiser from the 40's with 24 inch wheels. It was my Rosebud. It took forty years to bloom into Dreamride. There have been many switchbacks and obstacles along the way, but this is how fine art mixes with a passion for cycling:

In 1973 while exercising my first true independence as a painter/songwriter in Amsterdam, I got my first experience guiding, pedaling up the Amstel River with stoned American tourists in tow, cruising through the Red Light District back when it was quaint and relatively safe. I continued this tradition while working as a professional musician, luthier and art teacher in San Francisco, where Miki and I raised our kids. We were among the very first mountain bikers in San Francisco, if not the very first. We didn't see any others when we first started riding off road in Gold Gate Park, the Presidio and Lands End. Cops would stop us on our cobbed up cruisers and ask us, "What is that you are riding?" In the 80's I finished a graduate degree in fine art film at the San Francisco Art Institute and went into a career as a teacher and film school administrator. I made one promise to myself: Any place I worked would have great mountain biking, or I would not accept the job.

Moab local on his daily commuteIn 1991, while running the Rocky Mountain Film Center and teaching film production at the University of Colorado at Boulder, I began to document the history through the tales of elders in and around Moab, Utah. Every month or so I dragged a ton of film gear and a student intern to Moab to shoot old folks. The 200 hours of interviews and matching footage, unedited, are a rare document of a times gone by. Many of the subjects have passed away---crusty cowboys, western artists, western film stars, western musicians, cowboy poets, right wing politicians, and local characters. Shooting this documentary I grew to love Moab, but during the process I was hired to start-up a technical film school for the University of North Carolina---a "dream job." I moved my family from our cabin home outside of Estes Park to Leesburg, North Carolina, hell on Earth. We rented a trailer at the back of a tobacco field next to the Caswell County Hunting Grounds, the best place to hunt turkeys on the east coast, and one of the best unknown mountain biking spots in the state.

Shaums March performing for the cameraIn less than a year the film school had a campus, curriculum was written, equipment purchased, teachers hired, and a singletrack wound around the 350 arce plantation where a Canadian film company built huge sound stages to take advantage of the cheap labor force of rural North Carolina and the newly educated film technicians I was training. Culture shock set in. I missed Moab. It was under my skin.

Racist, depressed, and chemically toxic rural North Carolina began to effect the health and safety of our family. Our cat was shot by hunters. It was time to go back west where people are, how-you-say? Friendlier? Happier? Healthier? Plus, there was the possibility to get another position teaching for a college in California. I had the inside track. I needed only to wait photography at Coyote Buttessix months. I looked forward to staying in Moab the entire time. So, we left Yanceyville, North Carolina, and headed for Utah, the "Right Wing Place to Be."

The punchline: We are in Moab because the Moab Post Office misplaced job application materials sent to me via General Delivery from North Carolina. Deadlines passed. We were stuck here, fish out of water, so we simply began to swim in the canyons and surf the rock.

I thank the Hollywood film industry, and MacGillivray Films in particular, for the location scouting job working on the IMAX "Everest" film. It was nice to have a private plane, helicopter and jeep for a couple of months to scout the area from the air and on the ground. I also thank the few professional photographers who hired me to take them places further from Moab. IMAX at Onion Creek

pygmy rattlerLin Ottinger deserves special thanks for housing our start-up business in his rock shop and within Lin Ottinger Land Tours, where I guided 4WD supported hiking trips on the White Rim alongside the seventy-year-old Ottinger. Meanwhile, Miki ran Lin's Moab Rock Shop. Within a month Dreamride was up and running as a mountain bike film services company, specializing in stunts and locations and permitting. We gained exposure on ABC's Good Morning America and in the film, "The Treasure of Dos Santos." Film production was a logical step after my work in Boulder where I provided equipment for mountain bike film and video productions, among other projects. In retrospect, the film service angle was a cockeyed idea. Mountain bike stunts were rare in big budget films, but the idea worked just long enough to support our move into guided mountain bike rides and high-end equipment.

Anasazi ruins in the Abajo MountainsMeanwhile, Lin Ottinger provided a library of information (truth, weird western stories, lies and damn lies) on local history, natural science, tour industry basics, Moab geology and geography, and a grasp of obscure areas and special trails around Moab, unknown to all but the most adventuresome. It was Lin who opened our eyes to the idea of offering bike day tour series on trails he made as a prospector in the 50's, 60's and 70's. It was Lin who told us to stay small, who pointed out that big dinosaurs die off, but the smallest of them are still flying around. Being small means being capable of offering personal, detailed services. It allows us to turn on a dime when bad weather pops up or an opportunity arises. There are plenty of Brontosaur tour companies lumbering along on overused trails in a mass of 15 to 30 people (sometimes many more) with gas powered sag wagons and tons of cheap gear, screwing up the peace and quiet of every campground they visit and widening every trail they ride on.

We focused on very small groups from the start--REALLY small groups of no more than four riders and a guide. In order to make the rides more enjoyable and safe we discovered each group ride needed to be skills-specific. This way everyone gets the most out of the experience and no one is ridiculed simply because they cannot keep up. With these methods we provide a higher level of challenge and safety for mature skilled riders and novices alike.

Moab mountain biking done right
After 15 years in operation, the Bureau of Land Management considers Dreamride the best example of a mountain bike tour company, the only company with a clean environmental record. No other company can say that, even after a year of operation! We leave little trace of our passing and try to make each trip environmentally positive by doing routine maintenance on the very trails we ride. We don't camp. Those Kokopelli and White Rim camping tours offer about 20 miles of riding a day with the rest of your time gabbing around the campsite. Those campsites, by the way, are contaminated with human feces and debris. Frankly, we would rather ride hard, get in a jet tub and sleep in a comfy bed, then get up the next morning and do it again, so that is exactly what we provide. If we don't enjoy something, we don't offer it. Where would you rather be after a hard ride? A bed or a sleeping bag? A shower in a nice inn or a squat over a smelly pit toilet?

sea turtle viewingOver the years we expanded private vacations to offer the Big Island of Hawaii, taking advantage of friends and knowledge gained when we lived on the island for a year in the mid 70's when I was a surf bum. On the island we only offer high end services for couples who are into watersports as well as cycling (road and/or mountain).

In the late 90's Miki and I were adopted into Navajo family and soon hired Navajo guides to offer rides and cultural trips on the reservation. Navajo reservation trips were also found to be most appropriate for private couples. Understanding the inability for white people to see culture that does not aspire to greed as anything other than poverty, we seldom recommend Navajo Lands to anyone other than the most interested driven guests. The riding is amazing (and dangerous), but only for a very few people.

Monument Valley We have streamlined operations to get directly to the heart of mountain biking. This means solid, safe, equipment, designed for the rugged trails in Moab. Other tour companies lobbied to knock obstacles down on local trails, so that they could safely herd 75 novices at a time (read Gemini Bridges Trail). Meanwhile, we designed our more rides away from crowds, utilizing old mining roads and memorized routes over barren slickrock expanses. We designed and built equipment that was safer over rough trail, making the need for an "easy trail" in Moab unnecessary. From the start, as part of the film stunt service, I was co-designing full suspension bikes with select mountain bike manufacturers. This eventually led to DREAMRIDE BIKES Estes Parkand authorized dealerships for the best in-house frame manufacturers in the world. In 2004 we expanded into exotic road bikes and tours. We carry frames and bikes from MOOTS, VENTANA, and the legendary DARIO PEGORETTI, along with our own DREAMRIDE BICYCLES. I build the bikes myself and guide and organize BIKE PURCHASE COMBO VACATIONS personally.

In 2004 we purchased a unique commercial property in Moab, a small split level home built by a miner on a hill above the Bullock Park Wetlands Preserve in a cul de sac one block west of Main Street. We are located in the center of town, just feet from the Gonzo Inn, Moab's best lodgings. We are within easy walking distance of downtown shops and restaurants. We turned the funky home into a unique lodging for special guests and guides, and attached a 600 square foot bicycle studio. The grounds provide a mountain bike skills course, parking, a sweatlodge/firepit and a place to BBQ and hangout next to the most prolific wildlife area in valley and beyond. A singletrack leads from our door into a network dirt trails and to the town's BMX park. The paved Mill Creek Bikeway just behind the shop leads to the base of Sand Flats Road and the Slickrock Bike Trail. Dirt trails west give us access to classics like Amassa Back and Moab Rim Trail. This special location allows us to serve guests in a very quiet, relaxed and comfortable setting. Our location also facilitates RIDES FROM TOWN. Even when town is crowded, there is peace at the end of our street.

A Northern Dineh film student once told me, "Great Spirit provides food, water, clothing and shelter. The one true gift we offer each other is understanding." When the endorphines kick in at the top of the hill and the moment freezes, you realize what Dreamride does is get you to a place where you remember how precious and mysterious the world is. We have prepared you with respect and concern for your safety, as well as the safety of the natural flora and fauna. It may be the sun reflecting on rain-soaked slickrock against a steel gray sky. It may be a talking raven. It may be a perfect double rainbow, or a pastel sunrise, or both at once. It could be the way the bike lands off a rock ledge, or it could be all of these things. Our clients and guides call it the "Dreamride Moment."
                                                                                     ~Lee Bridgers

Below is a most recent testimonial (May 25th of 2009) from a client a native of Singapore, an extremely talented rider who originally called Dreamride asking for a guided ride on the Porcupine Rim Trail. He ended up with an Elite ride series with Lee as his guide. This is what Dreamride does for people who show respect for Lee's abilities, concern for the environment, and honesty about their skills and fitness:

      "I had the honor of having Lee Bridgers himself (founder of Dreamride) guide me on some of the best (and little-known: who wants to see hundreds of other riders out on the trail? That just the spoils the magic of it...) trails out in Moab. All I can say is WOW - it proved to be an adventure of a lifetime that went WAY beyond my expectations.
      "I was looking for a no-frills, genuine, 'hardcore' mountain bike experience in what has been heralded as the mecca of mountain biking; I got all that and much more. Highly-personalized rides, lessons in geology and wildlife, historical tidbits and awareness of the natural environment: it was all part of the package. Many unthoughtful and ignorant mountain bikers have been guilty of upsetting the balance of Moab's extremely fragile ecosystem, and if this continues, we may not in future be able to enjoy the trails that we so enjoy today. Lee teaches us how not to be such a mountain biker.
      "Indeed an adrenaline-filled, breathtaking, epic adventure that also appeals to one's soul and conscience. Highly recommended. You CANNOT find a better guide elsewhere, period."
~ Shing Ee Tan," May 25, 2009 ~ Feel free to contact Shing, if it might help you to understand the unique aspects of what we offer.

picture of Lee Bridgers by Shing Ee Tan, May, 2009
Lee Bridgers ~ MBA author bio

Click on STORIES for a free sample of stories and articles by Lee Bridgers.

For more information on charter trips to other places, click on LOCATIONS AND SERVICES.

Our guides are not your run-of-the-mill variety college dropouts looking to slack their way through life without a real job. Dreamride guides are NOT trained to clean chemical toilets or drive the sag wagon. Dreamride guides really ride and are educated professionals who have more to offer than simple conversation and an energy bar. Click on MOAB GUIDES for brief bios.

Dreamride

press and pictures

Dreamride has been featured on television and in a number of publications and magazines worldwide, such as MOUNTAIN BIKE, MOUNTAIN BIKING, DIRT RAG, MOUNTAIN BIKE ACTION, THE NEW YORK TIMES, ABC'S GOOD MORNING AMERICA, STUFF, SHAPE, MAX, MAXIM, SUNSET, and AUSTRAILIAN WAY. Below is a small sample of press clippings, along with slideshows of various tours and events.

In 2009 Dreamride was listed in BICYCLING MAGAZINE as one of the ten best bicycle studios in the country.

Sunset Magazine"I learned a ton about biking, as well as about the area, during three days of riding with Dreamride, which leads clinics and tours. Having spotters gave me the courage to try routes that were more difficult than I'd normally attempt. During the breathtaking descent back, I found myself riding down ledges I wouldn't have gone anywhere near just two days earlier." ~ Sunset Magazine, October 2002

Mountain Biking"Dreamride specializes in smaller groups, they'll even take out one rider. They have a reputation for taking riders way off the beaten path and into interesting technical areas and even out to petroglyphs." ~ Mountain Biking Magazine

QANTAS magazine review"One of America's most prestigious mountain bike schools." ~ Qantas Australian Way Magazine

MAX magazine review"Moab's world famous MTB school. The world's premier MTB tour company." ~ Max Magazine

MBA"Dreamride's unique custom tours focus on pure mountain biking and hiking, solitude, wilderness, challenge, bizarre rock formations, photography, natural and local history and archeaology." "The guys at Dreamride are fanatics who offer vacations for hardcore riders demanding the best. Unlike other tour companies that offer hundreds of vacations or corral 30 riders per trip, Dreamride offers highly personalized vacations for groups of five, and that includes the guide!" "One of America's top tour companies." ~ Mountain Bike Action Magazine.

Good Morning AmericaDreamride's Moab SKILLS CAMPS, stunt demonstrations, and four wheel drive trips were featured on ABC's Good Morning America. "Just like Lee said I would, I dreamt about it." ~ Kevin Newman

Click on Slideshow of Dreamride Vacation for Moab sample.
Click on Slideshow of Dreamride Hawaii Vacation for Hawaii sample.
Click on Slideshow of Dreamride Skills and Photo Clinic for skills camp sample.
Click on Slideshow of Photo Shuttle for photography vacation.

GET THE GUIDEBOOK


Moab guidebook This guidebook was written primarily for our guests. Purchase one prior to your vacation with Dreamride and use its environmental, safety and local history information to enrich the experience. Bring it with you and have the author sign your copy.

"There are trail guides; and then there's the real deal." ~ Bike Magazine

"This guide is setting a new standard for guidebooks. Lee Bridgers' first-hand accounts give the reader a sense that they have some behind-the-scenes information about Moab." ~ Brian Fiske, Senior Editor of Mountain Bike Magazine

Lee Bridgers' Moab guidebook is available in bookstores around the world. To order a signed copy from Dreamride call 1-888-MOABUTAH.

to reserveVacation CatalogDreamride HomepageReservationsScheduling

Call 1 (888) MOAB UTAH in the states.
If you are calling from foreign shores the number is 435-259-6419.
FAX number is 435-259-8196.
or write to:

Dreamride
P.O. Box 1137
Moab, UT 84532

For email contact information click on:
CURRENT DREAMRIDE EMAIL ADDRESS

copyright Dreamride 1997 None of the material, written, graphics, or photographs, may be broadcast, published, re-written, re-edited, or used in any way outside of this site without the written consent of Dreamride Mountain Bike Tours and Film Services and Lee Bridgers. Use of this site signifies agreement to terms of use.
Elite guide and vacation service upgrade. Custom Bike Purchase and Vacation Package Moab 3 day mountain bike vacation Moab 3 day mountain bike and/or road ride series Moab 5 day mountain bike vacation Moab 5 day ultimate slickrock mountain bike vacation Two to six day guided mountain bike package pricing. Moab slickrock skills clinics Bicycling the Roads of Canyon Country Guided day hikes around Moab Moab area photo trips and clinics Fruita 3 day mountain bike vacation Navajo Reservation mountain biking Dineh cultural tours in Arizona Big Island active combos Private San Francisco Cycling Vacations for Couples

The Spy from Weirdsboro memoir