The Abominable Endo-Man

Today I rode the South Fork loop—3 miles up from the Vivian Park turnoff, in Provo Canyon. The loop has myriad options for single track adventures. I rode the main road up, (advised by some fellow in the parking lot that there can be quite a lot of downhill traffic on the single track, thus making the road a more courteous option) for about 2 miles, with intermittent single track.

My original intent was to ride up to the Great Western Trail, and head south to Windy Pass. Ill-informed, I actually started on the wrong end of the loop, which would force me to ride 75% of the loop, then break off to the GWT, rather than only 25% if I would have started in the right place. So I decided the next best option was to drop into Rock Canyon. Ascending a few hundred more feet, I began the slow climb out of the valley, when I hit the story of my life—snow. Learning my lesson from my Abominable Snowman experience, and not necessarily wanting to repeat it, I opted to turn around.

The downhill single track of South Fork is absolutely one of the best trails I have ridden. The best explanation I can give would be the merger of Tibble Fork (steep parts with some tight hair-pin turns) and Bear Claw Poppy in St. George (very fast, dynamic, with a number of enjoyable launch pads). The trail turned out to be a nice combination to result in my favorite riding—fast and furious.

One more shout out for South Fork: a nice advantage is that the trail head is located at a nice park, and only 2 miles from the Provo river, which makes for a very family-friendly trail. Additionally, the loop can be done in 30 minutes, so a number of loops, while still spending some time with the family intermittently, providing a comfortable balance. Bec said next time, she’d like to relax in the park in a lawn chair while I do a couple loops.

I then rode down the canyon and about 7 miles on the Provo River Parkway trail, when I decided my desire to ride had yet to be satiated. So I rode up my beloved Bonneville Shoreline Trail, on the south side of Provo canyon. The trail is much different than I remember, probably because it was covered in snow last time. The climb is not overwhelming, while very challenging and a nice balance of technical and challenging steep stints up the mountain.

One memorable part left me a little upside down. I’ll call this Endo #1. As can be seen from the pictures, the trail winds over a rocky ditch, from the recent snowmelt. My front tire bounced and slipped over a rock, sending me toward the camera in this picture.

Continuing on, I climbed and decided to break at about 8.5 miles. While enjoying my granola bar, two bikers passed—a couple from Racer’s Bike Shop in Provo. Amazed, (and a little intimidated by the girl’s climbing skills), I thought I would ride after them. As the climb leveled off, the trail follows a series of ravines, making way for a high-speed chase. I rounded a corner too close and hit a large bush root, and I went careening across a lovely patch of sharp shale and granite, that felt like landing on a cheese grater. Fortunately I didn’t break anything, and will end up with some neat scars in the future. Unfortunately, I lost the magnet that clips onto the spoke of my front wheel (and even more unfortunate, I didn’t realize it for a mile or so), so I tracked my time and distance to 9.4 miles. Undefeated, I still tried to catch the couple, but didn’t see them again. (To the right is a photo of the trail for Endo #1, as I came upon it.)

I broke out on Squaw Peak road, a highway leading to the top of Squaw Peak and Hope Campground. Thinking I was only a mile or so away, I decided to climb to the top, and find the trail that drops into Rock Canyon. After an hour, and a number of steep seemingly relentless miles, I gave up. I laid down on the rocks on the side of the road, with really nothing left. Deciding what I should do, I remembered a lesson Dad taught me a number of times—when the going gets tough, (or when the Ford breaks down) the tough hitchhike! The first truck that went by let me throw the bike in the back, and dropped me off at Squaw Peak viewpoint. I assumed it would be a downhill ride from there, I soon found out there was much climbing still to be done. An hour later, and after some grueling uphill climbs (single track this time), I stopped a man coming down, and he told me I still had a few miles to go to get to the downhill, and then it was still a number of miles into and out of a technical Rock Canyon.

Since it was already 5, and my legs had been dead for an hour, I stopped at a nice view point, overlooking the Utah Valley, and called Bec to meet me in the canyon. So I rode for 20 minutes going at least 25-30mph the entire way down the mountain. From the road leg of my ride, I learned (1) road biking really isn’t as adventurous and exhilarating as mountain biking and (2) if you don’t pedal for more than five minutes, and just coast, your feet and hands both go numb. So after 3 ½ hours, I think over 20 miles, and some awesome riding, I made it home, alive, with sore legs and cuts and bruises to make any mountain biker smile.