2015 Memorial Day Rides

Every year on Memorial Day weekend, I pretty much do the same thing.  Ignore Scandinavian Days out of my town and take off with my parents to Tooele and Clinton at my sister's place for the weekend.  So we went up to my sister's first then went to Tooele on Sunday to put flowers on graves of my relatives.  I did do a bike ride on Sunday morning on the Rio Grande Rail Trail in Clinton and I rode all the way to Lagoon and back.  I think it was around 26 miles total trip.

Utah statewide had received a lot rain in most of the month of May which was good because we really needed the water.  It was still raining that weekend and it even rained right before my mountain bike ride on Memorial Day(Monday).  I drove to the trail head of the this trail I wanted to do and I was thinking I was going to end up riding on the paved roads because of the mud.  I waited at the trail head just in case I see somebody was riding on the trails.  There were a few and it didn't look like the mud was sticking on their tires.  So I assumed the dirt was different than the dirt in my hometown and maybe I could still ride on the trails and it wouldn't be so bad when it is wet?  I went ahead and rode on the trail.

It wasn't bad at all and I still had fun and there were still a few water puddles.  I did this brand new trail that was just barely built in Spring.  It's part of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail in North Ogden.  It switchbacked up higher along this mountain and goes into this canyon.  It was pretty sweet.  Most of the trail had a lot of granny gear grinding sections and that really woke up my legs because I haven't done much hard granny gearing lately.  It was tough though.  At the top I went into the canyon and then it crosses the creek and goes onto the north face.

The trail of the north face of the canyon was way narrower and steeper.  It looked like it was more designed for hiking.  There were quite of few hikers on this trail and even bikers but not as much as hikers.  It's a great trail and very rewarding at the top.  After I did this trail, I rode some of the North Bonneville Shoreline Trail just more north of the trail head.  There were a lot more puddles and I didn't think it was any respectful to keep riding that trail.  I didn't want to ruin the trail and even my bike.  There were some other people riding on this trail but I didn't want to be one of them though.  So I turned around and went back to the car.  The new trail was more damage invincable so I thought it was probably ok to ride that one.  I don't think I did leave any tire tracks and there wasn't really any water puddles.

I got a little mud on my legs and I had a good ride.  Pretty good ride after a rainstorm.

This is myself riding the Rio Grande Rail Trail on the day before.  A little chilly and even got rained on a little.  It was a fun weekend to spend time with my family and do a few good rides.

Klondikes Bluffs 2015

Pretty much it's a personal tradition every year that I go to Moab once in the Spring and once in the Fall.  This time, I took a drive down, rode for 3 hours, then drove home.  Moab is not like it used to be.  More and more people every year during the seasons.  Especially there was a big car show going on in the town of Moab and I didn't even bother going into town.  But my mom did go to town to eat lunch while I rode though.  It only took us 2.5 hours to drive down to North Klondike Bluffs from home.  Klondike Bluffs Trail System is a sweet mountain biking area. 

That's the reason why there is more and more people going to Moab area every year.  So much more and more new mountain bike trails built every year and I can't even catch up.  Too much to explore.  This time, I did Alaska Trail and a few others I've never heard of.  So I did a good 18 mile ride, all singletrack.  Alaska was my favorite part and climbing to the top was the best part.  Also the weaving and meandering all over the place was a blast.   The climb was decent and I very much enjoyed it.

The top of Alaska had a good view of the Arches National Park just east of where I was.  Then after that was more weaving and meandering.  What great fun!

There was quite of few other riders.  They were pretty much happy and we all waved at each other. What a great friendly bicycling community I live in!

I went along UFO Trail and down Baby Steps.  I remember I did this trail before years ago but I went uphill on it.  It still felt uphill while going down on it.  Under this rock in the picture above is where I threw up a little. Some of a peanut butter sandwich and water.  But I felt better afterwards.  I finished the ride going on a new trail that was recently built that goes off the side from Baby Steps which was an advanced trail I think but it was good to do some challenging stuff.  Then went back to the parking lot on the Dino Cliffs Trail.  This is the longest mountain bike ride I've done this year so far and I really needed it!

Three Peaks Ride

One of the things on my bucket list I made last winter was going to Cedar City, UT and try the Three Peaks Trail System.  I am trying to ride all of the places in Utah.  I like to explore trails I've never ridden before.  So I went yesterday just for the day.  The drive was 2.5 hours from my house. 

When I was riding the trails, I was impressed.  It looked like when they built it, they've built it hand made.  Like with shovels and stuff.  None of that machined trail work they do up northern Utah.  I was also thinking, if the hills near Ephraim had trails that were built to code and were professionally built like the Three Peaks, they would exactly be alike.  Because of the same climate and environment.   And these trails were awesome.  A lot of turns, berms, wood bridges over the sand washes, and all of the trails had grades that were 10 percent or less.  Now that's what I like!  They all meet IMBA codes.  And these kind of trails is what makes mountain biking more fun.

Loved this wood bridge.  It was going over a wash.  Pretty awesome!  There were lot's of bridges.

There were some granite slick rock.  It was a lot different than sandstone.  A lot more grippy.  And fun! 

So, I did the whole Three Peaks loop plus some other trails like Lost World Trail and the Race Course Loop.  Pretty fun place to go and a shorter drive than Saint George.  It is also a lot cooler so I can go in the summer.  I really liked the environment, lot's of juniper trees and sage brush.  Reminds me of home.  It smelled the same too.  I wouldn't be surprised if I go down there again.

One Day Long Spring Break

During our "one day long spring break".  My family and I headed to the Wedge Overlook.  I took my bike of course and it was my sister's first time in the area. 

The dogs came and they had a blast, I think.  Here's my sister and my mom in this picture.  My dad came too.

Here's my dad and his favorite place.  We also met some people from Greensboro, North Carolina, a 45 minute drive from my older sister's place in North Carolina.  We just thought is was odd that people from that far away knew about this place in the middle of nowhere.  We also bumped into an old neighbor that used to live across the street from our house.  I didn't see her though because I was out on a bike ride. 

While my parents and my little sister ate a picnic, read books, and sightsaw the Wedge more, I rode my bike on the Goodwater Rim bike trail. 

It was a good ride and I felt good and strong.  I went 9 miles and then 9 miles back which is halfway of the whole 15 mile trail.  I kind of liked that way better than doing the whole trail then come back on the dirt road because on the way back on the trail is mostly an uphill so I can get a workout.  It was an awesome ride and fast.  I didn't site see that much and I didn't run into any other riders at all.  There was a little bit of wind but the Junipers blocked most of it.

After my 2 hour ride, we all drove the car down through Buckhorn Draw to show my little sister the cool stuff.  My parents have seen it before but my sister hadn't.  First, we saw a dinosaur footprint....

Then the pictographs.....

Some rock art....

.....and of course, the Matt Warner name.  Who was an outlaw with Butch Cassidy. 

What a great little trip!

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.