The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: August ninth, getting stoked on slickrock.

For fat- tire bikers, Moab is mecca. Situated amid the canyonland deserts of southeast Utah, the town was settled in the 1850's by Mormon missionaries at one of the few Colorado River crossing points for hundreds of miles. Other than a brief uranium boom in the 1950's, Moab's been way out of the way, a dusty oasis along dry US 191.

All that's changed. These days Moab bustles with the commerce of modern recreation. Thirty years ago, hikers, campers, climbers and river rafters began to discover the beauties and bounties of the tortured terrain. Roads were paved into the water- carved redrock canyons and wind-sculpted sandstone buttes of Canyonlands and Arches National Parks to give motorists a glimpse of natural wonders so scenic and richly colored they seem digitally enhanced. Other backcountry areas have become stone playgrounds for peddlers.

On knobby tired steeds, mountain-bikers tackle treacherous ledges and steep trails to climb up into hidden playgrounds of stone. Acres broad sheets of slickrock, undulating domes of salmon-hued sandstone scoured smooth and marked only by the occasional dinosaur-paw print, become geological rollercoasters.

With training, even novice riders can free form, surfing ledges, edging canyons and skimming the rims of stony bowls. Perpendicularly pedaling across a steep, smooth rock slope feels like nothing short of magic - as long as you don't fall. It's sobering to remember Moab's tiny hospital has one of America's largest abrasion trauma units.

FMI One Moab mountain biking outfitter is Dirt Camp, which offers a variety of packages: 1-800- 711-3478 or www.dirtcamp.com.

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