Another Trail...

Every time my mom wants to meet up with my little sister in American Fork or Sandy, UT, I definitely grab my bike and go along.  Because anywhere else outside of Sanpete County has way better mountain bike trails.  Especially near Draper or Herriman.  Draper has the Corner Canyon Trail System which has premium bike trails for sure.  Anything is better than the Sanpete crappy trails. 

This time I didn't go to Corner Canyon and I decided to explore some new trails near Herriman which is in the south part of Salt Lake valley, like Corner Canyon.  This area had way less people than Corner Canyon and that's why I liked it.  They are very short but also fun if you do laps.

First I climbed up this uphill out-and-back trail.  It dead ended up after 1.8 miles uphill, they say according to the internet that they are going to continue building the trail up the canyon 20 more miles.  That would be sweet!   Anyway, I went back down and did a couple laps on the Juniper Crest Loop.

Juniper Crest Trail is a fast, easy ride.  I really liked it because it was pretty fun and flowy.  At first I was planning to ride one lap then do another trail called Blackridge Trail close by but I decided to do another lap instead because I wasn't in the mood for another sustained climb.  For some reason I still felt a little cramped from the last ride and had a cold for most of the week.  So I just rode until I got pretty tired and it was fantastic.  I loved how there wasn't that many other bikers there.  Like what I said, anything is better than the Sanpete crappy trails.  We need better trails in Sanpete County but it's not going to happen, not enough mountain bikers.  It's an atv riding area.

Best. Bike. Rack. Ever.

Well, my Subaru is gone now.  Now I drive the truck which I bought a couple years ago and never drove it much.  I only put 5,000 miles on it during the last 2 years(probably world record on the low miles).  My Subaru engine just went bad and I decided to screw it and donate it to the Cars for Veterans instead of putting a third engine in it.  And just drive the truck.  If I can put another 30,000 miles on the truck then I'll be happy.  Anyway, I bought a really nice hitch rack for the truck and I am very impressed with it.  It's a rack from 1up USA company which is in Wisconsin, all made in USA.  For some reason, US made items are usually the best and very well made.  It was very easy to mount it into the hitch which only took 2 seconds with a special theft-free kind of allen wrench.  Plus I put in fat bike adapters on the rack so it would work for my fat bike.  It was easy to install. 

It works for my mountain bike...

road bike...

and fat bike...

This is pretty cool, I could tilt it down with the bike on the rack and put down the tail gate and get in the back of the truck.

....and there is a key lock to lock my bike which is what I really need!

And just to drive around and not having a bike with me, I could fold it up when it is not in use.  This is a pretty cool bike rack and if I want to transport more bikes, I could buy bike add on racks.  They go up to 4 bikes.  It is a pretty pricey rack but well worth it!  Here is the link to the website for this rack:  http://www.1upusa.com/

The Start of Spring Riding: Saint George, UT

Went to Saint George last weekend and the weather was marvelous.  I did a big ride(for me) on Saturday on the JEM Trail System.

I started from Sheep Bridge Road Trailhead and started climbing on JEM and got on Dead Ringer, a brand new trail which goes all the way to the top of the JEM Trailhead.  It took me almost an hour to get to JEM Trailhead from Sheep Bridge and it was worth it.  It was all climbing, but a very gentle climb.

When I got to JEM Trailhead, I finally stopped and rested, took pictures, and ate a snack.

Then I turned around and went back down Dead Ringer then took More Cowbell Trail which was a short loop on top of a mesa.  There were some serious runners kept asking me where the trails were and where the trails went, the guy was talking too fast and I think he was a Stravasshole(somebody using Strava and trying to compete without making mistakes and acting like jerks). I am a Stravasshole sometimes but I am trying to do better now....I hope.  Now what I know what a Stravasshole looks like. 
 

After More Cowbell, I got back onto Dead Ringer downhill, then got onto Goosebumps.  Goosebumps was also a fun trail.  Then Cryptobionic all the way down to Virgin River Dam Overlook Trailhead. 

I was going to turn right onto the Rim Trail back to JEM but I decided to turn left and ride south of Hurricane Rim Trail for a while then turn back and get back on JEM.  I was trying to get more miles and elevation but I shouldn't have done that because I got a flat tire on the really technical rocks.  I tried to fix the tire but my back up tube that was in my bike bag for maybe 2 years was bad and didn't work.  Dang.  A walk back.

So I walked from the Virgin Dam Trailhead on this road for like three miles to this main road which a family member picked me up from there.  I didn't really mind it because the weather was beautiful and I was watching the sun setting.  I felt like Forrest Gump.

My mom and I stayed overnight in Saint George, then on Sunday, we went to check out Snow Canyon.

We did a short hike up along Three Ponds Trail.  It was a 3.5 mile out and back.

It was mainly walking on a wash with lot's of sand and it was pretty.  It reminded me of San Rafael Swell but the rock was red.

After walking back I decided to hike more and see the Petrified Dunes.  My mom walked back to the car because she was scared of the cliff sides and steep rocks.

So I walked around and took a few pictures.  This is not a place for exploring and doing long, hard hikes.  But it is perfect for taking kids and old people with you.  They would enjoy it.  There were quite of few people there.