Frontrunner Metric Century 4-9-11

It's been over a week, I suppose I should get around to recapping this ride.  I was not happy when I looked at the forecast for the weekend... high 30s to low 40s with a chance of snow showers... ugh...  My riding buddy, Dave had been contemplating doing this ride for some time, then backed out  when he saw the forecast... I was optimistic.  Friday rolled around and I drove ever so cautiously to the Gateway to pick up my packet while snowflakes the size of half-dollars (remember those) pelted my car.  I said to myself, "if it is like this tomorrow morning, I am NOT riding."  I walked into Jason's deli and chatted with Matt and Robyn, (husband and wife, co-organizers of the ride and fellow churchgoers) while they gave me my packet.  I exited the restaurant and the snow had stopped which gave me hope.  When I got home, I got all of my clothes ready, set them next to my bed and packed a bag with post-ride clothing for the train ride back to SLC.  I went to bed and woke up early to be at the inter-modal hub in time to get a good parking spot.  I dressed in my warmest bike clothes, then stepped out onto my front porch to see something akin to this:

Well, that settles, it... I am not riding...   Then I look to the north to see a lone figure on a bicycle wearing a red jacket and a white helmet... Well... If he can do it... I can do it... I threw my bag in my car, put my bike on the trunk rack and again, cautiously made my way downtown.  When I arrived at the inter-modal hub, I put on my bike shoes and helmet, threw my bag over my shoulder and walked to the parking lot that was the designated start point.  I handed my bag over to Robyn, who was sitting in a U-haul, and drank some hot cocoa. I then I see someone ride up in a red jacket wearing a white helmet.  It was Eddie, who goes to church with Matt, Robyn and me.  I laughed and told him that I saw him riding away that morning and he was happy to know that he had spurred me on to attempt the ride.  After a few minutes of standing around in the cold, we received some instruction from the ride organizer.  We were assured that there would be a volunteer in an orange vest, or a clearly marked sign at every key turn, and we were given cue sheets that gave us a list of all the critical turns.  We then lined up to start the ride and stood around in the cold for a few more minutes... Then we were off, like maple syrup out of a squeeze bottle... seriously, we started at a (relatively) slow pace of 15-16 MPH.  It was a little frustrating at first, we were after all following a ride leader who was supposed to know the entire course.  It was obvious that there were some who were frustrated with the slow pace and they took off ahead of the main group.  I of course followed.  We made our way through the north western parts of Salt Lake until we crossed the bridge on Center Street in North Salt Lake that crosses Legacy Parkway, then descended the bridge where several guys, despite the volunteer directing them, got off course.  I had studied the map like a good little athlete and made my way back along Center Street to get on The Legacy Parkway Trail and go under the bridge we had just crossed.  I was now the new ride leader.

I did my share of pulling the group and chatted with those who would pull after me.  I met a nice elderly gentleman named Charlie, who later went down in a twisted heap of bicycles and riders on the trail just behind me.  That's just what happens when you ride in snowy, wet conditions.  Just after watching that crash, I met Zac.  Amidst introductions and pleasantries about the "pleasant" weather, Zac asked me if I was wearing a heart rate monitor and I said that I was.  When I told him my heart rate was resting comfortably at 140, he exclaimed that I was in much better shape then he.  We made our way north carefully crossing several wooden bridges in the wetlands that had two inches of snow on them.

It was pretty sketchy at times, but we made it safely to the 1st aid station at mile 20 where we refueled, I answered the call of nature (again with the wet soaking into my bladder) and we headed out on the route following the direction of the volunteers.  We soon found that we were supposed to be following signs with arrows that read "Run Endurance" which didn't make sense for a bike ride, but at least we had some direction.  At one point in Kaysville, I was fortunate enough to see a sign that another rider had missed.  I chased him down, and got back on the route with the lost rider following.  Zac patiently waited as I got back on the route.  We soon made it to Layton and hit Gentile street.  I pulled out my cue sheet and saw that the next turn was on 3000 w.  I watched 2200 w go by, then 3100 w and when we got to 3200 w Zac and I stopped to evaluate.  Another group of riders stopped too and waited while we discussed where to go.  They impatiently took off heading north on 3200 w while I waited for Zac to pull out his smart phone and study the route.  He found that if we kept heading west on Gentile we would eventually make it to 3000 w.  None of this made sense until we passed a sign that said "Welcome to Syracuse" and I started seeing houses marked 625, 670, 700.  It then hit me that the towns in Davis county are not all on the same grid like the towns in Salt Lake County.  Armed with this knowledge, we pedaled through Syracuse, past West Point (riding SR-110 in its entirety, 3.5 mi, but I was too cold and wet to take pictures, so that post will come later) and into Hooper guided by my cue sheet where we stopped at mile 40 for aid station number two, all the time, seeing taut flags indicating a good strong headwind... it wouldn't be a good ride unless I was riding into the wind... We were greeted by much-to-excited-considering-the-weather volunteers and were informed that were the first riders to come to their aid station... we were in the lead...

While we were standing around eating, a man rode up, agitatedly asked for GU gel, but settled for a few granola bars, and took off.  I didn't want to lose my lead, so I told Zac, "Finish you grapes, and let's get riding"  We again followed my cue sheet, and Zac expressed regret that I had been pulling the entire time while he was content to stay in my draft.  He then said "I feel bad, but I'm just trying to keep my heart rate under 160."  I checked my monitor and saw that I was still keeping right around 140 and told him, "I am using this as a training ride, so as far as I am concerned, you can stay in my slipstream all day."  We rolled through Hooper and into Kanesville where we made a left turn as per the cue sheet despite there being no volunteer or sign directing us to do so.  We passed signs for Taylor and West Weber then made a right turn in Plain City where I was relieved to finally get out of the head wind that we had been fighting pretty much the whole time we had been on the road.  We followed Pioneer Road that meanders through Marriott-Slaterville until we hit 1200 W in Ogden and I knew we were tantalizingly close to the finish line.  Fueled by a nice tailwind, we rocketed south where we saw the granola bar guy, and I told Zac, "There is the leader, we are going to catch him."  he just nodded as I dropped into my aero bars and mashed my pedals.  We eventually caught and passed our granola bar friend, made a right turn onto Wall ave and went hard until 25th st, where lies the Ogden Depot and the finish line.  Just before riding into the parking lot, I saw Matt with a big grin on his face, waving me in.  As I entered the parking lot, I saw several riders already handing their bikes off to volunteers to be shipped back to SLC.  Matt informed me that I was the first rider he saw, and that I was likely the first to cross the "finish line" as I was the first to ride the whole route.  I collected my post ride clothes and my finisher's medal:

then changed in a truck trailer.  We grabbed some lunch provided by Jason's Deli and Zac, Eddie and I all ate our lunch, shivering in the truck trailer while we waited for the train.  Yes, I was more cold AFTER the ride eating lunch wrapped in a hoodie AND a jacket than while I was riding in the wet snow.  After finishing, we all boarded the train and had a nice chat on our way back to SLC.  The CR England truck arrived with our bikes, and I gave Eddie a ride home.  This ride was snowy, wet, dirty and sometimes a little confusing, but I can honestly say that I had a blast.  I talked to Matt in church the week after the ride and he said he had negative feedback from only one person and that person was only mad because the weather was terrible.  From start to finish, this ride took us about 4:25:00.  My actual riding time was 3:48:41, a little less than 16.5 mph.  You can see the whole route here.  Thanks for reading.