Utah Day 4 (Ride 3)

This day was rough. I woke up to cold and rainy weather and highs of about 48 degrees. Having to hit up the bike shop to get another spare tube and a rear tire replacement, I decided to pick up a wind breaker. This was the smartest thing I could have done. 48 degrees at base level means it is easily 38, if not 33 degrees at the peak of mountains I would be climbing. The sales people at Contender Bikes in Salt Lake City are amazing. I explained to one guy what I would be doing and he helped me get all the gear I would need to ensure no more flat tires on descents, and how to keep warm. I forgot, if it's 50 out and you're flying down hill at 20mph, the weather really feels like 30-40 degrees.

The rain stopped around 2 or 3pm, so I headed out to East Canyon to climb the mountain Todd showed me the day before. It was a chilly ride with only some spots of the mountain still getting sunlight, but it was a great climb: 6 miles of grueling uphill battle.

Climbing almost 1500 vertical feet in 6 miles made me really feel like I accomplished my vacation goal: climb a mountain well enough that I feel prepared for the mountains next summer.

I also got some great pictures on the descent. Stopping to take pictures also gave me an opportunity to warm up since the 20-30mph downhill speeds really had me shivering.

Photos