Fall For It

We took a drive up Alpine Loop and found a great spot for a few Autumn photo's.

Did The Dew

I pity the fool who didn't make it to the 2009 Dew Tour. We saw a Mr. T. look-a-like yelling on his megaphone.

There were plenty of events and freebies.

Like spray painted tattoos.

Free test drive of the new Toyota Prius.

And events that gave younger skaters the chance to show off their skills (like this guy hitting the rails!! Ouch!)

We got free Toyota hats for test driving.

It was a hot day. So after the tour, Tristan and his friend Dylan decided to cool down in the water fountain in front of Symphony Hall.

I like how the new downtown construction as well as the Joseph Smith Memorial Building are captured in the reflection.

We enjoyed the shade and the diffent view of Temple Square.

Bear Lake Beauty

A long Labor Day weekend spent with family in a rented home overlooking Bear Lake. Nothing boring about that. With so much to do, what would we do first?

It's been my goal for over two years now to ride my bike the entire 50 miles around Bear Lake. This was my chance. The day was calm and overcast. Perfect riding conditions.



My ride takes me north, going clockwise, around the lake. I travel into Idaho passing through small farming communities. Along the way I pass this abandoned house that looks like it came right out of a painting. I was actually so fascinated with this home that I ended up driving back here to show Lily and to take pictures.




I then made the turn eastbound heading over the north beach of the lake before it turned south again.

My trip took me past many beaches, homes, and campsites. Who knew there was so much to see and do around this lake. I finished my ride in 2 hours and 55 minutes at an average speed of 17 mph. I was tired, but it felt good to accomplish my goal and in the time frame I had anticipated.





When I came back I found Tristan playing in the sandbox making castles. We spent the rest of the day just lounging around.




Later that night the cousins showed up. They all had a sleepover in the bunkbed room.

The next day we all headed over to the beach. We spent half of the day there playing in the shallow waters, building mud castles and enjoyed lunch.

Tristan decided the conditions were just right to make a sand angel.

If you've never seen the effects of athletes feet before, then here's a close up. Yep, that's actually his skin peeling away from his feet! The sand did a great job of helping it along.

After having our fun in the sun we all headed over to the center of town to pick up a few of their famous raspberry shakes. They were really good! Lily brought along her newest nephew, Emanual, to Bear Lake with us which kept her busy.

We then headed back to the cabin and enjoyed our shakes around a campfire. And of course , any time you have a campfire, you gotta have marshmellows. We toasted a few of those before we called it a night. All in all, a pretty great day.

Our last day in paradise we decided to visit the Minnitonka Cave, which was packed. We waited 2 hours until it was our turn to tour the cave.

So we spent the time taking pictures and snacking. At first Tristan was scared of the cave because his cousin told him there were vampires. He later came to the conclusion that she didn't know what she was talking about.

Out of nowhere these three all seemed to be in sync and threw in a "Charlies Angels" pose.

After exploring the cave, it was time to go home. We headed back to the cabin and packed our things, looked at the lake one last time and then drove the two hours back home. Looking forward to coming back next year!

Emigration Canyon

A sunny afternoon and 2 hours to kill. I headed out the door with a couple of energy bars and a water bottle. Where would I go today?

As I headed north I thought I would make my way to the Hogle Zoo and if I still had energy left, then I would ride up Emigration Canyon. I've ridden this canyon a handful of times this season and have gotten to know it pretty well.

I reached the zoo and found I still had the strength to keep going. So I downed an energy gel pack and headed up the canyon with a good amount of effort. I ended up making it to the top of the canyon in a blazing 39 minutes 20 seconds. A record time for me! I rested at the top before heading back towards the zoo. I noticed on my way down that I hit 1500 miles on my cyclometer. I just had to take a picture to capture this milestone. I then pedaled back home to complete the 30 mile round trip.

Cache Valley Century Ride

It was the start of a long but exciting day. I awoke at 4:00AM, got my gear ready, ate a small breakfast then waited for Mas to pick me up. When he arrived, I loaded up my road bike and we headed north on a two hour drive to a small farming community in Richmond, UT.

This is where it was to take place. The Cache Valley Century Ride. We opted to endure the Metric Century, which is just over 60 miles, instead of the full 100 mile ride due to our lack of experience. Our ride took us from Richmond to Preston, ID. then over to Dayton, ID. and back into Utah.

With over 500 participants, the ride started off slow but soon picked up pace. I found myself being swept up in a Peleton of 35 riders charging down the scenic country road. I hung in with that group for the the first 14 miles at a pace ranging from 26 to 32 MPH. I knew I couldn't keep that up all day. I soon dropped off and pedaled my way to the first rest stop in Preston where I waited for Mas.

I'd never been on a supported ride before. It was nice to find bananas, orange slices, and granola bars at the rest stop. We re-fueled and were soon on the road to Dayton. This is one of the only sections with hills. After slowly making our way to the top, we were rewarded with a downhill stretch where we reached speeds of 44 MPH. It wasn't long before I found my self being overtaken by another group of eight cyclist. I was able to latch on and managed to ride the next 20 miles at a 25 MPH pace, and it felt great!

After two more rest stops and a whole lotta miles, Mas and I finished back in Richmond and enjoyed a nice chicken fajita lunch sponsored by the Cache Valley Veloist cycling group. We then loaded up and headed back for home. Total riding time was 3 hours 37 minutes at an average speed of 17 MPH. With the rest stops included, our tptal time was just around 4 1/2 hours. It was great to know that I could ride that kind of distance and survive. I'm already looking forward to finding another century ride, maybe even completing the entire 100 miles. So stay tuned...

Park It

Tristan and I enjoyed lunch over at Cottonwood Park.

We ate a the pavilion and got some cool pics.

We then played on the playground until it got too hot. Later went home and took a nice long nap until Lily got home from work.