Am I getting old? I don't know, but maybe it would explain why I didn't enjoy my ride yesterday. The route we chose was starting in Magna, riding 8400 West down to Herriman and back. On paper, it looked good -- about 35.5 miles. Then I could ride home while Marsha drove.

Well, the first 14 miles is a long slow grind up a series of stepped hills. Not too steep, but steady and steeper than going up Emigration Canyon. Then after a brief downhill in Herriman, we turned North into the teeth of a frigid head wind (15 mph). And so it went for the rest of the ride. Cold, windy and uphill.

By the time we got back to the car (40 miles! 4 hours!) my legs were numb from the knees down, and my back muscles were cramping up. Needless to say, I didn't ride home.

Logan to Salt Lake City

So today was the Big Ride Day. Cassie, Marsha and I drove up to Logan last night. We checked into our motel about 10:00 PM. I didn't sleep much.

Got up and had breakfast in the lobby. Not too bad - cereal and a bagel. Then at 6:30, I hopped on my bike and headed back toward Salt Lake. I'm sure Cassie will write about The Little Red Riding Hood.

I soon hit a snag. Hiway 30, that leaves Cache Valley to the West was under construction. Looked like there was no pavement for miles. So I headed south to go over Sardine Canyon. I did ride through some nice farmland with lots of waterfowl preserves. I was harassed several times by redwing blackbirds.

I dreaded going over Sardine, as I remembered it being very tough going last year. But actually, the getting there was a lot harder. I had to crawl up and down several hills to get to the highway. I saw a lot (dozens!) of women riding their bikes to the start of LRRH. I guess 100 miles isn't enough for some people.

Anyway, the climb up to the pass wasn't really all that bad. And the ride down (30-35 mph) was a gas. Then, when I hit Brigham City and turned south, I hit a nice head wind. Reminds me of an old War (the group) song. Goes like this:

Wind - Huh!
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothin'!
Say it again.

Actually the weather only got worse from there. In Roy, after 50-some miles, it started to rain, and I rode in rain for the next 90 minutes. I failed to mention that it was a cool day, only around 50 degrees. I froze. My feet were numb and the large muscles in my legs didn't work too good.

I stopped to eat lunch at the Quiznos in Layton around noon, and at last the sun came out. So the rest of the ride wasn't too bad.

95.5 miles and NO FLATS!