Riding the Mouth of Provo

It's another Friday at work and I'm planning another long ride on Saturday using Skid Map. As I link trails together into one large and hopefully adventurous loop, the trail names begin to conjure up memories of a summer and fall of exceptional riding.

Sun Valley Super Enduro

  This past weekend I participated in the first Sun Valley Super Enduro.  Simply put, it was rad.  The trails, while not really technical, had a good mix of loose, fast, flowy and wide open sections.    The Sun Valley Enduro really tested skill and fitness with four stages ranging from 5-10 miles.  The stages ended up being about 18-35 minute mostly downhill sections of adrenaline pumping fun.  Plus, the views were amazing and everyone seemed to be having a blast.  

I have done a few Enduro races and the stages typically range from 5-12 minutes.  With the longer stages, new trails and an unfamiliar bike, I really had no idea what to expect.  However, it exceeded my expectations and I learned the rockier and more challenging the trail, (without a lot of climbing) the more I like it. I realized 5-8 miles was a great length for an enduro race and I actually really liked racing blind.   I also learned the importance of racing on a bike you know is set up well.

The race was super fun, the format was awesome, timing was great, and location was gorgeous.   After the 4 stages, with 6 dropped chains, 1 fixed flat for another racer, 4 crashes, a broken shifter, sore wrist and back, I made it safely down in 8^th out of only 14 in my class. Not the best overall result, but I had a ton of fun.

Leading up to the race, I unintentionally lost 9lbs from the flu the week before. I knew I was going to have issues, but the issues ended up being different than expected.  The first stage was loose and rocky up top with lots of pedaling.  I kept thinking it was an XC race someone called enduro, so people would show up.  Luckily, after the entire race, I was wrong.

Within a couple of minutes on the first stage, I dropped my chain twice.  About 30 second later, it came off a third time and was completely tangled and looped around, so I got off to fix it.   About 40 ft away there was a girl with a flat that asked if I had some extra tire levers.  Since it was going to take me a bit to fix my bike, I changed her flat.  Then I fixed my chain and adjusted my derailleur to hopefully prevent any more drops.  After a lengthy stop, I decided just to have some fun and instead of looking for speed, I was boosting off rocks and roots every chance I had.  It was a blast.  I finished 2^nd or 3^rd to last, just in front of a couple other guys with mechanicals.

At the bottom, my chain came off again and was hanging on by ½ a link, so I fixed it and went to the next stage.

Stage two was a bit smoother.  It went well, but I ate it pretty hard.  I came in too fast on a blind corner and ended up sliding down loose shell rock for about 8’-9’.  Luckily, I was on my back and side, so the bike was okay.   I ended up in 3^rd.

That night, we went back to the hotel and decided to ride the bikes to town to get some dinner.  We went to this little pizzeria place and loaded up on some pasta and went back to the hotel.  That town is such a cool place.

After a restless sleep, we headed up the mtn for stage 3.  This stage was probably the best for me.  It was loose, fairly steep, fast and rocky with a lot of corners and blown out switchbacks.  As you got lower it was fairly smooth and pedally.  I’m still not entirely sure what happened, but crashed and this time broke the shifter off the bike.  I wrapped it around the bars to get me down and luckily wasn’t shifting all over the place and I ended up in 2^nd.

At the bottom of the stage, Eric had bent his derailleur and flatted.  We were debating on just not finishing the race and heading back.  After a little rest, I figured I could zip tie the shifter to the bars and probably make it down in one piece with limited shifting, so off I went.

The fourth stage was going well and despite the broken shifter, I felt like I was having a great run.  I passed a couple of guys ahead of me and could see the dust from the next guy.  Right as I passed him, the chain did what it was going best and came off…  I reached down and put it on real quick and started pedaling.  After a little while, I came into a rough spot and this time the chain wrapped around my crank and wedged itself between the rear cog and frame.  As I looked down to see what was going on, I went off the trail, over the bars and rolled down the hill.  It was really soft dirt, so no bad injury luckily, so I got up checked the bike, put the chain back on and was off.  After all that, I took 4^th.

It sounds like nothing went really well, but it was actually such a fun race and I hope to make it up there again next year.  The longer, high-speed stages with the variety of trails really made it a lot of fun.  We got to see a new place, ride some new trails and have another adventure

Broken Blackhawk

The Blackhawk trail in Payson canyon has always been one of my favorites. In the spring, as the trails in AF canyon are becoming crowded and Dusty, the trails in Payson are still in good shape and the crowds are minimal.

This Saturday we rode the Blackhawk loop, described on Utahmountainbiking.com (minus the dirt road portion) and saw one other biker and two horseman. 

The conditions were prime, but it was one of those rides where things just did not fall into place. We all have rides when the trail is perfect, our senses and reflexes seemed heightened and things just flow, but this was not one of those rides. We felt like beginners.

 We began riding with a sore throat and Slight stomach flu and while we hoped the illnesses were more the result of poor food and sleep choices the night before, that was not the case. Instead of climbing with a steady rhythm, each push was followed by a long pause punctuated with sounds of a body in revolt. We debated turning back, but it always came back to the fact that we could lay on the couch sick, or bike sick. In the beginning, biking sounded like the better option.

About an hour into the ride, Guthrie's pedal began to wobble a little. We stopped to tighten the pedal, wondering if he had overtightened it. (which for us is a common occurrence after years of construction work). At first, it did tighten a little, after another 2 miles, it would not tighten. At 2 more miles, the pedal just spun in the crank set and at mile 9 it fell out completely, no amount of wire or gorilla tape would hold it in. We tried. Guthrie finished the climb with one leg, and a worsening stomach.

 

About the time the pedal fell out, I noticed by bike felt more like a Harley than a mountain bike. It seemed I was sitting low, bouncing a lot, and pedaling was much more difficult. At first I chalked it up to being out of shape and feeling lousy. But as i sunk lower and bounced more, it was time to check the rear shock. I started at 240 now it was at 150, Great.

With Broken shock, one pedal and sickness worsening we inched our way to the road. I am never fast on Strava, but these times are embarrassing. Finally reaching the road, I returned to the car via dirt. Guthrie decided riding downhill, on trails, with one pedal was useless and decided on the road.

After finally reaching the car, 30 to 45 minutes longer than it should have taken, the only consolation was; at least we were biking.

Broken Mountain biking is weird that way.  Most times, the worst day on the mountain is better than sitting on a couch or even worse, watching sports on TV.

This weekend, bikes are fixed (we hope), bodies seem weaker, but healed, and the mountains are waiting to explore...one trail at a time.

Spring Riding 2013

Usually, we only blog about big rides or locations such as Fruita, Sedona, Moab and such. We did get down to Moab during spring break to ride the new Capt. Ahab Trail, which is killer, but most of our riding this year has been on the incredible trails at the mouth of Provo Canyon. 

 Ahab

We have found numerous new trails and loop options in the 12-15 mile range with around 2500 feet of climbing, with more exploring to be done this weekend. Trails like,  TAJ, Clutch, Maid Marian, Prayer Circle etc. which add  multiple possibilities of climbing and descending from race course or roller coaster. Many of the routes we have created using skidmap or just exploration. 
I even ran into one of the trail builders of TAJ and he thanked me, yes thanked me,  for riding it as it is making the trail even better. 

Even more astounding is that while corner canyon is packed with people, on my ride this Saturday I put in 13 miles with around 2400 vertical and saw two other bikers and one horseman...three entire people in 2 hours and 15 minutes.  

Crank / Ireland

 TAJ

TAJ

 TAJ

Buckle/Crank/Area 51 (Somewhere around there)

For trip ideas we have a few on Everytrail under Gillingsgr; 

Race - Altar - TAJ - BST Loop

Roller Coaster - Altar - Clutch - Area 51 - TAJ Loop



We count ourselves lucky and blessed to have so much great riding so close to us. 

Check out this list:
Payson  Canyon (Blackhawk), Diamond Fork Canyon (Strawberry loop), Spanish Fork Canyon (Strawberry Narrows), Provo Canyon (Race Course, TAJ, etc), AF Canyon (ridge trail), Corner Canyon, Park City, Deer Valley, Wasatch Crest, etc...I could go on.

All of it prime riding and so much to explore . . . one trail at a time!