By: Kate Pearce
What a great ride! Today was lots of fun. Oh, this is Kate by the way. We departed the Lost Horse Ranch in the morning, leaving our tipi behind. I rode with Greg, Annie, & Alex, and the first 20 or so miles were basically going up mountains. For those of you who are confused by who this Greg person is, he is an awesome guy from Britain who joined us for about 2.5 days on the road. He is a super experienced cyclist, and you should check out his blog at lostbyway.com! Whenever I was riding behind him, I observed as he expertly knew when to use the drop handlebars and when to shift gears and all of that. By mimicking some of Greg's techniques I learned a lot. Plus, we all really enjoyed riding with Greg and were really glad to have met him on the road!
There was a 7 mile stretch which was just a slow winding climb up to the top. Most of the last 50 miles of our 70 mile ride, though, were majorly downhill. I hit a new max speed- 42.3mph! I was braking at the time, too...
The views were stunning as we biked near mountains, big lakes, a river, and forest. We stopped for a bite to eat at Daniel's Summit Lodge once we'd finished the really uphill start to the ride. The summit was around 8,000 ft. It felt cool to have biked up to the top of something labeled a "summit," and I greatly enjoyed the fresh pancakes I ate at the top. Although, I do have to admit I was a bit offended when our waitress told me I should get the short stack of pancakes because I wouldn't be able to eat the tall stack's 3 pancakes. Clearly she had never seen me eat before...
Stopping for yet more food, we discovered the chain Kneader's which we all really enjoyed. From salads and sandwiches to smoothies and pastries, I'd say they might even beat Panera out. With most of the end of the ride being downhill, we had a lovely time cruising along through canyons and past a lake. I didn't take any pictures as I was zooming through the canyon (safety first!), but here's a photo of the lake we biked around.
Reaching Lindon, we were really amazed by the natural beauty surrounding this town. In all directions, majestic mountains abounded. We were warmly met by the Nuffer family. The taco dinner that we had was really delicious. Unfortunately, though, we had to say goodbye to Greg after dinner. He was pushing onward, biking more that evening. Greg had amended (aka slowed) his trip to bike with us for a few days, but it was time for him to hit the road. We were taking pictures before he left, and someone said we should pick him up. Not sure why, but next thing I knew I had Greg's leg in my hands and we had hoisted him up. Even though we had just met him as a stranger on the road 2 days before, it felt pretty sad to say goodbye. Good luck to Greg with his wild ride out to Alaska and then from Japan all the way to China. He's basically riding around the world!
After dinner, Lisa and I ran to Target to pick up a few random items. And by ran I mean we drove in the car. Upon returning, many of us watched a movie in our host's luxurious movie room. With electric recliners and a huge screen, it was like being in a movie theater. It certainly was a nice way to unwind after a long day. But really the day didn't feel long at all! In my journal, I color code days based on how "good" they are. The ride today received a green which is the best color, 5 stars out of 5. Nothing can really beat a satisfying climb followed by miles and miles of speedy, gorgeous downhill. I attached a screenshot of Annie's Strava elevation profile of the ride so you can see what I mean. It was pretty fun! Thanks for reading.
-Kate-
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