Upper Millcreek Loop

Not sure if tonight's ride was really a ride due to a few sections of hike-a-bike. Since neither Kris or I had been up Little Big Water we parked at the top and jumped on the trail. Unfortunately it wasn't too far before I was hopping off the bike to start pushing... That climb is extremely steep and rocky! After reaching Great Western we headed up to the Crest. On the way we ran into Bart who was giving a group of summer interns a taste of Utah mountain biking. He mentioned that Little Big Water is a fun downhill so the fact that he didn't talk about riding UP the trail made us feel a bit better about our effort. Great Western was good as was the Crest. At the Desolation Lake overlook we dropped down to Mill D. Tonight was my first time on that section of trail and I think if I wasn't following Kris I'd have jumped off and walked a couple of the more technical sections. As it was I had a good wheel to follow and managed to descend in one piece and without putting a foot down. Many thanks to Kris for the good, accurate coaching from up front! We then headed up the trail to Dog Lake and soon found ourselves hiking again. That trail is STEEP and very loose with numerous water bars and exposed roots. At Dog Lake we jumped on Big Water but then turned onto Great Western again and climbed to Little Water for the downhill run back to the car. In terms of mileage the ride only came out to a little over 12 miles. However, with all the hike-a-bike total ride (and push) time was 2 hours.

For my first real ride in a week I felt pretty good. The start was rough up Little Water (I felt like crap on that section) but once I got warmed up I was ok. My cold is about gone and I'm hoping today's ride doesn't result in a relapse. I picked up some Airborne this afternoon and will take a few over the next couple of days.