Luce
10-03-2010, 11:43 AM
I did a ride on Saturday I've been wanting to do for a while now. Finally found the energy and time to do it yesterday. For the past couple of years I've done the ride from Guardsman pass down to the bottom of Mill Creek with a shuttle. This late in the season and I still hadn't done it this year so I set out to do it yesterday. I was riding this alone so I decided this was the day to make the climb up, no shuttle. Yes I'm crazy I know. The UTA park and ride lot was full when I got there at 9:30am so I parked at that little park on Wasatch and 3700 South. From there I biked the road up Mill Creek canyon to the top, took the trail to Dog Lake. I stopped there and took a few pictures, had a snack. Continued down the back side on Mill D into Big Cottonwood canyon. Once there I took the road all the way to Guardsman pass. I got there and about puked after all that climbing. It had taken me four hours to get to Guardsman from the start on Wasatch and I was feeling it. The place was packed with cars and bikers up there. Beautiful weather and an even day brings out all the bikers. Even had a guy up there on a tandem mountain bike with his little son on the back. The climb up Puke hill didn't go so well, with my head lowered I had to walk part of it, I just didn't have it in me that day after the climb I had already done. The rest of the ride down Great Western to the Spine was great. I stopped at the Spine for a bit to watch people come down it and that is where I caught this clip. It is a bit hard to make out at the start but at the end you will understand what I was watching.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfCdP5uXiRw&hd=1
After that I continued towards Mill Creek on the GWT. I was pretty exhausted at this point, my attention wasn't on what was around me and more focused on getting down the trail. That is when I ran into this clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9q9fYkjN-o&hd=1
I was more alert after this encounter. It seemed a lot closer at the time then it looks on the camera. There were hikers down the trail once I passed this that had seen me come around that corner. They all asked if that scared the shit out of me, only one answer to that, Hell Ya! I ended up at the top of Mill Creek and took the road down to the start of the Pipeline trail. I only made it half way down that trail before I decide to end the trail riding and just take the road the rest of the way down. Back to the car on Wasatch I pulled up and found my Garmin battery had failed at some point on the ride. Bike computer registered at 45.38 miles. That is the longest trip I've done this year for sure. Once I find my Garmin map source software I'll upload whatever elevation data I can pull. It looks like the battery failed around mile 30 but that is enough to get the climb.
38005380043800338002380013800037999
37998
37997
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfCdP5uXiRw&hd=1
After that I continued towards Mill Creek on the GWT. I was pretty exhausted at this point, my attention wasn't on what was around me and more focused on getting down the trail. That is when I ran into this clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9q9fYkjN-o&hd=1
I was more alert after this encounter. It seemed a lot closer at the time then it looks on the camera. There were hikers down the trail once I passed this that had seen me come around that corner. They all asked if that scared the shit out of me, only one answer to that, Hell Ya! I ended up at the top of Mill Creek and took the road down to the start of the Pipeline trail. I only made it half way down that trail before I decide to end the trail riding and just take the road the rest of the way down. Back to the car on Wasatch I pulled up and found my Garmin battery had failed at some point on the ride. Bike computer registered at 45.38 miles. That is the longest trip I've done this year for sure. Once I find my Garmin map source software I'll upload whatever elevation data I can pull. It looks like the battery failed around mile 30 but that is enough to get the climb.
38005380043800338002380013800037999
37998
37997