Skyline Bike Hike...if that's what they call it...

Utah had above normal temperatures this weekend and I took the opportunity to go up to the top of the world and bike the dang thing.  I've been planning to ride the Skyline Drive all summer, even last year.  I tried to attempt it one weekend in August but it was very windy and cold when I got up there.  So I gave up for the rest of the year.  But I lucked out this weekend, in order to have a perfect ride, it has to be hot down at the valley and with no wind at all.  This weekend just had that.

It felt real nice at the skyline, since it's at 10,000 feet elevation, it was 60 degrees.  I could bear that.  So I rode from the top of Ephraim Canyon and rode south all the way to High Top which is above between Sterling and Mayfield canyons.

High Top is 14 miles south of Ephraim Canyon and it is the highest point of Skyline Drive.

Such a good view from High Top.  Well, anywhere on the whole ride had good, beautiful views.  There were a lot of atv riders too and they were all friendly and waved.  I turned around at High Top and headed north.

If I remember it right, I'm pretty sure there were about 4 or 5 climbs that lasted 10 to 15 minutes each, then the rest of the way was pretty straightforward flat.  I rode on the easiest part of Skyline Drive and I still logged in 28.5 miles and climbed 2,005 feet elevation total.  It was a good ride and very pretty.  Now my bucket list might be complete for this year!  Whooo hoo!

Just an escape on a weekend...

I had a few days off while my boss went to an ambulance conference in Vegas so I felt like going somewhere, well, anywhere.  My folks wanted to go to the state fair for some reason and I took my bike with me.  We all headed up to northern Utah.  This is the ride where I got to go which was close by the motel.  The trail is in Eagle Mountain.

This trail loop is actually a high school mountain bike race course for one of the races that are being held this fall.  The middle school kids already had one there at the first of the school year.  I thought I'd check it out while I was in the area.  I didn't feel like Corner Canyon trails and this is where I ended up.  I rode Cow Tracks trail to get to the loop from Eagle Mountain then got on Road Runner trail.  Pretty fun fast trail.

Then at the top, Jackrabbit trail...

Lots of turns but it's just out there in nowhere with no trees except a few junipers.

Then a fun downhill on Deadwood trail.  With a lot of burnt junipers.

Fast flowy trail that made the ride fun.  I did a couple laps on the loop.

Cow Tracks trail.  And the first part of it from Eagle Mountain was very steep but I still cleaned it all up with my bike with extra low gears.  It's awesome!

A picture from the state fair the day before.  These are butter sculptures made with real butter.  Fascinating!  My parents and I met my little sister there and we saw a lot of things at the state fair.  It was fun.  I haven't been to a fair since I was a teenager.

New Bike

The time has finally come.  A new bike.  After waiting a long time while riding on the 3rd frame on my Gary Fisher/Trek Superfly, I finally decided to get a new bike and especially get a different brand bike.  I was disappointed with the Trek frames so I've changed to Cannondale.  Mostly the reason I chose Cannondale is because my local bike shop carries it.  The mechanic at the local bike shop told me after looking at the carbon Trek frames, he could see why they are so lightweight, is because they are kind of flimsy for my kind of weight.  It is probably good for a rider under 200 pounds is my guess though.  So this Cannondale F-Si Carbon 3 is a pound heavier so hopefully this would be more ideal for a big person like myself(over 200 lbs.).  It looks strong though but I really hope it holds up.  It is made out of ballistic carbon.

After doing a few rides, I really love the ride.  It feels smoother and the Shimano XT components worked flawlessly.  And I really love the 2x11 drivetrain.  That's the reason why I wanted to get this particular bike, because the drivetrain sounded perfect, and it is!  I was thinking the 1x11 drivetrain but I figured that I really needed lower and higher gears.  This has 36 and 26 chainrings in the front and a 11-40 cog in the back.  It's perfect.  Low enough gears and even a high enough gear for my kind of riding compared to the 1 by.  So, it's perfect for the XC trail riding and dirt roads around where I live.  There's also a lot of steep trails and roads that feels like a wall so this very low gear is usable for it.  The Lefty fork is a plus on this bike, it works a lot smoother than the Fox fork I used to ride on.  It feels real nice and it absorbs bumps way better and it has a climb it control button on it to lock the fork.  This is a real nice bike for me and I am satisfied with it.  Now more riding!

Labor Day Weekend 2015

I went up to "my mountains" during Labor Day weekend just week ago.  I did a mountain bike ride on a trail just on the other side of the mountains near Pete's Hole called Josephite Point Trail.  I remember biking on this trail with my brothers during the summer of 1998 a little before I left on my mission.

I was really impressed with this trail compared to 17 years ago.  The Forest Service improved it a lot and made it much better.

So I really enjoyed riding it even though there a few walk-a-bike areas but hey, the views were awesome and I could ride pretty much 95% of it.  It is a primitive trail but really good.

A bridge they built like this year.  Really nice.  If I remember it right, 17 years ago, I couldn't ride this section and a hill by Mary's Lake.  So this year, they built switchbacks on that steep part by Mary's Lake.  It is so much better now, I could ride it!

The trail is also getting some love.  It's being ridden and walked on more since it's a non-motorized trail.  Not a lot but way better than it was 17 years ago.

Mary's Lake.  There were also some cows.  All I saw was a few cows and 2 herders on horses so if you want to go on a bike ride all by yourself and not see a soul.  This is the trail for you!  Because it is in the middle of nowhere.

Nice primitive singletrack.  It really needs more bikers, hikers, and horse riders.  And this would be a great out-and-back trail that consists 14 miles with 1,900 feet of climbing!  And an amazing high alpine feel to it.

On the trail, are a few lakes, and one of them is Acamedy Mill Reservoir.  My brothers and I used to hike a mile from Pete's Hole to do some fishing on this lake.  We've had some fun times.

On the way back home, I did a little more driving to see the top of Horseshoe Mountain.

The view was worth it!  I was trying to "spend a little more time in the mountains".

The day before my Josephite Point bike ride.  I did a 4 mile hike in Ephraim Canyon on Jimmy's Fork ATV Trail to look for a "Ted Bundy" tree.

The hike was pretty and I took my dog, Duke.

After about 5 to 10 minutes of searching when I got to this area, I found the name on a tree.  Somebody around here told me about it but he didn't remember the date.  Ted Bundy was in jail in 1986 so I assume it was somebody else that wrote it.  Or the date could be for the name below it?  I just don't know.

And imagine that?  My name I wrote on this tree 15 years ago is 60 feet away from the Ted Bundy tree!  Holy Cow!  Well, I saw pretty much everybody else's names on the trees in this area from all over town.  I used to ride my bike on this trail 15 years ago a lot and I figured I'd write my name on a tree but I didn't know about the Ted Bundy tree.  Well, it was an adventure.

A Few Good Rides

A couple of weeks ago, I went up with my folks to visit some other folks in the Ogden, UT area and I got to escape for an afternoon ride at Snowbasin.

I did the Sardine Peak Loop just outside of Snowbasin.  It was a good, tough climb up to this viewpoint.

                                      

Then to another viewpoint up higher.  That's Pineview Reservoir.  Notice the smoke from the fires from CA, OR, WA, and ID.  It sure smoked the whole place.

Really good singletrack.

Now in Snowbasin.  The mountain peak in the far distance is what I climbed on my bike.  The loop went all the way over there and back.  Tough ride!

The following Monday, I explored some more places at home in Sanpete.

...in the West Mountains.

The dog and the chickens at my work welcoming me every morning.  It's so nice to be liked.

I give the dog a treat and I used to give the chickens some feed but my boss wants to move the chickens to another area at the farm so I stopped feeding them.  Ever since, they are still following me around all over the place.

On a ride last week, I reached my goal I planned.  To climb the canyon road to at least to Willow Creek or higher.  I did a good ride and the road condition was perfect because it rained earlier that day, so there was no dust.  It was so nice that there wasn't that many people and the temperature was perfect.  It ended up a good ride.

I just kept riding.  At first, I was thinking just ride up to the A-Frame house, then when I got there, I decided to go a little more, like Major's Flat, then a little more, and so on.  I ended up at Willow Creek Road and rode on that road for a few miles and the road was butter smooth.

It was just a nice ride.  And pretty.

Then later in the weekend, I got an ear infection and I wasn't feeling too well so I decided to go on a ride anyway and ride up at the top of the mountain and see how I felt.

I started from the GBEEC and climbed up the canyon road and see how far I could go.  My plan was to go up to Philadelphia Flat and ride around there.  I wasn't feeling too well for 2 reasons.  I was kind of spent from the last ride and the other reason was that I had an ear infection.  So I backed off and took it easy, but I still rode at moderate and vigorously at times.

I managed well and made it all the way to the top at 10,000 feet.  It was a good view.  I need to ride up there more just to get some high elevation riding in.  Also, the scenery is so much better.

Summer is almost over and I still need to do more riding and also in the Fall with pretty colorful leaves.  I am looking forward to it!