Payson Ride and Willie Nelson

I guess I found some more trails to explore from online and I wanted to try them since it's close by.  The Four Bay Trail System is in Payson Canyon which is an hour north from my house.  I gave these trails a shot and they were worth a shot.

These were low elevation trails and I tried to get there early to beat the heat but I didn't make it there until 11:00 in the morning.  It was bearable but still a little hot in most places.  This is a system of many short trail loops and I guess online it said some guy handbuilt them.  I have to tell you, these trails are great and I was impressed!  The best part: I didn't see one soul and I had the whole place to myself.

Some trails were packed down pretty good but some were not.  But I did the whole thing and got a good ride in.  Just a bunch of loops with lots of butter smooth singletrack that consisted many twists and turns.  There were most areas that had very long grass that rubbed against my bare legs and arms which made the most terrible itching after the ride that lasted 20 minutes or so.  I went to Wal*Mart to buy anti-itch cream but by then, I didn't need it because everything started to calm down.

So, it was by far one of the greatest rides that is within an hour from home.  So I will for sure spend a Saturday morning at the Four Bay Trail System again or maybe a little higher in the Payson Canyon area for more singletrack.

After my ride, I did some errands and met my parents in Nephi to drop my truck and locked my bike in the cab of the truck then we took off to go see the Willie Nelson/Alison Krauss concert later that evening.  It was fun and that was the first concert I've ever been to.  My mom used to tell me when I was younger to not go to a concert because of my hearing but she took me to one anyway.  It was fun to see and hear the legendary musicians.

Bryce Canyon

I went down to Bryce Canyon to do a hike with my brothers and their families.  It was a great time and everybody had a blast...I think.  Here's some photos of the hike we did.....

So we did the Navajo and Peek a Boo Loops.  These trails were awesome and it took us down through the best stuff in Bryce Canyon.  The Peek a Boo was the best part of the hike and it had a lot less people so it was more enjoyable.  So that was my favorite part and there was a lot of up and down walking.  We all pretty much loved it and nobody complained which was very nice.  Later my two brothers and nephew did the 3 mile Queen's Garden Loop.  I will have to do that next time I go down.

At the end of the day, we all ate at Henrie's Drive-in in Panguitch.  It was very good and I loved the Butterfinger milkshake with my meal.  So good!  Then everybody except me went home.

So I stayed overnight in the bed of my truck with the Softopper.  It was so nice and I slept so good and it was comfortable.  The next morning, I ate a little breakfast and went biking.  I had a problem with my front brake, the pads were all worn out and there wasn't enough to compress onto the rotor.  So I had to do the ride with back brakes only so it was scary as heck but the trail wasn't as bad and steep so that made the ride a lot easier for me.

I did the Cassidy and Losee Trails in Red Canyon just west of Bryce Canyon.  It was beautiful and there weren't really anybody out there except a group of horse riders.  They were nice.

There were a few steep hill sections, I walked up some and rode up some....depending how strong I felt.  I just loved the scenery and the Ponderosa Pines and creamsicle color dirt.

Beautiful.

This trail is used more by horses but it is also a good bike trail.

Then down Losee was just a mellow downhill through a wash all the way.  There were a lot of water puddles along the trail on the wash parts.  Good thing there was gravel at the bottom of these puddles and the water was very clear so it didn't make me or my bike that dirty.

This was a good 13 to 14 mile loop with 1,200 feet of elevation gain.  Just a perfect ride I needed that day.

....My camping spot.  It was a dispersed camping spot near Losee Trailhead and there was nobody out there at all.  Everybody was at the Campgrounds where you had to pay.  Dumb.  Just had to call them "Glampers" instead of  "Campers" (Gourmet campers).

After my bike ride in the morning, I went to Bryce Canyon again for the last time to look at the viewpoints.  The day before, I want to go to the viewpoints but everybody else didn't.  So I did it alone to catch up.  So here are some more photos I took when I spent a few hours driving around Bryce Canyon.  There wasn't that many people as the day before so it was nice.

What a great weekend trip and it sure beats than anything else I would have done that weekend.  Like being at home.  Good old Bryce Canyon.

Sundance

Sundance, UT was just like old times.  I haven't ridden the trails in the resort in like 5 years during a race at the Intermountain Cup Races.  But this ride was more memorable from when I was living in Provo for a year about a decade ago.  I used to ride there almost every week in the summer.  It was very nice.  And this ride took the cake.

These trails were pristine.  The world class trails were still very well made and smooth as butter.  And going through the forests made the ride beautiful.  I wish I have these kind of trails near home.  It is a great area for a fun little XC riding experience if you don't do the lift rides.  The pass for trails only without the lift rides was only 5 dollars.  That's actually cheaper than it used to be when I lived in Provo about 10 years ago, it was 7 dollars.  That totally made my day but I still had to sign a waiver but I think it's good for all year though.

I did the Archies Loop and up by Scott's Pond then down the trails in the resort part and back through Boneyard.  After Boneyard, I did Archies Loop again and went up the mountain, instead I skipped Scott's Pond and did another trail up which I liked better.  Then down the resort trails again and Boneyard and that was called a ride.  It was very nice and good weather.  It brought back a lot of memories!