50 Miles in 7 Hours

Saltair... 20 miles west of SLC

Hi all,
“Have you ever ridden a long ride with Scouts?” That was the question posed to me early Saturday morning as I prepped for a 50-miler with a local scout group. I had volunteered to ride along as an extra (the second!) adult rider with this small group as a favor to a gentleman I work with. I replied, “Not in the past thirty years!” The scout leader laughed, and told me that the day might be a bit longer than I envisioned. He was right. I had forgotten that these young men were not serious riders, did not have road bikes, and were merely fulfilling either a merit badge or distance award criteria. So, I had come along with the misconception that we would be riding at a decent pace, and make a quick day of it.
Before I go any further, I need to mention that five of our eight boys completed the day. They did a great job of riding a long distance, ate plenty of snacks, and except for some very tired legs and sore butts, had a great day. And when I took a step back and looked at their bikes, their experience, and the level of training, I became even more proud of them.

Our Intrepid Group...

The ride started early Saturday morning at dawn, with a temperature hovering around 42 degrees. Several boys rode up wearing jeans and a shirt, no hat, no gloves, riding old mountain bikes, and one boy rode a small-wheeled BMX bike! Clearly, at the offset, I was worried about how the day would go.

Ok, so we took a wrong turn on to the Wing Pointe Golf Course!

The day actually went just fine save for a rather pedantic pace, lots of stopping and waiting around for the stragglers, and of course plenty of restroom and snack breaks. The route was from Woods Cross, a suburb in Davis County northeast of the Salt Lake City Airport, through farmland and industrial areas, then south of the airport, past the international center, along the frontage road paralleling I-80 to the old Saltair Resort, and back the same way.

Waiting for the snack truck...

The route was almost perfectly flat, with a few small gentle grades. We enjoyed the bike path that runs on airport property, and makes a safe transition along I-80. The weather was chilly in the morning and eventually warmed up after noon.

The only major issue was ride safety. The boys were fearless, and seemed like they had little experience riding close the right side, and also we seemed to get spread out to quite a distance through the day. It was a much different experience than I have encountered on any group rode before. I spent the entire day looking furtively in my rear-view mirror to see how the riders were doing, while keeping an eagle eye on the ones ahead.

All in all it was an interesting experience. I learned that we as a community need to provide much more education on bike/road safety, that young teens have a much different perspective towards riding, and that I tend to take my current level of training and skills for granted.

I bet they could ride circles around me on dirt!
See you down the road.
Jim

Four Bits: Ride #1

Hi all,
Well, you missed an historic moment this afternoon; a recumbent rider on his first rookie mountain bike trail ride. Now, I have over 5,000 miles on recumbents, and have been riding bikes since I can remember. But, in one 45-minute ride, I was thrust back to the beginning of the cycling learning curve. Yes, I kept the bike on the trail, no, I didn’t fall on my butt. Yes, I had a fun, relaxing, and enjoyable time.

I am on a terrible work schedule this week that has kept me from any long rides before or after work. But, I did get off work today early enough to drive up to the Bonneville Shoreline trailhead (about 4 miles from the house) and spent an hour or so trying out my new mountain bike, Four Bits.

It was an education to say the least. I now need to start learning brand new riding techniques. In no particular order, I need to learn how to: Manage steep downhills; keep the front wheel on the ground on steep uphills; Learn how to use these new fangled trigger shifters; find an easy, safe, and accessible place for the camera; and finally, learn some trail etiquette about what trails I can ride, and how to stay out of the way of other riders.

I am sure this list will get longer, and more detailed, but for just my first outing, it was an eye-opening experience in learning how to ride something new. I shall never, ever, laugh at someone who wobbles on their first recumbent ride.

Sunset over Antelope Island

Looking to the southwest...

Happiness is the bike you ride. Enjoy the a few pictures from this afternoon’s outing.

Jim

A New Member of the (bike) Family...

Hi All,
Well, there are some changes in the bike department here in Utah. I am now the owner of a new bike! Yes, it’s true. But, it’s not a recumbent! Blasphemy you say! Heretic! Rebel! Non-conformist!

All true. After all, as I have said many times, the best bike for you (or me) is the one you will ride! Here’s a little background. In 2006 I hiked the mountain bike trail to Desolation Lake supporting the Wasatch 100 mile endurance race. As I hiked along, I met a dozen or so mountain bike riders, and the thought occurred to me that I could have just as easily ridden this route, rather than hoof along for 4.5 miles. So, that idea has been percolating for over a year to add a mountain bike to the garage and do some trail riding here in the Wasatch Range. Over the last summer whenever I was in the local bike stores, I would browse the mountain bikes, and check out their features and cost. In August, I had the opportunity to ride Pastor Bob Kaylor’s Specialized Hard Rock around the trail near Park City Community Church. What a fun bike! Light, responsive, and just the class of bike I needed.

Last week, the mail brought the final piece to the equation; the end of season clearance sale coupon! That was enough to send me over the edge. So, this past week, I became the proud owner of a Cannondale F7 Dual Disc mountain bike.

The shopping experience would have made my son Paul proud. It was a delicate dance around my requirements, the amount of money in my pocket, the size and features of the available bikes, and of course, the color too! The salesperson was quite helpful, walking me the length of the line of inventory that stretched from $250.00 all the way to $5,000 dollars! Eventually we settled on the Cannondale; the right size, a lovely color, a manageable cost, and the dual disc brakes a neophyte like myself should have.

What to call the bike? Well, that’s easy! The bike shall be called “Four Bits!” Named after where the money came from! You see, for years I have kept a small white box that I use to collect quarters. This helps me save pin money for bikes, and keeps me away from the soda and candy vending machines. Over half of the money for the Cannondale came from the little white box, hence the appropriate name!

So, now, I will train on the Little Red Bike for long distance brevets, use Four Bits to become a stronger climber, and enjoy the Wasatch in my backyard.
Now, if it will only stop snowing!
Jim

Snowbird

Hi all,
Yesterday, I crossed the last cycling goal for 2007 off my list, Little Cottonwood Canyon. This lovely road to the Snowbird and Alta ski resorts is one of the steepest canyon rides in the local area. Just 6.4 miles to Snowbird and 8 miles to Alta, it raises almost 4,000 ft!
Steep is an accurate description. Thank goodness it was an absolutely gorgeous day, and I had my camera, giving me an excuse to stop often and take pictures! Yesterday’s ride will go in the log as quite possibly the most beautiful ride I have had all year. The sky, the fall colors, the snow, the fresh air, simply amazing.

By the way, the descent was thrilling, too!
Enough said, enjoy some pictures.
Jim

Too Nice to Stay Inside

It was the perfect reason to go for a ride. I had been working in the garage, and sort of mindlessly watching the Broncos play mindless football. But, it had become stunningly beautiful outside, and I decided that since football is on every weekend in the fall, and since the Broncos weren’t actually playing football today, that I would go for a ride. After three consecutive Saturday’s with rain mixed with snow, this Sunday afternoon was beautiful. I headed west towards the island to enjoy the clear skies, and the snow covered mountains from a wide perspective, and get around 50 km in the log.

Kathy is in Chicago visiting our grandson, and she took my small Nikon digital camera to take pictures of Brian. This presented as choice. I could just enjoy the scenery and just bear with the fact of not having a camera along, or, I could find a way to carry my Nikon D-50. Usually, I would not have taken the D-50 on the bike, but I was struck by the beauty of the sky, and couldn’t resist the opportunity for great pictures. Ever the adventurer, and not wanting to admit defeat, I wrapped the D-50, and found a safe place in the bag for it to fit securely.

This turned out to be a great decision. I was out on the causeway, taking wide-angle pictures of the island, the mountains, and enjoying the perfect day. As I rode east towards the mainland, I saw in my rear-view mirror what looked to me like an airplane. Now, if you can see an airplane in the rear-view mirror of a recumbent, that airplane would have to be pretty darn low! So, I stopped the bike, looked west, and saw two ultra-lights flying down either side of the causeway!

As quick as I could, I grabbed the camera out of the seat bag and as well taught by my dad, just started “pushing the damn button!” I was rewarded for my efforts. Three years of riding out around the island, and I had never seen these to brave (crazy) pilots. They were flying east along either side of the causeway, and I lost them when they got over land. Don’t know where they came from, don’t know where they landed, but they looked like they were having fun!

Sometimes, you just never know what you'll see on the bike!
Jim

Mill Creek Canyon, the 2007 Edition

Hi all,
Fall is here, and with the advent of fall, comes early snow, fall colors, and canyon hill climbing.
Yesterday, I took the time to enjoy my first canyon hill climb of the season.

Mill Creek Canyon was windy, cool, devoid of many people, and full of fall colors. Now, if we stick to the main subject of this blog and talk about the technical aspects of the ride, this will turn into a very boring post about chain rings, spin rate and the like. But for now, I would rather help you visualize the peace and quiet, the stiff winds, the lovely color, and the joy of being able to be outside on the bike on a nice fall day.

This was one of those days where I really didn’t care about my average speed, didn’t care about my cadence, heart rate, or anything else. I was just out enjoying the day.

Snow. Yes, I even found some snow at the top end of the canyon. Not a lot, but off to the side of the road on the south side that never gets any sun. This weekend’s weather forecast is calling for more, and perhaps the gate at Mill Creek will close for the season. So, I am even happier that I was able to enjoy this ride before the proverbial door closes.

Wind. Yes, there was a lot of wind. Strong from the south, it swirled in the canyon, making for a very interesting descent in the afternoon.

Fall Colors. Beautiful hues of red, gold, green, and layers and layers of color.
Peace and Quiet; Mill Creek is especially peaceful on weekdays, I think I saw no more than 8-10 cars during my 8.5-mile climb.

Time. I spent more time stopping to take pictures, listening to the rushing water in the creek, and breathing the fresh air than I did concentrating on riding the bike.
As it should be.

Happy Fall Riding.
Jim

Skewered in Oakley

Looking west, towards Mt. Timpanagos, and Soldier Hollow

This past Saturday brought the fun and adventure of Heber Century. This was to be a great ride. The Heber and Midway areas are quite scenic, plus the added fun of riding to Soldier Hollow (the Nordic ski venue for the 2002 Winter Olympics) where riders were invited to shoot at the Biathlon range. The forecasted weather was for mild and sunny early, turning stormy, windy and rainy after lunch. The forecast turned about to be very accurate.

Fall colors near Wasatch Mountain St. Park

This ride had the possibility of being very educational, and I was looking for the opportunity to evaluate my level of cycling fitness and skills in certain areas; climbing, and riding in rain and high wind. Of course, if one plans for certain challenges and learning experiences, the ride always seems to result in completely different, spontaneous, and unpredictable learning experiences.

This of course, is what happened. Yes, there were high winds, and yes, there was rain in the afternoon, and of course there were several long climbs during the ride. But what I didn’t plan for was a mechanical issue that brought an early end to the adventure. And the funny thing was that on the surface, it seemed like such a minor issue, but it slowly ended up being a factor in ending my day at 82 miles.

Shooting "clean" at the range
A skewer; the front skewer to be exact. Somehow, sometime, the threads on the front skewer that fastens the wheel to the front fork became ever so slightly stripped. The issue that brought the ride to a halt is that the front wheel would not stay true and straight in the fork. So, I would dog down the skewer, the wheel straight and rolling free. Then, after a few miles I would notice that my pace was very slow, and taking a lot of effort. Checking the front wheel, I would find it rubbing hard against the brake shoe. So, I would repeat the process and start again. 2 miles on, 2 miles off.

The offending Skewer
So then I had the idea that I would unhook the front brake and ride to the finish. But, it occurred to me that there was a huge downhill from the Jordanelle overlook back down to the Heber valley, and that I would be riding 45-50 mph in rain, with only one brake. Ummmm…. Dumb idea. So, after all the wheel issues, 2 flats, helping with another, the wind and rain, I called Kathy from the Oakley rest stop, and said: “Come and get me.”

The new rear fender
I did learn a lot on this ride. First and foremost, the Heber valley is gorgeous with the resplendent fall colors. From a technical standpoint I learned that:
I still can shoot straight at the Biathlon Range at Soldier Hollow.
I can climb big hills, just slowly.
I rocket down big hills – top speed for the day: 48 mph.
I wore the right clothing for the day.
My new rear fender worked great.
I drank plenty of fluids, and ate well.
Mechanical issues suck.

So, what’s next? Getting a new skewer is obviously first. But, what about the rest of the year? I am not sure I am up to the climbing of the Zion 200 km Brevet on December 1st. A fellow rider on the Heber ride mentioned steep switchbacks up to Zion. So, I need to ponder and decide if I will be up to it. After all, long training rides will be few and far between in November. Other than that, it is time for some rest, and then some canyon riding.

Happy Fall Colors!
Snow on the mountains this morning!
Jim

Monday News

Photo from my friend, Dorothy, of the UK.
(Jim, off the designated trail, again)

Happy Monday All.
I am writing this week’s edition while waiting for the sun to come up before my usual Monday ride. Today’s ride is a bit ironic as I am riding down to Farmington to pay my car registration at DMV. Wouldn’t be grand if cars were unlicensed and we had to wait in long lines to get our bikes registered? The rest of this week’s riding will be low miles and low intensity as I am riding the Heber Valley Century this coming Saturday. I have this rare but odd hope of sort being rested before the ride. To that end I spent this past weekend off the bike, eating well, and getting lots of sleep. Hopefully, the rest of the week will be mellow and I can launch off the start line rested and energetic.

In other news, I have been asked to participate on the Davis Bike Advocacy and Advisory Committee. I was contacted my Mark Kennedy, proprietor of Saturday Cycles, a small but very nice custom cyclery shop in Centerville. I had finally made it down one Saturday to visit and ogle some fine bikes in his shop. He also had some nice racks and Arkel saddlebags. The two items that caught my eye the most were the Shimano hub generator, and a lovely Redline 925 single-speed bike. I have toyed with the idea of a mountain bike, or a single-speed for off-season training, cross training, and perhaps to ride a trail or two. The Redline was a lovely little bike with fun mustache handlebars. Luckily for the budget's sake, the Redline was a 54 cm frame, and a bit too small!

Isn't it cute?
After my visit to the shop, Mark wrote me an E-mail asking about DBAAC, and I have accepted his invitation. Bicycle advocacy in Davis County is most definitely necessary, and perhaps I can help in some way. I am open to any and all advice from any readers who are involved in advocacy!


Note the Shimano Hub Generator.
And finally, one of my readers mentioned to me that he reads a lot of blogs just for the pictures! And it occurred to me that writing this blog has always been a challenge to either tell a story using photography, or to paint a picture through language. Perhaps in a later edition I will try both. One post with only photographs, and the next one painting pictures through language. An interesting thought, isn’t it?
Speaking of photographs, enjoy this last photo of some giant peaches we found at the grocery. I bought 5.5 lbs, of peaches and there were only 5 in the bag! Mmmmmm cobbler….


Yummy Peaches!

Have a great week.

Jim

Chasing Numbers

3,000 miles.
Yesterday evening, riding back from the Bridger Bay Campground on Antelope Island, the odometer on the Little Red Bike ticked over 3,000 miles.
It is an amazing number to me, 3,000 miles; roughly the same distance from San Francisco to New York City. In long distance endurance cycling, it is not an especially big number; about 1/3 of a riding season for my friend Pete in Australia. But to me however, it is quite a milestone.

It seems like just yesterday I unwrapped the Little Red Bike (the Barcroft Virginia GT) from its boxes, padding, and bubble wrap. On that exciting November evening, I even took the bike for a short spin in the dark! Who could’ve just put the bike in the garage until the next morning! Now, 115 rides and 22 months later, I find that the bike and I have had quite an adventure. From southern Idaho, to my first 200 Km Brevet to Tropic, Utah, to the top of Emigration Canyon, and of course every inch of asphalt on Antelope Island, the bike has taken me many places. I never even dreamt that I would be writing a blog about my adventures, or that folks as far away as Qatar and Australia have taken the time to read my missives.

I realize that cycling is more than logging miles, and assessing goals. But chasing the numbers seems to be part of my make up. A mileage goal for a year; how many days to retirement (note the ticker to the right!); what is my average speed today? How many miles per month am I riding? Tracking the climb ratio on my GPS, always putting my miles on the header, and entering the miles into the Excel Spreadsheet… it goes on and on.

I sometimes wonder if I would be any faster, more efficient, or perhaps even happier if I had not tracked a single mile, logged a ride, or even never put a cycle computer on the bike; Just to simply ride the bike. Ever watched a child on a bike? They couldn’t care less; just the wind in their faces is enough for them…Hmm, something to ponder, isn’t it?

I wonder what will the next 3,000 miles bring?

Jim

PS: I just added some new links on the right hand side of some great blogs from other Randonneurs. Also, take note of Tandemania's blog, too. He has been a loyal reader, and has left comments here, so the least I could do is add him to my list.....JFR

Why Have Just One?

Hi All,
A few loyal readers have asked about the caption in the previous post regarding one of Utah’s little known treasures; Polygamy Porter. Locally brewed and bottled by Wasatch Brewery, it is a fine dark beer that is perfect for those warm evenings after a 50- mile bike ride.

But where did the term Polygamy Porter come from? What’s the gag? For those of you who may not know, Utah and the early Mormon culture have roots in polygamy. In fact, there are still enclaves of polygamists hiding (?) or at least far, far away in extreme southern Utah. And, even though we have had some legal actions off and on over the years enforcing the obvious laws against polygamy, our reputation of being a pretty weird state is still prevalent.
Over the years, Wasatch Brewery has had a great time marketing their beers; hence the local label: Polygamy Porter and the fun slogans therein: "Bring some home for the wives" and "Why have just one?" They have cool Polygamy Porter T-shirts too. Trust me, they are definitely conversation starters when waiting in long lines! So, that’s where it came from, an ingenious ad slogan, in a funny state, with an odd culture. It’s a perfect fit. Oh yes, by the way, the First Amendment Lager is delicious, too!

If you have been following my blog for a long time, you might notice the dropping water levels of the Great Salt Lake!

In cycling news, this morning I enjoyed a standard 32-mile ride to start the month. It is auspicious only in that today I surpassed 1405 miles, which was my total mileage for 2006. I am still on track for my 2007 goal of 1800 miles.

Some birds, standing in the very shallow water..

In a couple of weeks, I will start my Monday schedule of riding the canyons east of Salt Lake City. Standby for posts from riding City Creek, Emigration, Mill Creek, Big Cottonwood, and the steepest ride; Little Cottonwood Canyon.

Lots of scout groups and families ride the causeway on Saturday...

Happy riding all,

Jim