The plan was set to ride the Mid Mountain trail in Park City today. But when I looked outside this morning, the road and lawn were wet. Looking up at Timp it was freshly frosted with snow.
I feared the weather had betrayed me and the ride would be off. I called Mark and he said it was dry at his house and Park City hadn't received any precipitation. Perhaps the rain and snow I was seeing was just a localized phenomenon. So, the trip was on.
I met Mark at the Park City Mountain Resort parking lot. It was cool, but not cold - being November I can't complain about the temperature. We made our clothing choices and headed out. We took Silver Spur to Spiro. The ground was wet in spots, but never really muddy. We chatted some, but the most notable aspect of the climb was the quiet and stillness. Not even the slightest breeze and we only heard a few birds. Very peaceful.
After the climb up Spiro and a short jog on the Powerline trail, we headed north on Mid Mountain - we decided to at least climb to the ridge / overlook and then determine our next move from there. This section of trail is so nice.
At the top we took in the view then decided to take Mid Mountain back to Johns, since we didn't feel like hauling clear over to The Canyons. The ride down is even better than the climb. I caught some air on one nice bump in the pines and enjoyed swooping along the curves and dips in the trail.
Heading south from Powerline the Mid Mountain trail is still sweet. Riding through a thick stand of Pine trees, popping out of the trees to cut across a grass-covered ski run, rolling along the side hill cuts - fantastic.
Where the Mid Mountain jogs down a service road, we kept going down to jump on Johns trail near the top of the Payday lift. A steep little climb gets you to the trail head.
I'm sure Johns isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it's one of my favorite trails. I feel like a kid at recess riding it. I smile the whole time as I thread the tree trunks, bounce over the roots, and round the many turns. My goal is to not dab (touch a foot down), and I did it this time (I've done it a few times before). Just icing on this year's mountain biking cake.
Unfortunately Mark took a spill on Johns and he wasn't liking it as much after that. I know how that goes. Sadly, there was more technical riding ahead. Mark toughed it out, but wasn't into it like I was.
Where's Mark?
I had high hopes of cleaning a few tricky spots on Sweeney Switchbacks, I made a few but I still failed on the harder ones. After one wrong turn (why do I always get sucked into these nasty trails at the end of Sweeneys?), we got dumped out onto a street and rode a short ways back to the cars.
We had the after-ride lunch at the same BBQ place we visited last time. That salmon wrap hit the spot.
It was a great ride and a real gift this time of year.
Read Mark's account
Mid Mountain in November
Nice November Lunch Ride
I met up with Sam and Jeff for a lunch road ride. I haven't ridden with Sam for months so it was nice to hook up. Jeff is on the same cycling team as Sam. We met at Jeff's work (1-800-CONTACTS) and rode together from there east through Draper.
It's always fun to meet another cyclist and so it was with Jeff. He's on the Draper City Council so we talked about roads and trails. Draper is doing a fantastic job preserving open space and creating parks and trails. Their trail network is really good and only getting better as they add more trails.
OK, back to the ride - when we hit the foothills we took Highland back. I didn't feel like hammering and I'm glad we all felt like a mellow ride. At I-15 they took the Frontage road and I continued on back to work. The temperature was a bit cool, but still enjoyable. A nice Friday ride.
Tomorrow morning the plan is to meet Mark in Park City and ride some route involving the Mid Mountain trail. I'm still shocked that these mountain trails are open - gotta ride while 'em while I can.
I check in with several cycling blogs - some daily, others less frequently. Most are locals, but a few are out of state. A few months ago I started reading Bike Snob NYC and found I enjoyed his witty writing. Today's post is exceptionally good - I laughed out loud several times.
The video below amazed me. I've heard of bike polo, but not cycle ball. These guys are incredible - the way they move so freely, it's like the bike is a part of them. In that wonderfully viral internet way, I found it on KDay's blog and he heard about it from Tolbert.
AF Canyon in November
Everyone say "hi" to Mike:
With the gates closing off the Alpine Loop, this is what the Timpooneke trail head parking lot looks like in November. Not another soul. Mike and I carpooled up from mouth of American Fork Canyon and parked at the gate where we met Todd at 12:30. I was expecting cold air, but it was warm - felt as warm as the valley. We biked up the road to get to the trail head. I took up my position in the rear since Todd and Mike are considerably faster than I am. Generally good trail conditions - there were some muddy spots along the Timpooneke trail, and we felt a bit bad riding on it, but we only sunk down 1 inch or so which shouldn't cause much damage. At the top of each climb I'd see Mike and Todd waiting for me. Then I'd see them for a while until they left me behind. Not a big deal, I just rolled along enjoying the ride. I was feeling pretty worked - not sure if it was because I was trying to keep up or if yesterday's climbing during the lunch road ride wore me down. Maybe both.
I've done this route many times, but it still satisfies. Nice climbs, Pine Hollow hurts me some. The Ridge is entertaining and the views are great. Ripping down Deer Creek South Fork I noted how good this section of trail is - I'd rank it in the top 10 in the state.
About half way down I caught up to Mike and Todd who were stopped. Todd had a rock flip up and nail him in the shin - dang, those hurt. Made a nice lump.
The climb up Deer Creek South Fork was OK. I wasn't very strong, but I was warmed up. Had to hit the shame gear (granny) a few times. We talked about going down Tibble Fork, but we were running out of time so it was just out the Ridge then down Pine Hollow and back the way we came. Todd and Mike let fly and I went fast (for me). It was a fun downhill romp. I missed the first bump/jump in Pine Hollow, but hit the next one for a little air. Carving down the trail - way fun. I was tired and not in the mood so I wasn't surprised I didn't make the bridge.
We zipped down the road with a few attacks here and there just for kicks (I hit 40 mph, Mike had 43). Saw 3 roadies coming up - great day to do the road Loop. And that was that. I went back to work, but the ride kept me pumped for the rest of the day.
This Can't Be November
Last week had mild temperatures, and this week has been the same so far and looks to continue through Saturday. It's bonus Fall biking!
Pretty crazy weather. But I'm not complaining - I'm riding as much as possible because it's not going to last. Even some of the mountain trails like Glenwild, Mid Mountain and American Fork Canyon are open. I'm going to take half a day off tomorrow and hit AF Canyon with Todd and Mike. Ya, I'll be playing catch-up the whole ride, but I'll be happy just riding good mountain single-track so late in the year. In fact, we're talking about hitting it Friday as well. And my wife and I are planning to do some Mid Mountain Saturday.
Today I did a nice solo road ride. Just 10 or so miles at lunch over in Draper. I did the climb up Rambling Road and didn't feel very strong. I hope I didn't toast myself for the ride tomorrow. But the temperature was perfect - cool enough I didn't overheat, and I didn't get cold. This kind of weather could go all Winter and I'd be happy.
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Weekend in Review
Housework Saturday morning, then some mountain bike riding at Lambert Park at 4 pm. We took our neighbor, Matt, with us. He's been riding more this year and we've tried to get together with him for a ride. We did Jolene's standard route: Rodeo, River, Poppy, Ziggy, High Bench, Spring, Upper Rodeo, Rodeo (one more time!) then Rodeo Up. I think Matt had a good time. I mostly rode mellow, but poured on a bit more gas up Poppy and even more up Spring. Just some nice riding.
Day Saving Time (DST) should be abandoned. The original ideas behind it's inception make some sense, but these days most of those ideas don't hold up. I wish Utah would drop DST like Arizona. We can keep the two dates for going on and off DST, but just go to work an hour earlier in the Spring instead of changing the clocks. Changing clocks is a pain and so un-modern.
I knew the rear brake on my mountain bike needed attention from the White Rim trip. I tried to install some new pads before the ride on Saturday, but ran out of time and put the old ones back on. Today I got it fixed. The pads were worn out, but the outboard piston was not retracting far enough to allow the new pads to fit. I tried prying it back, but it was jammed. So I took the whole caliper off and by working from the other side got the piston retracted and the new pads installed. Now if I could just get the front brake to stop squealing. Todd said he's had KoolStop pads do this so I may need to try a set of Shimano pads.
This evening I decided to go for my first night ride. I rigged up the high-powered halogen head lamp and rode from my house headed for the BST. I had been on the paved roads for 10 minutes and just started down the single-track when the light shifted down from high to medium light output. It was still enough light to ride and I recall the manual said I should have 20 minutes so I kept going. Not a minute later it dropped down to low. I guess the battery had lost a lot of charge from sitting for 3 weeks. I took the hint and turned around only to have the light shut off only 20 yards down the trail. It's a good trail and I know it well so I just rode it with no light back only 100 yards to the trailhead. There I pulled out my trusty Petzl Tikka XP and it provided enough light to get me home. So my first night ride didn't go too well. The battery is charging and I'll try it again tomorrow or the next day.
Draper Trails Lunch Ride
Update: Make that a Draper double-header! Mark inquired about my lunch ride and I guess it got him thinking. Next thing I know he's asking (via instant messaging) if I'd like to ride after work. What kind of friend would I be if I said "no"? We needed some trails close to home (south end of Salt Lake Valley) so the choices was Yellow Fork or Draper. Draper won out.
We started at the equestrian center and biked up lower Corner Canyon then took the BST north to Bear Creek Canyon and back. This is such a fun section of trail. It is fairly flat but rolls a lot and is fun to take fast as you use some of those taller gears. I enjoy swooping the turns and catching some air off the many bumps. Just above lower Corner Canyon we take a newly cut trail that took us up to a bridge. The trail continues up to the bottom of the Ghost Falls trail(s). But we took a right and came out at the bottom of the Silica Pit trail then continued down a ways and took another new trail on the left. It side-hills along the west side of the gully. It's a bit rough, and had some too-tight-for-me switchbacks, but overall it was a good ride. Near the end of this new (to me) trail, we crossed the creek on a new bridge and went down the trail we came up at the start.
Near Highland Drive Mark noted that he'd always wanted to try riding down the stone stairs there. So we rode down the serpentine section and I just went right down the stairs. They did look a bit sketchy from the top, but I was rolling so I just kept going. Mark stopped to get a good look at it, then downed it. Then went back again up higher to take it on the roll. I'm glad I got to take the lead this time as I blew my chance on the Bobsled ladder drop and got to return the favor of Mark's lead on that one.
What a great day of riding it turned out to be! I was going to do a road ride tomorrow morning, but with the two rides today I think I'll skip it and sleep in. My wife wants to go ride Lambert Park tomorrow so that will be enough.
Original Post: The snow storm a few weeks ago has me fearing that any day now Winter will arrive and put an end to dirt single-track cruising (and make put a damper on the road riding too). So when Todd posted that he wanted to ride some of the Draper trails at lunch today, I was in.
We started at the Draper Pool and rode up the Oak Hollow trail then when it hit Mike Weir Dr we took the road to Coyote Hollow Ct then jumped back on the dirt taking the Silica Pit trail over to the bottom of the Ghost Falls trail. Todd was intrigued when Mike said it would be tough to make it all the way up without putting a foot down. It started off OK, but got steep quick. I walked 3-4 places. I think Todd made it without stopping. Mike only stopped once or twice.
Then we rode up the dirt road and took Clarks trail down. Todd and Mike ripped it up, I took it easy - my back brake didn't feel right and I was feeling too mellow (or pooped) to open it up on the downhill. At the bridge they continued on the BST while I headed back to the pavement to shave off some time (I needed to get back to work). But I couldn't take the roads ALL the way back down - I was on a mountain bike! So I took Oak Hollow down to the car. As I was driving away I saw Mike and Todd coming down the trail. What a great way to spend a few hours on a nice Fall day.
Read Todd's report.
Epic Failure
I received this in an e-mail a few days ago, along with a few other Demotivators. Here's my current favorite:
