We went mountain biking this weekend with Brock and Natalie. (Well, B&N left early because Wal-mart sells defective bikes. We'll have to do it again, guys!) We rode the Temple Quarry Trail up Little Cottonwood Canyon, which is my favorite bike trail. This is where the pioneers got the granite to build the Salt Lake Temple.My grandpa taught me about mountain biking and he and I rode a lot of miles together. My grandpa is in amazing shape and stays very physically active. I hope to be like that when I'm his age. We rode the Temple Quarry trail together a few times along with Slick Rock, the entire Jordan River Parkway, most of the Bonneville Shoreline trail, and many other random trails my grandpa somehow knows about. Too bad he lives in St. George now!
The trail didn't disappoint me this weekend. It was challenging, but really fun. It's challenging because there's rocks all over the trail from when the pioneers cut the granite. You have to guide your bike around the rocks, or else go over them. It's fun. I love maneuvering my bike around and over the rocks. It makes me feel like a mountain goat, only I'm on a bike. Going back down is even more fun, but I'm definitely more of a pansy now than I was three or four years ago. I went pretty slow. Mitch did well, considering it was his first real mountain biking experience. Mitch had fun and said he'd go again.
At the top of the trail, there's an old stone building. I think the pioneers probably used it as a chapel since it would be easier to stay up the canyon for church than to trek down every Sunday. The river was too high for us to cross over to it this time, but it was still really pretty to see. Here's a picture of what's left of the building. 
I miss Salt Lake sometimes because the canyons (Big, Little, and American Fork) are my favorites!
I was glad to be out in nature and get some good exercise. Mitch and I are planning on biking more this summer if anyone wants to join us ... 
6 comments:
Beautiful scenery. Thanks for sharing your pics.
I need to get more into the trails and things around my house. There are so many awesome and great things to do and I never take advantage of them. You've inspired me!
I am with you about missing the mountains. I think that will be one of the hardest things about moving. That's great you guys have made it out to some trails already. Biking is a sport I would love to get into more, it is quite exhilarating to say the least.
So, the Ragnar...each person does run about 15 miles but that 15 miles or so is split up between three runs; you run each leg every 8 hours or so. Some pointers that I would suggest are to start training for uphills and downhills right away, every person on your team will usually have at least one run with hills. Then, as soon as you find out which legs you are running you can get a better idea of how to train. Ragnar posts the details about each run and you should find these details out in your team meeting, I think you can find them online too...but I'm not sure.
I think your golden, especially because you already run so your not starting from scratch. My friend Jessica ran the Ragnar last year with a weeks notice, she ran 17 miles and she wasn't running at all before.
That's awesome you get to run the Ragnar, it is SO much fun! I wish I was running it this year :)! Good Luck and if you have any more questions about the race just ask!
And sorry it took me so long to get back to you about this, I just got back in town. Oh, and BTW you will probably hear a big fuss about the "Ragnar" part of the race. Basically, the person who runs the "Ragnar" runs up a mountain for 4 miles. No one likes to run it because the constant incline sounds really intimidating. Last year no one on my team wanted to run it so I got stuck with it. It was nerve racking until I actually started running it, it had to be one of the most beautiful runs I have ever done and it really isn't as hard as everyone claims. I was going to suggest to you to take the leg that runs the "Ragnar" if that sounds like something you would want to do. It was my favorite run in the race by far. Sorry to drag on...
WOW, that was REALLY REALLY long, hehehe!
Actually Wal-Mart didn't sell defective bikes, I just have a defective brain! I couldn't get my bike to shift just right and forgot that you have to move the gear shift just a little more in order to get it to completely shift, not move it all the way into another gear (hey, it's been like 10 years since I've ridden a bike). Anyway, I rode it around in the parking lot because I refuse to be a quitter, and got myself trained to work the gear shift better. Brock and I rode up most of the way but not all the way up. We're out of shape and exhausted now! Loved it though and will have to do it again!
Natalie
That looks like fun. Maybe I will get a bike this summer and join you on some rides :)
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