SR-167 and SR-226 April 23rd, 2011
I love to ride my bike... obviously as I have decided to take on all the highways in our state. Sometimes, life makes this love affair more difficult than I would like it to be. Saturday before last, I rode SR-167 and SR-226. I finished my regular work shift (seven days of ten hour graveyard shifts) on Wednesday and was back to work Thursday and Friday morning to cover shifts at Salt Lake Clinic's lab (I actually did do 22 miles on Thursday, cause, ya know... we make time for what we love). Kathy Jo was planning on running Strider's WRC 30k that Saturday so we decided to stay at the Red Moose Lodge in Eden for the weekend. I had made plans to volunteer at the Legacy Duathlon that same morning, so I would not be able to see K Jo race. Friday, I got off work, drove home, packed, drove to Bountiful for my coach's gear sale, went to dinner at wingers, then drove to the hotel arriving around 7:30. I was exhausted, cold I had to get up early and I was cranky so I didn't ride, which made me more cranky. I had planned to ride my bike that day and now it was going to be dark soon, and I hadn't packed enough cold weather gear and that made me cranky... did I mention that I was cranky? Kudos, to K Jo for putting up with me... I woke up the next morning and made my way down the canyon to a Smiths where I got some breakfast and then drove on to North Salt Lake to help out at the race. I was assigned to be a course marshal directing the short course people to turnaround at the sign. It was fun because I had a lot of friends doing this race and I had my camera with me so I got some nice shots. I will post those later. I left the race and went home to grab some lunch and some tools to help my friend Dane disassemble his bike and pack it up to send it to Florida for a race he was planning on doing. We took his bike apart, packed it up and went to UPS to find out it would be no less than $190 to ship his bike... on the way back to Dane's place, Dane altered his race schedule for the year ever so slightly... I finally arrived at our hotel around 5:00 in the afternoon and spent the next 15 minutes dressing, prepping and assuring K Jo that I loved her more than I loved my bike. It had been a busy couple of days, but I was finally off...
SR-226 starts at Snowbasin Ski Resort where it rises sharply into the mountain for a mile, then plummets 2 more miles to SR-167 where it terminates.
As I mentioned above, we were staying in Eden which is on the North-West side of Pineview Reservoir which is East of Ogden. I started out heading South, then crossed the dam where I shot East on SR-39 to the North Terminus of SR-167. The sky was overcast and the temps were chilly, but not frigid. I turned right and snapped a pic of SR-167's signs, then began climbing (hooray!). At the top of Trappers loop (aka SR-167) I swung another right and got a pic of the "end" sign for 226... I think it worth mentioning that I began SR-226 by riding it backwards as is my typical MO. I climbed some more then was treated to a fast, fun downhill to Snowbasin where I turned around, captured a pic of the SR-226 East sign and looked down to see that I was standing in two inches of mud, cleverly disguised as roadside gravel. I spent the next 10 minutes digging mud and gravel out of the cleats of my bike shoes... For you non-cyclists out there, most Road Bikers have special pedals, called "clipless pedals" on their bikes matched to special shoes they wear on their feet. Those shoes have a "cleat" that attaches to a spring-loaded mechanism on the pedal that keeps your foot 1) in proper position on the pedal and 2) attached to the bike... this means if you crash on a road bike, the bike can stay attached. Engaging and disengaging the cleat into the pedal or "clipping in" and "clipping out" (which is dumb because you have to "clip in" to a "clipless pedal") can be likened to squeezing into and out of last summer's shorts after a winter of riding the couch and eating Oreos. It's difficult, but it's possible and you might end up falling over. Now imagine you had been covering those Oreos with peanut butter and dipping them in whole milk... That is what I was dealing with. Oh! Add into this mix that I was now 1400 feet higher and 5 degrees colder than when I started... and I wasn't pedaling anymore. Brrrr... I finally got my shoes "clean" enough to start riding again and crested the hill for a fast ride back to SR-167.
I hung a right and again, rode down the mountain into Mounatin Green at speeds that would make formula one racers pucker. I stopped at the local gas station to fill my water, then rode to the start of SR-167
SR-167 starts at the I-84 interchange just west of Mountain Green. It flows East for two miles then makes an abrupt left where it rises about 1100 ft in about 5 miles, then drops rather sharply for the last 4 miles where it terminates on the north end at SR-39 totaling 11.1 miles.
After turning around, I downed a GU and headed back into Mountain Green where I made a left and started my climb. I was getting concerned because looking at my bike computer told me I had been riding almost two hours and I still had to climb to the top of Trapper's Loop, descend back to the reservoir and ride around the reservoir back to my hotel. It was getting colder and I knew it was going to be dark soon. I felt better when I realized that I had ridden 6 extra miles by heading out and back on SR-226 and I wouldn't be riding it again. Nevertheless, As I passed mile marker 2, I viewed the mountain looming before me, gauged my clock and mashed my pedals. I spun, grunted, pushed, sweated and worked my way to the top of the hill, where I passed SR-226 and mile marker 7 and saw that I had climbed 1100 ft in about 5 miles in just under 30 minutes. 10 mph up a 4.2 % grade is not at all on par with the Tour de France boys, but it made me feel pretty good. I was then home free. I descended back to SR-39 like a cheetah on crack. I was after all, trying to beat the sun back to the hotel.
I hit SR-39 and rode like a time-trialist back around the lake to the Red Moose Lodge where I found K Jo happily watching a movie. She had just ordered pizza to be delivered to our room...
SR-226 starts at Snowbasin Ski Resort where it rises sharply into the mountain for a mile, then plummets 2 more miles to SR-167 where it terminates.
As I mentioned above, we were staying in Eden which is on the North-West side of Pineview Reservoir which is East of Ogden. I started out heading South, then crossed the dam where I shot East on SR-39 to the North Terminus of SR-167. The sky was overcast and the temps were chilly, but not frigid. I turned right and snapped a pic of SR-167's signs, then began climbing (hooray!). At the top of Trappers loop (aka SR-167) I swung another right and got a pic of the "end" sign for 226... I think it worth mentioning that I began SR-226 by riding it backwards as is my typical MO. I climbed some more then was treated to a fast, fun downhill to Snowbasin where I turned around, captured a pic of the SR-226 East sign and looked down to see that I was standing in two inches of mud, cleverly disguised as roadside gravel. I spent the next 10 minutes digging mud and gravel out of the cleats of my bike shoes... For you non-cyclists out there, most Road Bikers have special pedals, called "clipless pedals" on their bikes matched to special shoes they wear on their feet. Those shoes have a "cleat" that attaches to a spring-loaded mechanism on the pedal that keeps your foot 1) in proper position on the pedal and 2) attached to the bike... this means if you crash on a road bike, the bike can stay attached. Engaging and disengaging the cleat into the pedal or "clipping in" and "clipping out" (which is dumb because you have to "clip in" to a "clipless pedal") can be likened to squeezing into and out of last summer's shorts after a winter of riding the couch and eating Oreos. It's difficult, but it's possible and you might end up falling over. Now imagine you had been covering those Oreos with peanut butter and dipping them in whole milk... That is what I was dealing with. Oh! Add into this mix that I was now 1400 feet higher and 5 degrees colder than when I started... and I wasn't pedaling anymore. Brrrr... I finally got my shoes "clean" enough to start riding again and crested the hill for a fast ride back to SR-167.
I hung a right and again, rode down the mountain into Mounatin Green at speeds that would make formula one racers pucker. I stopped at the local gas station to fill my water, then rode to the start of SR-167
After turning around, I downed a GU and headed back into Mountain Green where I made a left and started my climb. I was getting concerned because looking at my bike computer told me I had been riding almost two hours and I still had to climb to the top of Trapper's Loop, descend back to the reservoir and ride around the reservoir back to my hotel. It was getting colder and I knew it was going to be dark soon. I felt better when I realized that I had ridden 6 extra miles by heading out and back on SR-226 and I wouldn't be riding it again. Nevertheless, As I passed mile marker 2, I viewed the mountain looming before me, gauged my clock and mashed my pedals. I spun, grunted, pushed, sweated and worked my way to the top of the hill, where I passed SR-226 and mile marker 7 and saw that I had climbed 1100 ft in about 5 miles in just under 30 minutes. 10 mph up a 4.2 % grade is not at all on par with the Tour de France boys, but it made me feel pretty good. I was then home free. I descended back to SR-39 like a cheetah on crack. I was after all, trying to beat the sun back to the hotel.
I hit SR-39 and rode like a time-trialist back around the lake to the Red Moose Lodge where I found K Jo happily watching a movie. She had just ordered pizza to be delivered to our room...
best... wife... ever...
A few moments later, our delivery girls showed up with our grub. K Jo and I spent the rest of the night eating pizza and salad, drinking coke, and watching movies. I wasn't cranky anymore. These highways are numbers 24 and 25. I rode 45.1 miles in 2:47:50 averaging 16.1 mph. I topped out somewhere around 45 mph and climbed close to 3300 ft. So far I have done 266.4 miles of state roads, 745.8 miles of riding. Thanks for reading!
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