Like all great adventures our trip to the Captain Ahab trail started by my buddy watching a youtube video about the trail.  Sure he lives in the flat lands of the East Coast and had zero experience with the rock drops that are so common along Moab's mountain bike trails, but the youtube video made it look so easy.  The video made it look like anyone could do it. We rode to the trail from the bike shop in downtown Moab. The trail is close enough to ride directly from town, if you are in reasonable shape.  

The guys in the video were a little more experienced than we were.  After the first few drop offs I was thinking this could take all day and my friend was not as enthused anymore.  I didn't want to micro manage his riding so I gave him a few tips and then just let him try and figure it out for himself.  

Luckily he is a natural athlete and it didn't take him too long to get the hang of the trail.  He also learned that the builders of the trail didn't want to kill anyone so even though the ledges looked deadly they are all easy to roll over and relatively safe.  By the time we got to the bottom, he was leading the way.  He actually got so good at riding Moab's terrain that when we hit the Whole Enchilada a few days later I could hardly keep up with him.

If you have time, or just a sharp eye, the trail passes right by the Owl Panel.  This the best and most well preserved petroglyph site close to town.  To locate the panel from the bike trail look for a large alcove just as you cross the small creek on the Cliff Hanger Jeep Trail.  The panel is to the left of the alcove.  You can hike up to it but you might not want to if you are wearing clip in bike shoes.

The starting point to this trail is along Kane Springs Road.  We just road from town due to limited parking along the Amasa parking lot.  It was once required to ride from the Amasa parking lot about a half mile up the dirt road to the Cliff Hanger Jeep Trail to access the trail.  However, the winter of 2019/20 Moab Trail Mix linked an access trail from the parking area to the trail thus eliminating the road portion of the trail.