Riding at 11 am on July 4th is HOT

This morning Cami participated in the annual Tour de Riverton bike race. I say race because it's listed as such in the community schedule of events but really it's just an organized ride for fun. The course was a 25 mile loop contested by a wide range of cycling abilities. She rode strongly, mixing it up with the faster guys at the front. It's funny, normally she's pretty mellow, but when you put her in a group situation - especially with guys who think they are fast (you know how some rec riders can be!) - she can be competitive. Anyway, she had fun beating guys up the hills and scored a free breakfast afterwards.

What that meant to me is that I didn't start my ride until close to 11. I wasn't feeling the road bike and was debating between Upper Millcreek, Big Cottonwood (an out-n-back on the Crest or Solitude) or Little Cottonwood Creek. Since there was a fire burning on the Sandy bench I scratched the latter and for whatever reason didn't feel like driving to the top of MC or BCC. So I decided to stay close to home and ride some of the Draper trails. After reading Team Rico's report on conditions up Millcreek I'm glad I didn't head up any of the major canyons. The one drawback to Draper is the low elevation and lack of shade. I parked at the Equestrian Center and did a shortened version of the racecourse. I'd planned to do a full loop, even considering doing two, but midway up the fire road climb I came to the realization that it was extremely HOT and my 2 hour ride quickly became less than an hour. It was just too hot, dry and dusty to be really enjoyable. So to make myself feel better I ate way too much food at the afternoon family bbq. Gotta love the 4th of July.