Riding in Full Color - American Fork Canyon in the Fall

Fall biking is always an interesting time for those who ride. The leaves begin to turn, the heavy heat of summer gives way to the crisp coolness of fall. It is a fantastic time to be outdoors.

 It has been awhile since we put tires on Dirt in the canyon. Inspired by some pictures put up by Josh M., and with the fall colors at their finest we decided this weekend would be best spent on the trails where our riding began; American Fork Canyon trail system.

Friday night my brother Gavin called and wanted to get out on a night ride. This is the four way junction where the ridge meets the Tibble fork trail and deer creek south fork.

Driving up the canyon the roads were packed with Roadies, Cars, and fishermen searching for their sweet spot. Remarkably, when we hit the trails we only saw two other people. It was a fantastic ride.

The colors are beautiful throughout the ride, but they really begin to show when you hit the Mud Springs and Lower Tibble fork trail. Like mother natures gives a reward to those who are willing to put in a little more work.

Nearing the meadow where there is a short trail to an AF canyon overlook. We skipped it today.

A camera Just cannot do this justice.

This part of the trail was amazing. The trail was literally covered by a red and pink carpet of fallen leaves.

This was a sweet day on a bike.

The weather was perfect.

The trails were good.

The trail crowds were small.

The Mountains were beautiful. 

It's a great time to be out exploring one trail at a time.

Here is the Ride if you are interested.



Mile Creek to Sheep creek... Backcountry adventure

This past weekend, we went to Island Park on a family vacation. The intent of the trip was to spend time with the family and ride ATV's on some trails, but I did what I always do and look for some places to go biking. After some research and help on MTBR, I was pointed to Mile to sheep Creek and was lucky enough to be staying about 30 min from the trail head on the south side of Henry's lake.

Since I was riding solo, in what I was told was bear country, I thought it would be a good thing to find bear spray. I stopped at several shops/gas stations to see if they had it and the conversation generally went like this....

Me: " Do you have bear spray?"

Retailer: "No, we just sold out."

M: "How important is it to bring you think?"

R: "Well, if you're in a group on ATV's around here, you should be okay."

M: "What if I am going biking alone?"

R: "Where you going?"

M: "Mile creek/Sheep creek just past the Montana border"

R: "You're going there by yourself?!?" " I would HIGHLY recommend finding some; actually, yeah, you need to find it.."

After two days of riding the ATV's I was ready for some pedaling, but got a bit nervous after everyone saying it wasn't the best idea to do alone. I was kind of hoping to see a bear, but at the same time I was hoping I wouldn't... Just in case, I packed a few more things in case of a bear encounter and decided to head out on Monday morning. I woke up at 6:30, got ready and headed over to the trail.

Generally, I think people do it with a shuttle vehicle, but since I didn't have one, I drove to sheep creek TH and rode about 7 miles to mile creek TH. I started riding at 7:43 am and the view from the trail head was pretty impressive.

Mile creek is a nice section of climbing. As you start into the canyon after the meadow, you get into a few more scattered trees. It was just super quiet and peaceful. I spun up and was expecting to hit some switchbacks. Little did I know, there were about a million switchbacks awaiting me with some really spectacular views.

After an eternity climbing switchbacks and my legs begging for a break, I was nearing the top... or at least I thought... There I was at an elevation of 9333ft and still not at the top... HOLY CRAP! I still had about 700 feet to go and 12 switchbacks according to the trimble outdoor website. By the time I hit the last few switch backs I started questioning my fitness, my head, genetics, bike, the altitude, the stress of maybe being a bears' dinner and any other excuse I could come up with.. It was a brutal, but the views were crazy! All I could think was I needed to get in better shape...

After a little snack of peanuts and dried berries, I finally got to the top. 10,000ft.. There were pretty amazing views on both sides and all I could think about was the 9 mile descent that was coming.

The next nine miles was a blast. It started out with some really fun, tight, rocky switchbacks, opened up in the field with a few pedally sections then entered some trees down to watkins creek. I was the only one out there and it just felt like a back country exploration with big mountains, meadows, forest and everything else you could think of. As I was ripping through the meadows and groups of trees, I started thinking about coming around a corner, scaring a bear, and him thinking his dinner just arrived. But I couldn't help just enjoying the scenery, the adrenaline and the adventure.

The descent was a mixture of just about all the mountainous singletrack I had ridden. It was fast, flowy, rocky, steep, little lips to launch, had some creek crossings, and all the other singletrack goodness I have come to love. It was just a blast! After the descent, I got a second wind from the adrenaline just in time to start climbing again.

The second climb started right after a really nice area next to the creek. It went through a lot of trees and was just super scenic. As I came to one of the first openings on the incline, It was definitely a hike-a-bike for me. Not only was it steep, but my legs were screaming by this point. I pushed the bike for a bit on the steeper sections then rode the flatter sections and then came to this meadow. Gorgeous.

I went through the meadow and picked up the trail. I came through the meadow with a renewed energy of knowing the rest of the ride was about a 5 mile downhill section to the car. This downhill was a BLAST and had a few challenging parts, but pretty fast for the most part.

This ride was awesome. The climbs were brutal and I could do without riding steep switchbacks for awhile, but the descents and the views were seriously awesome. I did not use the GPS for the entire ride on the road between the two trail heads, but did for the entire trail. It was a total of 27.5 miles, 4 hours and 45 minutes of riding and 7 hours total for the entire loop including the road. I left sheep creek at 7:43 and returned at 2:45.

I didn't see any wildlife or a single person the entire trail except the last mile.. I saw a dog and three ladies that just got done camping at a lake and were hiking out. It was a good day to be in the mountains and awesome to ride a new trail in an unfamiliar area.

Bell Wasatch Enduro

The first ever Wasatch Enduro was July 21st at Canyons resort. This enduro had a total of 6 stages. 3 climbing stages that are not timed and 3 downhill timed sections. At the end, only the 3 downhill timed section are factored into your' overall time. The enduro basically mimicked a typical long ride with a few breaks at the top.

We picked up our "goodie bag" that included a sweet hat, gondola ticket, stickers and one of the best energy bars known to man... the pro bar. Then at about 9:00 about 200 racers lined up for the first ascent.

It is part of the North American Enduro tour, so there were several well known pros and Redbull even put up their arch, so it must have been official

We arrived at the top after a nice slow climb and waited for our starting positions. The first of the descents was down lower hollys. It was fast, loose and had a few technical features designed to slow mtn bikers down. However, most of the riders, just jumped on over them and it made for a pretty fun and fast trail.

The end of stage one was at the base then we took the gondola up to mid mtn, rode mid mtn to upper hollys. Other than two loose switch backs, upper hollys has nothing technical to slow you down. It is just fast. As I started getting into my rhythm, I came to an easy little turn that shouldn't have been an issue, but I hit a tree and crashed. I got up and started riding again then about a minute later, I crashed again for no apparent reason. It was pretty sweet..

We then did a slow climb to insurgent. It was going to be the gnarliest, most technical, funnest and longest downhill stage of the day. After a little wait, we all lined up. Everyone got a good look at the first few turns, a little jump and wood bridge. One guy in front of me said how embarrassing it would be to crash with everyone watching. He started his run, hit the first and second turns, foot came out of his pedal... hit the jump one footed...bike flipped up hitting him in the butt and flipped him over into the grass and bushes. He gets up out of a cloud of dust and tall grass saying a few choice words and jokingly yells, "CAN I GET A RESTART?!?!"

After a few more people, it was my turn. I knew I had to make up for a lot of time from the second stage, so I was just going to push it with the intention of dying at the end of the race. I made a few mistakes, but nothing too bad and it was going pretty well through the rough stuff. There was a little climb to sprint up as we got to the trail we rode previously and I was feeling pretty good. I kept on it and could see the dust still in the air from the guy in front of me, so I knew I was close.

I started pushing again then I feel my front tire getting pretty squishy.... GREAT!! It was loosing air. I started going faster thinking I could just ride it to the end. About a second later, the air was completely gone and I was basically on the rim. I stopped, got off the trail and fixed my flat. I watched several riders blow on by. When I got my tire together, my pump broke at about 18psi . I rode down the rest of the way, just hitting the diffferent things and having fun.

I did better than I thought in the first stage and it gave me some hope, just to be shattered with the last run... This is how it went.

Stage 1: 1st place and a good run. Hope of a podium spot

Stage 2: 8th place and two crashes

Dropped in the overall to fifth. Still hope of a podium

Stage 3: 2nd to last place...

Overall dropped from 5th to 28th.

Even though I had some issues, it was the funnest race I have done on some rad trails. It was a long day on the bike in the mountains, so it was a good day.

A.M.M.I.H. - Armstrong-Mid Mountain-Insurgent-Holly's

The Mid-Mountain trail, for years we have been wanting to tackle it but with the Ridge trail in American Fork Canyon so close, we just have never made time. 

This year, in preparing for the Wasatch Bell Enduro Race in July, we sampled some of it and had to go back for more. 

We began with a non-technical, four mile,1600ish vertical feet climb up Armstrong to reach mid mountain. Remarkably the trail was not crowded, nor very dusty either. The views from Iron mountain on the top are worth every pedal stroke.   

From Iron Mountain the trail follows the contours of the mountain towards The Canyons resort. It provides a good sampling of technical rock riding, smooth flowing sections, tree cover, tight turns all with minimal climbing. 

Reaching the Canyons Resort we came upon the "skills course". We messed around enough to take two quick pictures and move on. The gravity course combined with this looks like a sweet addition to the resort. 

From the skills course we continued up and around on Mid-mountain passing the normally used Holly's trail as the downhill route, in search of something more technical, tight, dusty, loose and sweet...Insurgent.

Insurgent is NOT a trail where speed records will be made. It IS a trail where skills and bikes can be tested. It is full of off camber, root strewn, log hopping, dusty turns that cause more off the seat butt hanging then knee out high speed berms. 

It Rocks. We will be going back for more. 

After leaving Insurgent behind we cruised down Holly's with her fast turns and "Speed Bumps" which provide a little more tech in an otherwise techless-but-still-fun-trail.

After the Dirt we hopped on the bike path and pedaled the 4 miles back to Park City Mountain Resort. 

This is a sweet ride and great place to continue exploring...One Trail at a time.

Deer Valley is next!!

A.M.M.I.H (Armstrong-Mid Mountain - Insurgent-Hollys)

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking near Salt Lake City, Utah

The Blackhawk Trail

When a ride begins like this, you know it is going to be good. 

The Blackhawk trail is a less known Gem that lies atop Payson canyon. Normally it is very dusty from the horseman who love the area and grazing cattle who share the trails.

 We had been putting off the ride, waiting for rain, but we finally decided to make the trip...it was well worth every pedal stroke.  

Both of us felt a little tired due to mid week leg workouts (give us a pacifier and blankie) but as the trail climbed amidst the slightly-passed-blooming mule ears, our weariness grew into excitement and anticipation for the trail ahead. 

The trail climbed passed Blackhawk campground and begins to descend then ascend, via short, steep, punctuated climbs to the Nebo loop road. The picture above is looking down into beaver damn...gorgeous.

After crossing the road gravity took over and we rolled toward rock springs, Payson lakes and eventually Bennie Creek, where the gravity lovers with downhill sleds congregate. 

Because of the popularity of Blackhawk there is very little opportunity to pin it, or really let the bike fly. It provided for a more relaxed, more flowing descent...essentially it meant I could keep up with Guthrie (downhill that is) for the first time in months.

Upon completing the loop and reaching the car, Guthrie road down Bennie creek and I picked him up at the bottom. When I got out of the car a family smiled oddly at me and the father offered a warm but slightly uncomfortable "hello". Seeing myself in the car mirror I saw the reason why...hair by helmet, punctuated by a gone-are-the-pink-bought-at-clearance-sunglasses, pair of Tifosi Ventoux with an irradescent lens. 

Ending on Bennie Creek. 

It was a Great Ride,

in a Great Canyon,

accompanied by Great weather.

All in all a Great day for seeing more of Utah...one trail at a time.

Blackhawk

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking near Spanish Fork, Utah

Corner Canyon - The after work special.

Lately Corner Canyon in Sandy has served as the place for mot of my after work rides as it is convenient, fairly close to the freeway and offers various one hour 7-8 mile loops which are perfect for a quick ride. 

This Saturday however, I was fighting a cold, so I decided to hit it up again as the more mild grade allows me to bike and still not have to push it hard and Guthrie was doing another race at  Wolf Mountain resort. I decided to do the entire Ann's trail from the Mike Weir trail head, down Clark's and return via the BST. It is a good 11 mile loop, although mostly all in the Sun. 

New to the trails are signs informing people about the new website Corner Canyon Trails. When I returned home I found the website. It has info about the trails and upcoming Events, like this;

 "Trek’s Factory Demo Rep for the Northwest will be setting up shop in the Equestrian Center parking lot on June 23rd from 10am to 3pm for free bicycle test rides. Here’s the link: SLC Shred fest-Draper"

That's right, free Trek demos this Saturday at the Equestrian Center Parking lot. I doubt I will be there as we're looking to do a big ride Saturday like Strawberry ridge or the Blackhawk trail in Payson canyon. But Trek is coming to Sandy, that's pretty sweet.

I am still convinced Utah is one of the best, if not the best biking state in the nation.  Trails in corner canyon, with Clarks, Rush (the new end of which is a blast) , Ghost falls and Canyon Hollow,  if located anywhere else, would be considered top of the list for riding (believe me I have seen pictures of other states) . Here it is just taken for granted. 

But even with all the options in Utah, Corner Canyon is still a great place to bike. It's nice to see a city set it as a priority and put the resources in place to make it happen. If you have never checked it out, look at their website then hit up their trails. 

 I know I will keep exploring it...one trail at a time.

Tears, Fears and Beers - Enduro race - ELY, NV -

Just a word of warning, this is a novel....

This last weekend, I went to give my first enduro type race a try in ELY, NV.

Enduro races are a bit different from any race I have done. Instead of riding uphill really fast (well, slow for me) like XC races or use a lift or shuttle to get to the top for a Downhill or Super D race, enduro combines pretty much everything. It is similar to what we do on a normal ride for the most part.. Ride up then race down... There are typically transfer sections or uphill sections that are not timed, then you have timed sections, which are mostly downhill sections. The climbing sections require good fitness and the downhill’s require decent bike handling skills along with good fitness. In this type of race, people just use an everyday trail bike so they can climb and descend.

When we started the trip, the car I normally use for biking does not have AC anymore (with 219,00 miles on it, I don’t care to get it fixed..) and with the wife, daughter and dog going, we decided to take the in-laws truck. We packed up the truck at about 4:00 on Friday to start the 4 hour drive to Ely. We started and the truck didn’t have AC either... Sweet. We drove for a while with hot air blowing out, until magically about 40 minutes into the drive, it started blowing cold air!!! Hallelujah!! After that, the drive wasn’t too bad, but there is absolutely nothing from Nephi to Ely... Seriously, it felt like we were driving to the middle of nowhere, but it was cool to go through a place we hadn’t ever seen before.

After our arrival, I headed over to the Jailhouse Casino to check in and when I walked in the door, I thought I recognized this person playing the slot machine. Then I realized it was Ben Cruz from the Cannondale Overmountain team. I thought it was pretty cool to see a couple well known pros at this race. I went and signed in and headed back to the hotel to hang out with the family and grab some dinner.

Finally, it was time to get some rest. However, the night was anything but restful... Our daughter was yelling, “ DADDY!” nonstop and wouldn’t sleep until I got her more juice. Then, just about every hour, right when we were falling asleep, she would yell it once, “DADDY!” and fall back to sleep. In the morning, after very little sleep, I woke up with some stomach issues from the Mexican food the night before.. I jumped up and realized our daughter was sleeping in the pack n’ play in the bathroom. Since her pack n play took up the entire thing, I didn’t want to wake her up and ran down the hall looking for another one. After what seemed like an eternity checking all the door signs, I found one just in the nick of time... literally..

I went back to the room, grabbed my bike and gear and set everything up. I wasn’t feeling too hot, so I only ate a clif bar for breakfast and rode about 2 miles to the park where the race was to start. Everyone was there hanging out and chatting, but I just laid down in the grass acting like I was stretching. Then it was time for the race. With no sleep and nothing in my body, I started out on the 27 mile sport loop.

It was pretty cool and different. We rode past a few brothels, through two casinos, through town and headed up to the hills. The initial climb was about 7 miles (I think) until the first timed section. Everyone was going up at an easy pace and it was just a big group ride. I rode with several different groups going up and being a first timer, asked everyone what the sections were like.

All the experienced riders told me the course is the same, but the trail conditions change from year to year making it interesting. This year was really dry, so there was a LOT of dust.

We came to the first timed section and it was super fun. The corners had 2-3” of dust and it was super loose with a little climb thrown in there. After completing this section, we started up on the next transfer section. There was this girl in front of me, that had calves of iron. I could hardly keep a comfortable pace and keep up with her, so she slowly started pulling away from me. We came to the second timed section after a climb up a dirt road and some single track. When I pulled up, I realized all the pros were about to take off. The first part of this section had a few tighter turns that went to a few short steep up hills that just burned my legs, then it opened up and was just fast and fun. The race pretty much just followed this format for 4 timed sections and was rad. They had built some nice burms, some pump track type stuff, jumps, and natural spines. It wasn’t too technical or anything, but the dust and rocks tested your handling skills as well as fitness.

On the last timed section, the trail met up with a dirt road with an arrow pointing right. I started up the road (the correct route) looked to my left and saw a trail with a couple tire marks. Thinking I had missed the turn off, I jumped off my bike, got on the trail (the wrong route) and followed this for a bit. After a while, I realized there was only one tire track on the trail behind me and that was mine... Great.. I went back up to the road, got on the right course and came down to the finish. I didn’t really care as I was just having fun and enjoying riding totally different stuff than I am used to. I ended up in fourth place and lost by less than two minutes to the first place finisher.

Right after the race, we packed up and headed home. Unfortunately, our daughter was done and there wasn’t much to see with the family. On the way home, we went through a massive dust storm complete with dust devils that were 100’s of feet high and wider than I had ever seen, we stopped at a dried up lake thing, walked out in the wind storm and took our time. We finally made it home in time for the sister-in-laws birthday.

The trip was actually a lot of fun. The race was well organized and just a blast! The trails were loose, but well maintained and the format was awesome. I can’t wait to do a few other enduro’s this year. As far as the town goes... well, I wouldn’t go back, except to do this race again... and the wife said I should probably go without her and just camp at the park next time.

End of the race... Big stupid grin...

of warning, this is a novel....

kend, I went to give my first enduro type race a try in ELY, NV.

rent from any race I have done. Instead of riding uphill really fast (well, slow for me) like XC races or use a lift or shuttle to get to the top for a Downhill or Super D race, enduro combines pretty much everything. It is similar to what we do on a normal ride for the most part.. Ride up then race down... There are typically transfer sections or uphill sections that are not timed, then you have timed sections, which are mostly downhill sections. The climbing sections require good fitness and the downhill’s require decent bike handling skills along with good fitness. In this type of race, people just use an everyday trail bike so they can climb and descend.

n we started the trip, the car I normally use for biking does not have AC anymore (with 219,00 miles on it, I don’t care to get it fixed..) and with the wife, daughter and dog going, we decided to take the in-laws truck. We packed up the truck at about 4:00 on Friday to start the 4 hour drive to Ely. We started and the truck didn’t have AC either... Sweet. We drove for a while with hot air blowing out, until magically about 40 minutes into the drive, it started blowing cold air!!! Hallelujah!! After that, the drive wasn’t too bad, but there is absolutely nothing from Nephi to Ely... Seriously, it felt like we were driving to the middle of nowhere, but it was cool to go through a place we hadn’t ever seen before.

arrival, I headed over to the Jailhouse Casino to check in and when I walked in the door, I thought I recognized this person playing the slot machine. Then I realized it was Ben Cruz from the Cannondale Overmountain team. I thought it was pretty cool to see a couple well known pros at this race. I went and signed in and headed back to the hotel to hang out with the family and grab some dinner.

ly, it was time to get some rest. However, the night was anything but restful... Our daughter was yelling, “ DADDY!” nonstop and wouldn’t sleep until I got her more juice. Then, just about every hour, right when we were falling asleep, she would yell it once, “DADDY!” and fall back to sleep. In the morning, after very little sleep, I woke up with some stomach issues from the Mexican food the night before.. I jumped up and realized our daughter was sleeping in the pack n’ play in the bathroom. Since her pack n play took up the entire thing, I didn’t want to wake her up and ran down the hall looking for another one. After what seemed like an eternity checking all the door signs, I found one just in the nick of time... literally..

ack to the room, grabbed my bike and gear and set everything up. I wasn’t feeling too hot, so I only ate a clif bar for breakfast and rode about 2 miles to the park where the race was to start. Everyone was there hanging out and chatting, but I just laid down in the grass acting like I was stretching. Then it was time for the race. With no sleep and nothing in my body, I started out on the 27 mile sport

It was pretty cool and different. We rode past a few brothels, through two casinos, through town and headed up to the hills. The initial climb was about 7 miles (I think) until the first timed section. Everyone was going up at an easy pace and it was just a big group ride. I rode with several different groups going up and being a first timer, asked everyone what the sections were like.

ll the experienced riders told me the course is the same, but the trail conditions change from year to year making it interesting. This year was really dry, so there was a LOT of dust.

We came to the first timed section and it was super fun. The corners had 2-3” of dust and it was super loose with a little climb thrown in there. After completing this section, we started up on the next transfer section. There was this girl in front of me, that had calves of iron. I could hardly keep a comfortable pace and keep up with her, so she slowly started pulling away from me. We came to the second timed section after a climb up a dirt road and some single track. When I pulled up, I realized all the pros were about to take off. The first part of this section had a few tighter turns that went to a few short steep up hills that just burned my legs, then it opened up and was just fast and fun. The race pretty much just followed this format for 4 timed sections and was rad. They had built some nice burms, some pump track type stuff, jumps, and natural spines. It wasn’t too technical or anything, but the dust and rocks tested your handling skills as well as fitness.

the last timed section, the trail met up with a dirt road with an arrow pointing right. I started up the road (the correct route) looked to my left and saw a trail with a couple tire marks. Thinking I had missed the turn off, I jumped off my bike, got on the trail (the wrong route) and followed this for a bit. After a while, I realized there was only one tire track on the trail behind me and that was mine... Great.. I went back up to the road, got on the right course and came down to the finish. I didn’t really care as I was just having fun and enjoying riding totally different stuff than I am used to. I ended up in fourth place and lost by less than two minutes to the first place finisher.

fter the race, we packed up and headed home. Unfortunately, our daughter was done and there wasn’t much to see with the family. On the way home, we went through a massive dust storm complete with dust devils that were 100’s of feet high and wider than I had ever seen, we stopped at a dried up lake thing, walked out in the wind storm and took our time. We finally made it home in time for the sister-in-laws birt

rip was actually a lot of fun. The race was well organized and just a blast! The trails were loose, but well maintained and the format was awesome. I can’t wait to do a few other enduro’s this year. As far as the town goes... well, I wouldn’t go back, except to do this race again... and the wife said I should probably go without her and just camp at the park next

nd of the race... Big stupid gri