Hardware Ranch Road Ride

For a long time I wanted to try this ride, from Hyrum, UT to Hardware Ranch, then back to Hyrum. It was shorter than I thought, I logged in 32 miles on this ride so it was a quick one. So it took me a good old two hours and I thought this ride would have a lot of hill climbing but it was relatively flat with easy to moderate climbs which lasted only a minute or two. The weather was fairly decent(around 45 degrees) so I really enjoyed a moderate intensity ride. I ran into a stomach problem though, I guess a big salad won't work before a ride, too much dietary fiber. Also too much ranch. I should have ate something more digestive, more like a sandwich or something. Something low fat and foods that contain carbohydrates. Like fruit, lean meat, bread, pasta, etc, but no vegetables! I should have did some thinking though. I knew vegetables take a long time to digest and only eat it at night but I guess I didn't think, all well, I still had a fun ride. So, I took it easy during the whole time. I only saw maybe 10 cars, 4 runners, and 1 biker during the whole ride. I'd do this ride again but I rather go up Richards Hollow mountain bike trail when the snow melts, that one's funner.

Good way to start on the first day of Spring...Antelope Island

Today I went on a ride on Antelope Island. Antelope Island is the biggest island on the Great Salt Lake. It actually is a State Park so it has great mountain biking trails. I went today which is the first day of Spring and it was packed. Mostly a lot of horseback riders along the trail. Quite a lot of bikers too. But I got around all right. It wasn't too bad though, just had to stop and slow down every time there was a horse. But the riding was fantastic! I did both the Split Rock Bay and White Rock Bay loops which was the total of 15 miles and about an hour and 40 minutes of riding. Saw some buffalo and it was dry everywhere for March. Where I live, there is still a lot of snow and it was great to get out of town and ride someplace I can actually get some mountain bike riding in. I am guessing my riding buddies went road riding in Sanpete today....losers. I am the kind of person that know how to have a real adventure and do some real riding! Road riding is booooring, hands down. I am glad I went and it was a perfect day weatherwise.

Race Schedule:

March 6 St. George, Ut Red Rock Desert Rampage
April 3 Hurricane, Ut Cholla Challenge
May 1 Lehi, Ut Showdown at 5-Mile Pass
May 15 Sundance Resort, Ut Sundance Spin
May 22 Soldier Hollow/Heber, Ut Hammerfest at the Hollow
May 31 Draper, Ut Stan Crane Memorial XC Race
June 12 Deer Valley Resort, Ut Pedalfest
June 19 Sherwood Hills/Logan, Ut Wimmer's XC Race @ Sherwood
June 26 Jackson Hole, Wyoming Taming the Tetons
July 3 Snowbird Resort, Ut Mountain Bout
July 10 Solitude Resort, Ut Chris Allaire Memorial/Utah Open State Championship
July 31 Snowbasin Resort, Ut Basin Bash XC
August 7 The Canyons Resort, Ut Rock the Canyons! XC

My Race Reward...

After a grueling race season this year, I deserve a fun bike vacation. My plans are to go to the Southern Utah Mountains near Brian Head Summer Resort and Bryce Canyon. I want to go sometime in August and use up my paid vacation days for it. At first I want to go to Brian Head and do the Scout Camp Loop, I have done this trail a couple times before, this used to be a race course as part of the ICUP races years ago. If I remember it right, there were a lot of singletrack with 1,000 feet of climbing and have lot's of shade. It is up high though, at the 10,000-11,000 feet elevation. It should be nice and cool for the hot summer months. Also at Brian Head, on a another day, I want to do Lowder Ponds Loop which is up higher and has a lot of singletrack with a 2 mile dirt road climb included. I never did this trail and I will have to see what it is like! It is a 11 mile loop. Then on the way back home, I would like to stop at Bryce Canyon and do the Thunder Mountain Trail. The trail is all downhill but I am going to go up the 5 mile paved trail to get to the top of the Thunder Mountain trail head. I heard that it's a blast going down it. I don't know when the exact days are but hopefully it turns out!

Scout Camp Loop

Lowder Ponds Loop:

Thunder Mountain Trail:

2010 St. George Desert Rampage

What a race! Perfect weather, familiar faces, new faces, and great riding. This is the first time racing on my new Gary Fisher Superfly and it worked wonderous! It had so much control and stability because of the big wheels. The bike felt so good. Everyone else on the technical rocky climbs were just falling over and I just zoomed right up. I don't know if it's me or my bike but I think it's mostly me because I can go up these trails just fine on my old 26er also. But it was still a lot easier on my new 29er. I had a war with some guy on the first major set climbs in the race. Every time on the start of the hill he would pass me at the first of the climb then every time at the top of the climb I would pass him. Then another climb, he would pass me again at the first of the climb then I pass him at the top. I think he goes too hard on the climbs and slows down at the end. Well, he did beat me on the downhill because I am not a good on the downhills(something I need to work on). I think I finished 7th place, I need to get in better shape though. I raced in the Beginner 30-39 age group. The next race is in April at Hurricane and I can't wait.

First mountain riding on the new bike...

Last Tuesday, I worked until 2:30 then headed to Provo to go to the bike shop to purchase new shoes and went on a bike ride on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail afterwards. It was great at the first half of the ride then it turned into a nightmare. I got a flat, put a new tube in then I didn't have enough CO2 air to fill it up real good so I thought I could go slow and miss the rocks on the way back. As soon as I got the rear wheel on the bike, the chain was in a different cog ring than where the rear derailler was set up, I didn't know about it so I cranked it hard and then broke the chain. I didn't have a chain tool with me so I thought I could just run and walk back to the car which was 3.6 miles but the hills were so steep though so it was going to take a while. After I walked about 50 yards, Chris Holley rode by and said hi then thought I was somebody else, I told him I was in his team(Mad Dog Cycles) but he didn't know me I guess. Looks like I need to go to team group rides this year so I can get to know everybody. Chris Holley is a professional mountain biker and races for Gary Fisher/Subaru and also for Mad Dog Cycles. I then asked him if he had a chain tool so he did and fixed my chain and put a little air in my tire. I got back to car by the time it got dark. The bike handled good and climbs really great. Chris told me that on the new Superflys, they put on stock tires on them and shouldn't trust them. So I ordered better tires and I am not taking CO2 pumps anymore! They're nice, but they don't hold a lot of air. I just put in my hand pump in my seat bag so I hope I am all set now!