Addicted

Hello, my name is Mark and I am a dessertaholic.

After consuming 4 cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting today at work and leaving the office with a slice of chocolate cake to eat later tonight I am beginning to realize I may have a problem.

For as long as I can remember I've been a recreational user of desserts. However, this past month I have become a full blown junkie. Looking back I realize the problem was largely one of my own making. You see, by his own addmission Mark A. is a ski and bike junkie, but what he doesn't tell you is that he's a dealer for one of the region's most accomplished suppliers of edible controlled substances. Offering products such as chocolate chip cookies, chocolate brownies, chocolate cake, chocolate pie, cinnamon rolls and cinnamon cookies it's easy to understand how I moved from recreational to hardcore user so quickly.

I'm so far gone that instead of redeeming his offer of a free supply of diet coke for a year, I renegotiated for a year's supply of free dessert.

I need help...

Top 3 Reasons to Ride a Rigid SS

Well, at least the top 3 reasons that came to mind after this evening's ride up Dry Creek and down Bobsled (starting and ending from the office):

1. Counterintuitive as it may be, climbing can actually be easier on a rigid single speed compared to suspension and gears (this is a manifestation of the "magic" of my single speed that I can't quite figure out). Case in point being the switchback at the top of Dry Creek and the subsequent 100 yards of trail and The Wall. I had my doubts that I'd be able to get up either of them with 1 gear but somehow I made both.

2. It's fun to say "On your left" as you pass a guy riding a geared bike while climbing The Wall.

3. Dropping into the Bobsled on a fully rigid single speed after nodding to the two downhillers resting on the bench.

29 & Single

And no, that doesn't refer to my age and marital status but rather the sweet jersey Rick designed that I was able to wear on my lunch ride yesterday. In fact, if not for the jersey I would have brought my full suspension, geared BMC. However, knowing that I couldn't possibly wear the new jersey while on a geared bike with 26" wheels without constant heckling I manned up and chose the single speed.

I had been told that we would be riding the Bobsled and while the thought of descending on a fully rigid bike wasn't as appealing as ripping the dh on my full suspension, I knew I could make it down ok. What worried me, however, was when I learned of the route we would be taking to the Bobsled: Up the Bonneville Shoreline Trail from City Creek. For those unfamiliar with this stretch of trail it was a great ride down and a killer ride up. I did the latter for the first time this fall on my BMC and can ride it without putting a foot down (most of the time - I'm about 50% on the tight, steep corner with the retaining wall). Of course, that's in my 22x30!

So with some trepidation I followed Brad, Bob, Doug and Mark up 200 S to South Temple to State Street to Memory Grove to City Creek. Once we hit the singletrack I knew I was in trouble as it doesn't take long for the trail to get steep. I managed to ride to the corner with the retaining wall where I had to step off and walk. I had to do the same at each of the two rocky corners farther up but other than the final 10 feet of the last steep, loose climb by the water tank the magic of the 1-gear kept me on the bike and I was able to ride everything quite well. Of course, I wasn't riding particularly fast, but by continuing on solo when everybody else stopped to regroup I was able to avoid their having to stop and wait for me to catch up.

The weather was fantastic and the trail in great condition. The Bobsled was still fun on a rigid bike and after 1:09 of riding I was back at the office. Hopefully the weekly lunch ride out of SLC Bicycle becomes a regular event as it was tons of fun to ride with the group.

It's all the rage...

...Mexican Coke that is. After reading about the magic elixer on a few blogs this past week I found myself at Costco and couldn't resist buying a case to try. I also picked up a box of Izze so I have a backup if it's no good. I'm grilling filet for dinner so a Coke over ice should pair up nicely.

Bike fitness is not ski fitness

Ouch! I managed 5 runs at Brighton yesterday on my way in to work and now my legs and neck are totally wrecked. My neck because I took a couple of minor tumbles that must have strained it somehow and my legs, well, apparently they just aren't used to moving in a horizontal plane!

Can you believe that I'm actually disappointed in the current forecast? Tomorrow will mark 2 weeks since I've been on a bike and all I can think about now is how we need more snow!

I'll be there, will you?

Western Conference Final
Real Salt Lake vs. Red Bull New York
Saturday, November 15th @ 7:30 PM

Yellow Fork

This morning marked my first - and most likely only - ride on the Yellow Fork Trail in 2008. I know most people dislike the area because of this:



Green mud aside, I have yet to encounter a group of rude, mean, offensive or impatient horseback riders. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that all have been pleasant and friendly - much nicer than many hikers I've met on the trails.

Warren and Raul joined me for a quick loop which we rode clockwise. In a nutshell the ride is a big climb followed by a big descent. There isn't a whole lot of rolling terrain - you're either going up or you're going down. I like to bypass the last section of technical (for me) singletrack and finish the climb on doubletrack:



The views from the top are nice. Here's the south end of the Salt Lake Valley:



And here's the view looking north towards the copper mine:



When we started riding at 8:30 there was only one horse trailer in the parking lot. Ours were the only other cars. At 9:45 we returned to a bustle of activity. Luckily we only saw one group of riders on the horses the entire ride. Other than a deer and a couple of chipmunks we had the trail to ourselves.

Mueller Park

Lunch was GOOD today! Forced out of the office by donuts, cookies and other treats I fled to the Bountiful hills where I rode one of the best trails in the state. Mueller Park is the sweetness, especially at lunch when there are fewer people hiking/biking/getting their family pictures taken while dressed like elves. And yes, I'm serious about that last item. We passed a group straight out of Lord of the Rings posing for pictures.

Corner Canyon: Weekend Closure

To all,

Corner Canyon is closed from Bear Creek on the north to Clarks on the south. We have put up signs and tape and bikers are still going around. Helicopters will be flying tomorrow morning. Anyone caught will be cited. The helicopter will be flying several tons of wood straw per load. If any of you could pass along this info on blogs or sites or anyplace someone may read it I would appreciate it. The canyon should be open by Monday. If you have any questions let me know. I will be working tomorrow.

Thanks,

Greg Hilbig
Draper City
Corner Canyon, Trails, and Open Space Specialist
greg.hilbig@draper.ut.us
(801) 831-6435

*********************************

I just spoke with Greg Hilbig at Draper City for a further explanation of what was open and what was closed. Greg confirmed that Clarks IS open this weekend. As long as we don’t ride further North of Clarks. No Ghost Falls! He is ok if we climb and descend Clarks.

Tony Parkinson

Enjoy it while you can...

...because the weather is about to change. Bare legs and short sleeves in late October? 70 degrees on Halloween? This is my kind of fall!

Mark and I were absolutely famished after working this morning so decided to take a long lunch and gorge ourselves on some sweet Park City singletrack. Starting at the main Glenwild trailhead we rode Stealth to 24/7 to Flying Dog (clockwise) to Preserve to Flying Dog to 24/7 to Stealth and back to the car. At just under 2 hours it was a nice power lunch.