Labor Day Triple Threat

So it wasn't much of an impressive ride list but it was riding none the less. After the moving process of the last month it felt great to get out and let some steam off. With the insane amount of humidity this weekend not much steam got let out. The stupid mosquitos drove me absolutely nuts this weekend as well with they're biting antics and the sores and itchiness it left me with tuesday morning. With that said the trails were great! I started off saturday at Case and it was a great ride as usual, I really like riding there it never gets old. I spent the next day at Nathan Hale which as some of you may know is a short minute down the road from me. I got my buddy Bentley to go with me and show him that we don't have to get in a miserable car ride in order to go biking. I hope his enthusiasm starts to increase before a ride because right now he shows no excitement before getting into the car. I hope this is to blame with his motion sickness and not his lack of fun during a ride. We tore up there in the mosquitos and humidity and made it out ok. Monday was a shorty, Bentley was slower than he has ever been and I don't know if it was due to the ride the day before which was nothing impressive or was due to some other thing. So we did a short ride at a slow pace to accommodate his needs. I actually found a really great loop this way and look forward to linking it to some other trails to make a bigger loop. All in all it was a great weekend and with alot of rain this week who knows when I will be out at it again. Hope for it soon!

Case reunion

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Hale with bentley

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Hale quicky

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Nathan Hale Home Ride

Between the headache and chaos of the last few weeks, we officially moved into the house on wednesday! Between a busy morning of moving things around while LuAnn attended school I got out and snuck out a little 90 minute ride. The ride was to be at Hale which is now a blistering 90 second pedal down the road to singletrack from my house! I am so incredibly lucky to live right on the border of the state forest. I also have Coventry lake just down the street at my disposal as well! Well the day was pretty warm and sunny which is always good conditions. Little did I know about the swarms of mosquitos that were awaiting me in the woods. With no bug spray I continued on into the woods were I soon met with a downed tree.....I was like nervous since it was on top of the first strip of trail I got on and was wondering if this was a sign of things to come. As I carried on to my surprise the trail was not too bad. The trail was littered with many small branches but nothing major. My singlespeed did a great job as it spit up and chewed up the pieces behind me. I was a bit nervous for my bike but nothing traumatic I could see coming from it. I removed alot of debris from the trail as I came across it, which unfortunately led to getting swarmed by the damn mosquitos. I did the best I could removing and riding but certainly was not clearing the entire trail. I know I will frequent here alot in the next weeks and I have plenty of time to do some clearing. The ride was good as I pressed onto the south end of the park and came across even more mosquitos and a three good sized down trees. For the amount of woods I was really surprised how many trees had not fallen. I was running out of time and tried a few ways back to the homestead but judging by the red lines on my everytrail you can see I failed....I should be getting out saturday for a good long ride if all goes well, I have ridden so little in the last 3 weeks it has made me sad but I am still working on that 1,000 mile goal for the year.

Hale welcome home

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Moving sucks

It's official....just moved for the 5th time today....things have been a mess for the last 2 weeks since we got back from visiting Utah and it is not over since I am typing this from a hotel room.....Please for the love of god give us POWER!

Good news is we got a house to rent! Another good thing is it is .3 miles from a top mountain biking state forest!!!!! soooo happy about that!

Good Rip At Huntington

Set off on yet another morning ride this morning. I awoke surprisingly not too sleepy so I got up and began my morning ritual and waited for light and was out the door. Got the tires and paws down at 6:15 and all was well, I could feel a little in my legs but I knew it was no big deal since Huntington is not a very hilly place. I headed down the gravel road and hopped onto a trail that was a good warmup being a mellow trail. Shot me out onto Blue gravel road where It brought be around the perimiter of the far eastern part of the park. It was very easy but I have been wanting to ride some unridden stuff for the moment and make sure I am not missing out on anything. Sure enough I was not missing out on anything and began a nasty ascent on a rock filled hill. I was on the north end which is my favorite part of this park, the sun was glimmering between trees and life was good. I hit the goods up north and then made my way over to another familiar trail and then hit the gravel road again to get back to the car. Starting to really miss my Case Mountain since I have not been in over a month. I should be back living in Manchester by sunday so monday will be a much needed reunion!

Goid rip @ huntington

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Huntington Cruise to Beating

Finally after 12 days of no riding I finally got back on the bike! I was able to ride my new frame which was no different than my old Raleigh just that this one was not cracked. The Raleigh rode a little funny as I hoppped on and started pedaling around, I think it's probably cause I had spent some 70+ miles on the buff Utah trails on that GT Sensor. It was great to be back on the trail today, I was a little hesitant since it had been weeks since i have been on a creepy morning ride. I had my buddy Bentley by my side so we could fight off anything coming our way. As I rounded the first corner I came face to face with a home boy deer with two of his ladies and they scampered off into the woods which was good cause me and Bentley were standing my ground. We rode off to the trail that skirts the lake so that we would have plenty of light cause the longer I stayed out of the thick forest the more the sun rose. I rolled through the trail having a bit of trouble with the technical, the SS along with not riding in awhile caught me off guard but it wasn't a big deal. Off to the parking lot and onto the good stuff, this is my favorite part of the trail system which lies on the north end of the park and is fun. I am still riding it clockwise and it appears from the trail that it is meant to be ridden counter but I enjoy it this way and will reverse it soon to see how it goes in the other direction. It was so great to have Bentley with me and be back. Did a good sized loop that was short on miles but good on trail so I finished it to get back and head to work.

Huntington casual to beat down

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Still Alive

Looks like my plan for a monday morning ride failed.....looks like 11th day of not riding.....tuesday morning ride or die!

Shoreline To Dry Creek To Bobsled

Visited an old friend today, the good old shoreline to bobsled route. I knew I had to return the bike tonight, so I knew I had to make this one my very last ride here in Utah. I managed to get in six rides which I have been extremely happy about! The shoreline section I was about to ride I have had a lot of good memories on, being on of the first trails I rode after I moved out west, also I have been pedaling there with my wife LuAnn. I could not help to think of her while I was riding and how thankful I am to have such a great woman in my life. The ride started at 6:15 which was going to be a great time, since the day was pretty hot, that time was going to allow me to get some shade and sun going down for a great ride. I began at the zoo trailhead and quickly began climbing the first stiff climb and felt immediately my heart go into a frenzy. I went to take drink since my throat was extremely dry and to my disappointment........no water. I sat the bag down on the bite valve which somehow manages to be the case 50% of the the time. Frustrated but dedicated I continued uphill in an effort not to think about having no water for the next 13 miles. Soon the trail leveled out and now I was quickly making my way along the old Bonneville Lake shoreline. The Bonneville lake was a prehistoric pluvial lake that covered most of the North American Great Basin. To most it would just seem like normal trail but there is a lot of history and geology under my tires. I was making my way north, cranking up the wide buff trails filled with dogs and walkers. I was rolling by the Red Butte Gardens and got to hear some good music at it is a concert venue just above the University of Utah. By now I was cranking my way back uphill behind the Huntsman Cancer Institute, where I usually can't help be grateful I am healthy and alive and it also makes me sad the people in there are fighting for their lives. It is always an eye opener when I ride through there. On to Dry Creek where I begin a hefty 1400 ft climb through a shaded canyon. As I entered there was a lot of water on the trail. More than I have seen in the last 5 years which surprised me. After a mile the water and puddles disappeared, and I was climbing my way up through a canyon I have before probably 50 times. I made the hairpin and began climbing steeply up the traverse and began to near the end of the 2nd to last climb. I turned the canyon and there was Salt Lake City in it's full glory. This was always my favorite part when the trail skirts the mountains 1,000ft above the city. Your so close to the beating heart of Utah but yet you have serenity up on the hills looking down. The trails dipped and twisted along the mountainside and was truly breathtaking. Soon olympic hill came and I conquered that mother. Soon it was a short ride to Bobsled which I took a minute at the top of and caught my breath for this awesome downhill. For those of you that have never heard of this trail, it is as it is called, walled like a bobsled track. Lots of jumps and features along the way to please all riders. I made it down safely, and made my way back through the neighborhood and then back to the trail and then traced my steps back. Incredible ride and can't wait until I get to visit again. Off to MOAB!
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Shoreline

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