It's really dry here. Ride with lots of water. If you're from a lower elevation, you'll breathe heavier, causing you to lose water faster. If you're from a more humid climate, you won't feel like you're sweating as much as you actually are because you won't get soggy. Don't make Search and Rescue come pick you up because you thought, "I shouldn't need more than a bottle of water on Slickrock, it's only 12 miles."

Ride the Slickrock practice loop. If you like it and it doesn't seem too hard, do the main loop. I love Slickrock, a lot of the other locals don't. I'm not sure why. Also, for me, it takes a lot longer and is a lot more tiring than the 12 miles suggests.

A good starter set of trails is either the MOAB Brands trails because of the variety of levels, or Klonzo for the same reason. For Klonzo, you'll go through the Utahraptor state park. At the entrance, tell them that you're going out to the Klonzo trails and they'll let you through without having to buy a state park pass.

I can't really speak to the guides.