This past Saturday was our second annual Mountain to Mountain bike ride.
The original idea was to leave form the mouth of Bingham Canyon at 8:00 am, as to beat some of the July heat. Alex Winder had told us that we could borrow his truck, which was way nice of him, but then left for Provo the morning of the ride without arranging for anyone to have the keys to his truck. (This was mostly my fault.)
Thankfully, John mentioned that he had a spare set of Alex’s keys, but needed to go all the way back to his house to get them. By the time John was back with the keys and we had made it to Copperton, it was already 10:00am and blazing hot. Undaunted, each of us started to ride to the other side of the Salt Lake Valley.
Our trip took us along the Old Bingham Highway where it meets with 90th South, then turns into 94th South and heads up Little Cottonwood Canyon. Going from the starting line till the river is a fantastic, easy ride—and it only takes just about 45 minutes to do. After the river, the hills start to become obstacles, but I guess that’s the point of the whole thing.
We lost Ryan Forbes due to back injury around 27th West, then we lost Melissa Weidner just before the freeway on 90th South due to extreme stomach pains. Both put out a valiant effort effort and should sincerely be commended for their work.
After making it up the hill at 94th South to Alta View Hospital, I honestly thought I needed to be admitted to the emergency room. Everything inside me burned and I was totally hot and exhausted—I’m sure everyone else was—but we would not give up. Even Lindsey Forbes, who came so close to calling it quits, made it all the way to the finish line.
The heat was at about 100°F, and intensified by the heat waves radiating off the road, the concrete to the side, and the exhaust from passing cars. Still the ride was enjoyable and the end was nice.
Special thanks to those who support this venture each year. We hope it continues to grow.
No comments:
Post a Comment