Overlooking Park City from the Team Big Bear trail
My view for lunch on the trail, overlooking the Jordanelle Reservoir from the top of Bald Mountain.
I can really tell that I am in better shape than ever before. The elevation has had little effect on me. Only once did I get a headache. That came during the ride up to Snowy Range Pass in Wyoming once I passed 9,000 ft. It only lasted about an hour and was minimal compared to the three or four days of headaches I had while riding in Park City last year.
The real test of my fitness came the second day in Utah, when I attempted to tackle all three climbs over Guardsman Pass. I failed last year, only completing two of the ways up. The climb up Pine Canyon Dr. out of Midway thoroughly kicked my butt. I was not ready for the steep grades out in the blazing sun. I learned something from the Tour of Utah this year. The riders used special gearing just for this climb. So, I bought myself a bigger cassette. If the Pros can do it, so can I! Instead of running a 39x25 like last year, I came equipped with a 39x30.
The ride started off rough. I had a terrible headwind right out of the parking lot, then ran over a piece of metal 1.2 miles into the initial climb up Big Cottonwood Canyon out of Salt Lake, slicing my rear tire. I limped back to the bottom on a flat, then replaced both tube and tire. By the time I got it fixed, the wind had died down. I took my time up the climb for the most part, just settling into the pace of a long day in the saddle with much hurt on the menu.
Big Cottonwood Canyon climbs for 13.5 miles before you turn onto Guardsman Pass Rd. for another 3.2 miles of climbing up to Guardsman Pass, which tops out at 9,671 ft. elevation. Those last 3.2 miles are tough. The grade is steeper on this part and makes you earn the summit. I was surprised to climb it 2:09 faster than last year, even without pushing myself hard like I did last year when I destroyed myself all the way up and got stuck in the sleet.
I topped Guardsman and began descending down to Midway. It's a rough descent and was made even worse by the heavy traffic I got stuck behind. Most of the cars saw me and would let me go on by as the speed limit is only 15 mph, but I had this one car that just would not move. They would race me across the wider sections and keep me behind them. My arms and hands were cramping at the bottom from holding the brakes for 8.3 miles.
The Wasatch Mountain State Park Visitor's Center is at the bottom. I took a break there and met up with my parents. They had made their way over from Flaming Gorge and were planning to ride the motorcycle through the mountains with me today. But the motorcycle was having some sort of electrical problem. It got hot around the gauges and actually melted the plastic. My Dad looked over it for a while and could not find any problems. He took a test ride up the mountain while I was riding and nothing else happened. My Mom was already freaked out though and would not ride it at all today.
The ride up Pine Canyon Dr. out of Midway was not as hard on me as last year. The gearing and stronger legs definitely helped on the 20% grades. It was still very hot like last year. It was 90 degrees in Midway and the lower portion of the climb is all in the sun. The best part of the climb was seeing names painted on the road. This climb is the final climb in the final stage of the Tour of Utah, so the fans had painted all over the road in one of the toughest sections. First up, there was "Welcome to Hell" with a pitch fork drawn through the words. That section was hard, but I'm pretty sure that Hell started about two miles before that. The came "Danielson," "Cadel BMC," "Horner," "Putt" and "Stud Jens" written on the road. Stud Jens was very appropriate considering the man just broke the hour record. The man is a beast!
A friendly greeting on the climb out of Midway that the locals refer to as the "Midway Death march"
Stud Jens. Enough said.
I got to the top with some fatigue in the legs, but nothing like last year. There was no doubt that I was going down to Park City today! I hit Empire Pass at 8,931 ft. a full 30 minutes faster than last year! That shows how much I have improved. I destroyed my PR and still had enough left for another climb.
The descent down to Park City was fast! There are some sharp turns at the top, then it straightens out near the bottom with some steeper slopes. I was not sure exactly how the road went, so I did not let it rip fully on the bottom section. I still hit 54.1 mph! I want to go down it again to see just how fast I can go. It wouldn't surprise me if you could go over 60 mph in the final mile.
At the bottom, I turned around and started the climb immediately. I did not want to deal with stale legs again like I had after the break in Midway. The climb starts steeply, then gives you a break in the middle before getting ridiculously steep again at the top. The final mile is a real leg-breaker. In total, the climb is 4.4 miles from Park City to Empire Pass. Then you get a half mile descent before finishing the full climb up to Guardsman Pass. This section is a terrible 1.7 miles. It is steep again and very rough. There is one last kick up before you hit the Pass that totally saps your legs. I was happy to get to the top. I was not super tired, but I was ready to be done with the bike for today.
You have little choice but come up this last section out of the saddle. It's steep!
Ouch.
The view from Guardsman Pass makes you quickly forget the pain.
I chatted with my parents at the top while they took pictures of the beautiful views. Then they followed me down Big Cottonwood Canyon to end my ride. I finished with 65.3 miles and 11,437 ft. of climbing. My parents then followed me over to Gma's house in West Jordan where they sat up camp next to us on the side of Gma's front yard. Shannon and I are bunking in a pop-up camper that a family member loaned to us for our stay and my parents are sleeping in their motorcycle trailer. If we could just accumulate some junk in the yard we could look like a redneck trailer park.
One of the steeper sections I descended in the canyon near the end of Big Cottonwood Canyon Rd.
With my parents now in town, I had to take them to Park City and show them some of the awesome trails. By now, they had recovered from all the riding we did in Wyoming. I tried to take them on the easiest route I knew, showing them around the Deer Valley trails and taking them up to Bald Mountain for some of the best views. Then we came down some of the best descents I have ever had the opportunity to pedal. The trail builders have done a lot of work since I was here last, especially on the Bermy trail. The berms are much smoother than ever before. They have a steady arc now rather than getting tighter on the exit.
Me checking out the view from Empire Pass. My parents were slow getting ready to ride. I figured if I was going to wait, I might as well wait with a view.
My Dad grabbed this shot of my Mom climbing near the top of Bald Mountain
Looking south toward Mount Timpanogos from the Bow Hunter trail
My Mom and I on Bow Hunter
At the tip-top of Bald Mountain
My parents atop Bald Mountain with the Jordanelle Reservoir in the background
I kept the climbing minimal, but it still killed them. They enjoyed the views, but did not like the trail so much. My Dad has been in a grumpy mood since we left Curt Gowdy and was acting like I had misled him about the trails here. Nope. I told him last year when he first started talking about coming with us that there was a lot of climbing at altitude. It's not my fault that he did nothing to prepare for it. He told me it was impossible to prepare for climbing at 9,000 ft. elevation and I quickly responded to that with an "I did." I hate when people think that just because they are not willing to work for something that it is impossible or that the person that did achieve it has some sort of "gift or "gene" that allows them to do it. I heard that all the time in school. Everyone thought I was born smart and that's why I had good grades. No, I worked my butt off in every class, just like I work my butt off on my bike. Don't make excuses, work harder!
Mom on Bermy
Getting a little air on Naildriver
Twisting wood on a trail near the Silver Lake Lodge
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