bike ride on jordan river parkway

For a change from hiking, Mark & I occasionally like to go for a bike ride together. The mountain bike trails that Mark tackles are a bit steep for me, so a ride along Jordan River Parkway is more my "pace". A section of the parkway near our house takes us from Willow Park to Thanksgiving Point and return (about 10 miles). In this pic Mark is riding alongside Thanksgiving Point Golf Course. The brownish mountain behind him on the left of the pic is Traverse Ridge where our house is.

The Jordan River is a fresh water stream that runs north from Utah Lake in Utah Valley, through Salt Lake Valley and into the Great Salt Lake. It attracts a lot of birdlife in this otherwise dry region. The Jordan River Parkway is a walking/biking trail that runs alongside the river for much of its length. (It's hoped eventually to have one continuous trail along the 50 miles of the river).

Hopefully the bike riding and hiking will help to keep my legs fit for the next ski season!

southwest road trip - day 1 - slickrock bike trail

Today we set off on an 8 day road trip around some of the great sights in southern Utah, and northern Arizona, commonly known as "the southwest". Our first destination was the town of Moab 3.5 hours southeast of Salt Lake City. Moab is located close to a couple of National Parks and some very well-known mountain biking trails including the famous Slickrock Bike Trail - which Mark just had to check out while we were there! After picking up a good rental bike (a Yeti 575 that Mark was curious to tryout) we headed out to the trail.

As you can see from the sign, the trail is not for the beginner or faint-hearted (hence Heather hiked the 2 mile "practice loop" trail while Mark rode 9 miles of the "main loop").

"Slickrock" is the term the early pioneers gave to Navajo Sandstone formations in this area because their metal-shod horses freqently slipped on the barren rock. The trail is marked by a series of painted white lines that undulate up and down the sandstone domes and fins and includes some challenging climbs as well as some short sections of red sand.

The temperature was in the low 90's (33C) and the heat radiating from the rock and sand made the hike/bike even more challenging.

Apart from the beauty of the red rock and sparse vegetation, there were some great views of interesting outcrops and and the nearby La Sal mountains, whose 12,000ft peaks were still showing traces of snow despite the warm temperatures.

Water has carved some deep gorges in the sandstone. This is the view from the trail at Echo Point looking down Abyss Canyon formed by a tributary of the mighty Colorado River.

the last ride

Today Mark and David took their last mountain bike ride together before David heads back to Austin, Texas. They headed out to Park City to tackle a 24.9 mile loop of the Mid Mountain trail which rocks up and down the sides of the mountains at the 8,000ft level between Park City Mountain Resort and The Canyons Ski Resort. (No snow in Summer!) It was a 4.5 hour "epic" ride.
Here's a shot of David on the trail. You can just make out the town of Park City in the valley below (at 6,800ft). Hope to see you again soon David!

more mountain biking

We've been in mountain biking overdrive during the last week - with hundreds of pics taken. So for those of you interested in getting a taste of the activity here is a "summary" in a slideshow. You'll find Mark's Dad (who's in his 70's), Annie (Clair's 16 y.o. daughter), Mark, David & Clair in these pics (not everyone did every ride). The ride locations include, Lambert Park, and trails at the top of American Fork Canyon, Park City, Big Cottonwood Canyon and Mill Creek Canyon. Apart from the exercise there is some great scenery to enjoy.

mountain biking visitors

Mark's brother David and his girlfriend Clair are visiting us for a week from Texas. They're both very keen mountain bikers so they shipped their bikes from Texas too. To help them adjust to the altitude (exerting yourself at 6,000 to 8,000 ft is a lot harder than at sea level), Mark took them on an "acclimation" ride in Corner Canyon (about a 10 minute drive from our house). Interestingly it was Mark who found the ride the toughest! (He just doesn't like riding in the afternoon heat). Heather is noticeably absent. Despite doing a bit of trail riding in Virginia, the mountains here in Utah are just to darn steep! (She's sticking to hiking).

Yes, we managed to fit 3 bikes on the back of the car!

David & Mark head up the trail towards Lone Peak.

Mark in action

Clair in action

David crossing a small stream

There are some pretty neat views along the trail. Here looking back down into Salt Lake Valley and the Oquirrh Mountains to the west.