Unconventional Triathlon

I inadvertently did a strange triathlon today - cross country skiing, snow stomping, road bike ride.

Event #1 - Cross Country Skiing

DJ picked me up this morning at 7:30 and we headed for American Fork Canyon to ski the Alpine Loop road above the Pine Hollow trail head. The day was clear and not too cold. The snow was excellent - soft yet packed on the snowmobile tracks, powdery off track.



We set off at a good pace as we wanted to get a cardio workout today. It felt good to be cruising on the skis in the cold morning air, taking in the views of the mountains.





At one point I kicked it up a notch and started kick gliding (didn't glide much going uphill). I kept the increased pace for 15+ minutes before I got a side-ache and slowed down.

Near the top I heard voices and called out to a long line of snowshoers moving north along the ridge. Sure enough it was Stan and the Utah Velo Club on the return portion of their loop that took them up Pine Hollow then down into Deer Creek South Fork, back up to the ridge then back down Pine Hollow - pretty long hike on snowshoes!

We made it to the top in around 1.5 hours. Pretty deep snow at the Alpine Loop summit.



After having a bite to eat, we headed south uphill to see if we could find the weather Timpanogos Divide weather station. Out in the deep, fresh snow, it's a lot harder going. We took turns breaking trail and found the weather station within 20 minutes. Here I am following DJ.



And here's DJ out in the powder.



We had a good time (and laughed a lot) coming down. Cross country skis always feel unstable to me going downhill. I almost went down a few times, but somehow stayed up. DJ had some good falls. He said it was a weird sensation - the snow is so soft you can hardly feel it and it slows you down so slowly you wonder if you've stopped moving. His description sounded so intriguing, I considered crashing on purpose just for fun.



Back on the packed road, the going was less tricky, but I had to pole or kick most of the way (my waxless skis drag some going down). DJ coasted better with his skis once he removed the grip wax. While the moguls created by the snowmobiles are mostly annoying, I put them to good use by pumping on them (I'd crouch then stand up fast once my feet crossed over the top of the mogul - this propelled me forward). It was a nice cruise down the road back to the car and somewhere along the way I snapped this last shot of Timp.



Event #2 - Snow Stomping

After the ski, I went home and my wife and I went over to Lambert Park to help tromp down the snow on the Frozen Hog race course. The snow is really deep this year and without some compaction of the snow, it might be a long hike-a-bike through the snow race. In 3 hours we got a good chunk of trail stomped then came home.



Event #3 - Road Bike

With 1.5 hours of daylight remaining and 40+ degree air, I decided I had to get out on the bike, even though I was pretty tired by now. I layered on the clothing and headed out on the road bike. I went out 8th North then down University Avenue. It felt so good to be cranking the pedals again. I then took a little back-road route to 8th East to return home. I could tell my strength is down some, but all-in-all I did OK and had a good little ride: 13 miles, 45 minutes, 360 feet of climbing, 17.2 mph avg, 29.7 mph max.