High Winds

Dst 10.29 Tm 1:04:34 Max 45.3

It was quite windy today, but I was just happy to be able to get out and ride. Luckily it didn't rain until later in the day. The wind was so strong that I hit 45.3 without even peddling and usually I have to work to hit 40.

Falling Rock

Avg 8.0 Dst 10.75 Tm 1:20:36 Max 32.8

We really did need the rain, but having it rain non-stop for a week sure makes it hard to go biking. We finally got a break today, but it is suppose to rain and snow for the rest of the week. I wasn't sure if would get another chance to ride this week so I decided I better make today's ride a good one. Rode from work up to the top of the hill under the pipe. The trail was incredibly nice for having so much rain. I guess rocks just don't turn into mud.

There was a lot of fallen rock on the trail today. On slate hill there was a rock slide that left a rock the size of an end table in the middle of the trail. I was able to clear a trail good enough for coming down, but it will take a little more work to make it so we can go up in that spot. However it has blocked the trail to where no trucks will be able to make it past.

Snow and Rain

Avg 5.0 Dst 3.17 Tm 37:23 Max 24.0

It snowed/rained last night and this morning. It was nice to finally get a little moisture into the trail. In fact today was the muddiest I have seen the canyon, but was still very ridable. Although my bald back tire was spinning a bit in the mud.

We didn't find snow on the trail anywhere, but I guess I need to start taking the camera with me again so that I can get new pictures of what it looks like now.

Fork Again

Avg 5.5 Dst 6.93 Tm 1:15:12 Max 24.3

Rode up to the fork again today. Just after starting down I figured I needed to look at the ride time. It was at about 58 min and I had ridden around the parking lot for a few minutes before starting out. So I figure it was about 55 minutes to the fork.

We were going slow on the way back down, which makes for a relatively long downhill.

Fast and Easy

Avg 10.6 Dst 9.28 Tm 52:19.5 Max 40.5

For some reason I just didn't feel like pushing hard today. Instead of going up Slate Canyon we just did Juan's ride of the three gates. Given that I felt like I was mostly taking it easy I was surprised at the high average speed.

Winter is Coming

Avg 8.6 Dst 9.15 Tm 1:03:32 Max 34.7

Today, even though it was the middle of the day, the sun was behind the mountain in places, leaving the trail in the shadows.

It was a warm enough day, however it was quit a bit cooler in the shadows. I guess when it starts to snow we will end up with the snow accumulating in those areas.

Slate Canyon Singletrack

Avg 5.2 Dst 3.15 Tm 59:13.2 Max 26.3

Anyone who has gone up Slate Canyon knows it is not a single track. However with all of the climbing, coming down, and rock moving we have done it is now practically a single track winding its way up the road.

Trees From the Trail

Avg 8.6 Dst 9.65 Tm 1:07:00 Max 40.9

The fall colors are going to be gone soon. However, the fallen leaves are looking nice on the trail. A lot of times I am so focused on going up the trail, and the task is so difficult, that I don't get much of a chance to look around.

Thought: Some people have a hard time seeing the forest through the trees, I however have a hard time just seeing the trees from the trail.

Doing Errands

Avg 14.0 Dst 21.26 Tm 1:31:06 Max 30.4

Decided to take the day off of work and get some errands done. I took my car into the have it looked at and then finished doing my errands on the bike.

Started at 1600 S in Orem rode up to north of 1200 N and back, and then down to BYU and back. Mileage also includes a shot trip on Friday, and about a 4 mile trip on Saturday.

Picture Post

Avg 5.4 Dst 5.53 Tm 1:00:41 Max 26.3

I'm entering this log late so I am going to just make it a picture entry.

Brain Cramp

Avg 5.4 Dst 5.6 Tm 1:01:17 Max 26.5

I often have thoughts about what I should write about in the blog while I am riding, but I have waited to long since the ride and now I can't remember what it was I was going to say.

So I guess today's blog is mainly just the log of riding stats and the picture.

Broken Spoke

Avg 8.8 Dst 9.03 Tm 1:01:20 Max 27.7

It is obvious from the average speed and distance that we did not drive out to the canyon today. I guess I must have broken a spoke last Thursday. It took me until today to figure out that I had a broken spoke. I heard a noise on Friday when we started out but didn't know what it was. Today part way into the ride I stopped to figure out what was making the noise when Glendon asked if I had another broken spoke. He could see that my wheel wasn't straight.

So today after work I took my bike in to get the spoke replaced. After taking the cassette off we could see that all of the spokes next to the cassette were damaged from the chain going over the top. This hasn't happened in a long time but I guess all of the rough riding has started to make the damaged spokes break, so I had all of the damaged spokes replaced. Hopefully now I can go for a while without any more broken spokes.

To the Fork

Avg 5.4 Dst 6.43 Tm 1:10:31 Max 24.0

Today was the first time we have ridden all the way to the fork without doing the whole loop up Slate and Down Slide. The total distance from the street to the fork and back is only 6.43 miles so I guess that means that the fork is less than three and a quarter miles up the canyon.

I didn't look at the ride time at the fork, but I know it was about 50 minutes at the top of the last challanging hill before the fork. Yesteday it took us about 50 minutes to get to the top of this hill and 10 minutes to get back to the car.