Hey, We're Getting Fatter!

Or maybe this is just another for "The Duh Files". In spite of the fact that you can't turn on your computer without reading about healthy lifestyle solutions--even if some are bogus--we are still expanding at an alarming rate. I suppose that anyone finding my blog doesn't need to be reminded of this but, hey, it fuels my fire. Seeing the number of people that don't ever exercise never ceases to astonish me. No exercise? As in zero? I'm not sure that I could make it through a week.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070827/ap_on_he_me/obesity_rankings

The E100

This weekend I’m slated to do the best mountain bike race in the world, the E100. Up front, I’ll admit to a bit of hyperbole with this statement. In fact, I’ve never actually done a mountain bike race (unless it was part of something else, like adventure race). But I’ve looked at a lot of races and ridden their courses. Compared to some of the more famous races on the planet, the E100 blows them away.

At first glance, the race seems daunting. Its 100 miles with 18,000’ of elevation gain. When you delve a bit deeper, you find that the profile is just a piece of the puzzle, and the proposition begins to seem insane. Unlike Leadville and most of the other 100 mile and 24 hour races, the E100 is almost entirely on single track and doesn’t follow repetitive loops. The course is chosen for aesthetic beauty and fun riding, not for blowing through miles quickly. Much of the single track snakes its way through thick groves of aspens on rutted terrain. For most people, it’s not a course that gets ridden very fast.

The upside is that the riding, according to my friend Jeremy, “is on the best single track I’ve ridden anywhere in the world.” And he’s ridden a lot of places. For those put off by attempting 100 miles, there are 100k and 50 mile options. The 50 mile option takes the famous Mid Mountain Trail between Park City and The Canyons and is one of the most sublime rides I’ve ever done.

I highly recommend that anyone not doing anything this weekend get your ass and your bike up to Park City and join the fun!

The Course

There are detailed maps on the web site. I helped mark the course this weekend. Here’s a quick rundown:

Stage 1 – After a mile of steep dirt road to sort the field, you head uphill on Billy’s Bypass and John’s, a slow twisty ascent through the aspens. This is the most technical climb of the race and it will probably still be dark.

Next you hit Mid Mountain, turn right, and take it past Red Pine lodge at The Canyons Resort. This section is world famous and rightly so. It’s only mildly technical but one of the most beautiful sections of trail I’ve ever ridden. It’s capped by a technical rocky descent down Holly’s Downhill to the base of The Canyons.



Stage 2 – Ascend Holly’s Uphill to Ambush to Mid Mountain. A difficult climb with some tight switchbacks and rocky sections lead you back to Mid Mountain, where you get 3 and some odd new miles back to the trail you came out on. Then you reverse Mid Mountain back to Park City, which is quite different in this direction. Then you head back to Park City MR down dome cool, twisty, single track.

Stage 3 – Takes you up Spiro, an aerobic sufferfest that is, thankfully, almost fully shaded. You turn left at Mid Mountain and take this back to John’s, the techie trail you ascended that morning. This is an outstanding serpentine descent through the Aspens.

Stages 4 and 5 – The 100 mile racers get the biggest climb at the end, and twice. It’s a grind up Spiro to Powerline to some steep dirt roads leading almost to the top of the Wasatch Crest. After 5 miles and over 3,000’, you’re rewarded with 12 miles of screaming downhill. Well, it’s actually not really screaming. Most of it is very narrow and parts are technical. It’s also not all downhill as you climb up onto the Deer Valley side of the canyon before dropping down a cool new trail I’d never seen before traversing above town and then dropping down a road for the last half mile.



Personal Dilemma

I’m not yet signed up. The main reason is that Sandee and I were trying to plan a trip before her kids head back to school but, seeing as we’re both tight on cash, it doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen. But I also have this bike dilemma. I don’t know which category to enter. I want to ride on my single speed but I’m not sure it’s a smart idea.

The geared bike would be easier. It would be more comfortable. I would almost certainly finish and I’d get to race against my age group. If I ride the ss I’ll be forced to race against the hammerheads that do nothing but ride where I’d probably come in last place if I manage to finish at all. But, mainly, I’ll be forced to do 6 big climbs in one day and each time I do them one at a time I feel right on the verge of puking. I injured my knee doing the Everest Challenge on large gearing (in honor of tradition), so there is some rational for choosing gears.

The only reason I’d ride the ss is for fun. I love riding this bike. I love the 29 inch wheels, the geometry, the way it seems to fit me perfect as I stand or sit or no matter what the terrain. I love the simplicity of not deciding on what gear to be in or how hard to push a section. You pedal when you can, stand when it gets hard, and coast downhill. It’s like being a kid; and I’m sorta just an old kid.



I’ve got too much going on to actually plan it. On the last day to sign up I’ll just wake up and decide. But it doesn’t really matter either. Worst case scenario is that I get to ride all day in the Wasatch, so I guess it’s not really a dilemma at all. No matter what I choose, life will be very very good.

Are Organic Labels Becoming Meaningless?

Here's the latest on this issue, as the Very Very Big Corporations of American continue to coerce the FDA into altering its laws. This has been going on non-stop since it was confirmed that having "organic" on a label could help boost sales. As consumers, we've now got to look beyond this bit of marketing and try and recognize what the actual ingredients are. Of course, beer (cited below) doesn't have to list its ingredients so all we can do, for now, is boycott Anheuser-Busch.

ALERT: SNEAK ATTACK ON ORGANIC STANDARDS
USDA TO ALLOW MORE CONVENTIONAL INGREDIENTS IN ORGANICS USDA & INDUSTRY TRY TO SNEAK BANNED CONVENTIONAL INGREDIENTS INTO ORGANIC BEER, SAUSAGE, & PROCESSED FOODS


The USDA has announced a controversial proposal, with absolutely no input from consumers, to allow 38 new non-organic ingredients in products bearing the "USDA Organic" seal. Most of the ingredients are food colorings derived from plants that are supposedly not "commercially available" in organic form. But at least three of the proposed ingredients, backed by beer giant Anheuser-Busch and pork and food processors, represent a serious threat to organic standards, and have raised the concerns of the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), as well as a number of smaller organic companies and organic certifiers. Specifically, the OCA disagrees with the "Budweiser exemption," allowing conventionally grown hops, produced with pesticides and chemical fertilizers, to be used in beers labeled as "USDA Organic". Also, OCA strenuously objects to the USDA's proposal to allow the use of conventionally raised factory-farmed animals' intestines (we'll spare you the gory details of what thes animals have been fed) as casing for sausages labeled as "organic." Take action now and forward this alert to interested friends and colleagues.


http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_5225.cfm

Dreaming of Moab

My friend Jose just sent this to me. It's a slide show of Moab and I'm one of the subjects. Moab is a big part of the reason I moved to Utah but I've only spent two days there since I got here. This made me miss it even more. It's truly one of the coolest places I've been in the world--and I've seen a lot of amazing stuff. No worries, I'll get back to my desert roamings soon enough.

Enjoy!

For a higher res show click this link.


Dreaming Of Moab



Add to My Profile | More Videos

Social Injustice and Walmart

I really dislike social injustice. Sure, everybody says they do, but if this is the case why do people send me "amazed" email when I dare to say something against a large corporation? Do their strong arm tactics threaten even little guys like me? When I wrote the piece on bottled water a few years back I did get a response from an employee at Pepsi simply saying "the author obviously doesn't know anything about bottled water." I believe their first tactic is to just shrug people off as alarmist or uninformed. But small storms do escalate, and now it seems the lid has blown off the fact that bottled water has lower standards than tap and these folks are selling us tap water for three bucks a gallon.

Anyway, after my Walmart rant the other day I received this question from a friend:

In all seriousness, isn't Walmart one of the greenest of the big companies?

You're thinking of Costco.

Walmart is owned by a family who doesn't give a shit about the environment, our world, or the people in it. They give huge amounts of money to Bush and spend less money on altruism that any large corporation in the world. When they've been questioned about this their answer is basically to fuck off. They are continually being sued by their employees, have government charges against them for polluting, abusing workers, and pretty much any other nefarious thing a corporation can get away with. Any type of small business would have been shut down but they just buy their way out of everything.

In one instance they made an nearly an entire town sick by polluting its waterway. They hire illegal immigrants and lock them in the store overnight--the funny thing is that this one made the headlines mainly due to illegal immigrants, not the fact that they were locked inside a building with no supervision. They employ an "anti-union" program that will attack the lives of individuals that attempt to work on employee unity—on a personal level! They think nothing about ruining the life of someone who just wants to improve their workplace.

The main thing wrong with Walmart is that their business plan centers around ruining town centers in favor of Walmart centers, which are placed outside of the town center. For them to be successful, sprawl must be firmly in place, public transportation cannot work, and the traditional town center must die.

This doesn't always work. Occasionally, towns don't patronize a Walmart but under their plan they need assurances when they move into a community from the elected officials with regards to building codes, street development, public trans etc--none of which are good for the town in its pre-Walmart state. Part of their deal--besides paying off the officials themselves--is the revenue the town will get from part of the profits, after the initial set up period. When a Walmart isn't making enough cash they move prior to this time and set up another giant box in an adjacent town, which tends to (because no matter what people still shop there) put the original town under enormous financial strain.

They are one of the leaders of globalization and farm out work to the most competitive country. You can argue that this is the future, and perhaps rightly so, but under the current structure--aided by our friends of leisure at the WTO--it's more or less capitalisms version of legal slavery.

The Daily Show ran a piece about the illegal immigrant issue and were interviewing customers. One woman said something along the lines of "I just don't believe Walmart would hire illegal workers.(sic)" Jon Stewart's reply, "Lady, you just bought a sweater for 39 cents."

On the plus side, they did devise a POP programs that instantly alters the inventory and informs the factories in China (Laos, Cambodia, or wherever) when an item is purchased. This helps those adolescent kids in the developing world be more efficient during their 12-hour factory shifts assembling all of that organic plastic

More Walmart Fun

I really dislike social injustice. After my Walmart rant the other day I received this question from a friend:

In all seriousness, isn't Walmart one of the greenest of the big companies.

You're thinking of Costco.

Walmart is owned by a family who doesn't give a shit about the environment, our world, or the people in it. They give huge amounts of money to Bush and spend less money on altruism that any large corporation in the world. When they've been questioned about this their answer is basically to fuck off. They are continually being sued by their employees, have government charges against them for polluting, abusing workers, and pretty much any other nefarious thing a corporation can get away with. Any type of small business would have been shut down but they just buy their way out of everything.

In one instance they made an nearly an entire town sick by polluting its waterway. They hire illegal immigrants and lock them in the store overnight--the funny thing is that this one made the headlines mainly due to illegal immigrants, not the fact that they were locked inside a building with no supervision. They employ an "anti-union" program that will attack the lives of individuals that attempt to work on employee unity—on a personal level! They think nothing about ruining the life of someone who just wants to improve their workplace.

The main thing wrong with Walmart is that their business plan centers around ruining town centers in favor of Walmart centers, which are placed outside of the town center. For them to be successful, sprawl must be firmly in place, public transportation cannot work, and the traditional town center must die.

This doesn't always work. Occasionally, towns don't patronize a Walmart but under their plan they need assurances when they move into a community from the elected officials with regards to building codes, street development, public trans etc--none of which are good for the town in its pre-Walmart state. Part of their deal--besides paying off the officials themselves--is the revenue the town will get from part of the profits, after the initial set up period. When a Walmart isn't making enough cash they move prior to this time and set up another giant box in an adjacent town, which tends to (because no matter what people still shop there) put the original town under enormous financial strain.

They are one of the leaders of globalization and farm out work to the most competitive country. You can argue that this is the future, and perhaps rightly so, but under the current structure--aided by our friends of leisure at the WTO--it's more or less capitalisms version of legal slavery.

The Daily Show ran a piece about the illegal immigrant issue and were interview customers. One woman said something along the lines of "I just don't believe Walmart would hire illegal workers.(sic)" Jon Stewart's reply, "Lady, you just bought a sweater for 39 cents."

On the plus side, they did devise a POP programs that instantly alters the inventory and informs the factories in China (Laos, Cambodia, or wherever) when an item is purchased. This helps those adolescent kids in the developing world be more efficient during their 12-hour factory shifts assembling all of that organic plastic

Walmart Sells Bikes *RANT WARNING*

"Has the whole world gone crazy? I'm I the only one who gives a shit about the rules?"

-Walter Sobchek


I got an email from a friend about a decent looking carbon road bike for sale (cheap, of course) at Walmart. My reply was not particularly politically correct. Be forewarned, this is a rant. But just because it's a rant doesn't mean it isn't true.

If you buy anything from those oligarchical asswipes you are fully helping to aid the destruction of the last vestiges of any sort of civilization we perilously clinging to. The place is pure evil, well, unless you love closed-in suburban sprawl housing tracts filled with fat kids that can't leave their four block radius because there are no bike paths or sidewalks and they'll be killed by on overprotective soccer mom in her fucking Hummer. Or unless you eschew any sort of town center, ambiance, quality of living whatsoever.

I walked into a Costco for the second time in my life recently because they are the political "good guys" of the where house store world. I walked out 5 minutes later with the realization that society is dead. Or at least sliding quickly into oblivion. I mean, Christ, it's a place where life experience means absolutely nothing. I saw a guy trying on suits not ten feet away from a mom with four obese children rummaging through sausage. Our society--under the illusion of freedom--has lost all sense of aesthetics, as well as our beloved 'freedom'. In America we are free to work 3 jobs to barely cover rent and shop in a giant box and watch other people's 'reality' on television. Somehow we've been bamboozled. We just don't give a shit anymore.

I mean, hell, I can totally see why prisoners have something like a 90% chance of returning. They get out, can't make enough money to live in our leisure economy, and life in prison probably seems a lot better than wandering around where houses looking for sustenance just so you can go home and spend all of your free time living vicariously though someone else's made up life (3.5 hours per day of TV in America, 5.5 hrs is you include non work related computer surfing). At least in prison you don't have to worry about food and can get some exercise without the risk being clocked by some methhead in a truck.

I wouldn't walk into a Walmart if they were giving away bikes for free.

I Were In Marketing...

I would make commercials like this. Hmm, I'm thinking I should qualify why--no, not today. If you don't understand, you're probably normal. If you do, then welcome to the club. I will say that the whole premise is the antithesis of what I was ranting on about last time.

Quien es mas macho? Fernando Lamas o...



Stay thirsty my friends.

The Usual Suspects

"I'm shocked...SHOCKED to see that there's gambling going on in this establishment... Round up the usual suspects."

Uttered over half a century ago, Louie's sarcastic order from Casablanca qualifies the notion of another cliche; the more things change, the more they stay the same.

From the same juggernaut of jouralism that's brough us such earth-shattering headlines as "Kennedy Plane Ruled Out Of Control" and "Collapsed Bridge Structurally Deficient" (ya know, as opposed to bridges the collapse for no reason and pilots that purposefully fly into the sea at a 90 degree angle) we get two zingers in one day.

The first is a study that confirms air pollution puts up at risk. Raise your hand if you didn't know this. Is there a type of pollution out there that doesn't, um, pollute? If so, why would we call it pollution?

The second is more interesting. You can decide whether its informative or insidious. This one informs us that eating more fruits, veggies, whole foods and less meat, ice cream, desserts and other fatty foods will help us stave off cancer. Excuse me, but is there anyone out there who doesn't agree that the former diet will be better than the latter for everything? The study covered cancer patients in remission and who was more likely to relapse. In my experience, I've never seen one instance where a subject on a high meat and dessert diet improved at all, much less over someone on a low-fat whole foods diet.

I can see Louie right now, manning the marketing machine up at Big Meat, "I'm shocked...SHOCKED. Round up the usual suspects."

Birthday Challenge Update

We had three birthday challenges over the weekend. So far, only one is up but the site has been updated with new news and awards. Check it out. There was a lot of buzz going on at OR this weekend. It's going to be a big year for challenges. What's yours going to be?

Train hard. Go big.
Steve

www.birthdaychallenge.com

The Usual Suspects

"I'm shocked...SHOCKED to see that there's gambling going on in this establishment... Round up the usual suspects."

Uttered over half a century ago, Louie's sarcastic order from Casablanca qualifies the notion of another cliché; the more things change, the more they stay the same.

From the same juggernaut of journalism that's brought us such earth-shattering headlines as "Kennedy Plane Ruled Out Of Control" and "Collapsed Bridge Structurally Deficient" (ya know, as opposed to bridges the collapse for no reason and pilots that purposefully fly into the sea at a 90 degree angle) we get two zingers in one day.

The first is a study that confirms air pollution puts up at risk. Raise your hand if you didn't know this. Is there a type of pollution out there that doesn't, um, pollute? If so, why would we call it pollution?

The second is more interesting. You can decide whether it's informative or insidious. This one informs us that eating more fruits, veggies, whole foods and less meat, ice cream, desserts and other fatty foods will help us stave off cancer. Excuse me, but is there anyone out there who doesn't agree that the former diet will be better than the latter for everything? The study covered cancer patients in remission and who was more likely to relapse. In my experience, I've never seen one instance where a subject on a high meat and dessert diet improved at all, much less over someone on a low-fat whole foods diet. But the study was very clear to point out the effect of the diet on cancer patients only when, in fact, it improves lifestyles across the board.

I can see Louie right now, manning the marketing machine up at Big Meat, "I'm shocked...SHOCKED to hear that too much meat might be bad for you. Round up the usual suspects."

No GMOs At Monsanto Cafe

How ironic is it that a company that spends billions to ensure us that GMOs are safe doesn't allow them in its own cafeteria?

Monsanto Goes GMO-Free - in its Cafeteria
Ode Magazine, June 2007

UNITED KINGDOM. From now on, staff at the British headquarters of biotech giant Monsanto will be eating only non-genetically modified products on their lunch breaks. Foods containing genetically modified soy and corn are no longer available in the company cafeteria. Granada Food Services, which manages the canteen, is said to be concerned about health risks. Monsanto's press department contends the action was not the result of a boycott initiated by worried employees of theU.S. multinational.

For more fun from our favorite GMO juggernaut, check out Millions Against Monsanto

Why You Shouldn't Drink Diet Soda

I keep writing about this but here's a second opinion for you.

No safe haven: Diet sodas linked with health risks
Mon Jul 23, 2007 7:46PM EDT
By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Sodas -- even diet ones -- may be linked with increased risk factors for heart disease and diabetes, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

They found adults who drink one or more sodas a day had about a 50 percent higher risk of metabolic syndrome -- a cluster of risk factors such as excessive fat around the waist, low levels of "good" cholesterol, high blood pressure and other symptoms.

"When you have metabolic syndrome, your risk of developing heart disease or stroke doubles. You also have a risk of developing diabetes," said Dr. Ramachandran Vasan of Boston University School of Medicine, whose work appears in the journal Circulation.

Prior studies have linked consumption of sugar-laden sodas with multiple risk factors for heart disease, but Vasan and colleagues also found the link extends to diet sodas.

The study included about 6,000 middle-aged men and women who were observed over four years.

Those who drank one or more soft drinks a day had a 31 percent greater risk of becoming obese.

They had a 30 percent increased risk of developing increased waist circumference -- which has been shown to predict heart disease risk better than weight alone.

They also had a 25 percent increased risk of developing high blood triglycerides as well as high blood sugar, and a 32 percent higher risk of having low high-density lipoprotein or "good" cholesterol levels.

The researchers then analyzed a smaller sample of participants on whom data on regular and diet soft drink consumption was available. Those who drank one or more diet or regular sodas per day had a 50 to 60 percent increased risk for developing metabolic syndrome.

INTRIGUING NEW ANGLE

"The part about diet soda is more intriguing," Vasan said.

He said people who drink soda, whether diet or sugar-sweetened, tend to have similar dietary patterns.

"On average, soda drinkers tend to eat more calories, consume more saturated fat and trans fat, eat less fiber, exercise less and be more sedentary," Vasan said in a telephone interview.

The researchers adjusted for those factors and still observed a significant link between soft drink consumption and the risk of developing metabolic syndrome.

Vasan said there are several theories about how diet sodas could increase a person's metabolic risk.

"One possibility is that diet soda is sweet. Maybe drinking something sweet conditions you in such a way that you develop a preference for sweet things," he said.

"Also, diet soda is a liquid. When you take liquids at a meal, they don't satiate you as much (as solids)," he said.

The caramel coloring of some sodas also may play a role. He said caramel coloring in animal experiments was associated with tissue inflammation. "These are all theories which we have not studied," Vasan said.

He said while the study showed an association between soda consumption and having a higher risk of metabolic syndrome, it does not prove soda was the cause.

"Before people change their habits, we would like to see these data replicated in other studies, he said.

"We'd also like nutrition scientists to conduct additional research to help us understand why diet soda is associated with metabolic risk."

The American Heart Association, which publishes Circulation, said people should understand that the study did not demonstrate that diet sodas cause heart disease and said it can be better to have a diet drink than a full-calorie soda.

"The American Heart Association supports dietary patterns that include low-calorie beverages like water, diet soft drinks, and fat-free or low-fat milk as better choices than full calorie soft drinks," the group said.

The American Beverage Association said in a statement e-mailed to Reuters it appreciated the heart group made clear "the report ... does not show that soft drinks cause an increased risk of heart disease and it recognizes that diet soft drinks are a good option for those looking to cut calories in their beverages."

So I Rode My Bike

Been puttin' in some hours on the hippie bike this summer, hoping I'd get a chance to do something long before the winter hits. While I've got some geared bikes, I nearly always reach for the single speed. It's harder to pedal, sure, but other than that it's so much fun that I can't be bothered to change gears anymore. This probably has to do with the 29" wheels more than anything but, I dunno, maybe it just feels like riding when I was a kid back before I could afford gears.

So last weekend my friend Dustin asks me if I'd show his friend Jill, who is visiting from Oregon, around the trails. He's worthless in this respect because he's too busy riding his civilized bike to ever get dirty. Yeah, yeah, he had a race but that's boring. There are trails to explore, so I'd be happy to show them to Jill.

After hearing about the hours I spend doin' stuff she's worried about slowing me down. No worries, I say, I can always just go out again when we're done. Then it strikes me that she can drive and I can simply ride home when we're done. Perfect.

I concoct a big loop through Deer Valley, Park City, and The Canyons ski areas that then connects to the Wasatch Crest, heads down Mill Creek Canyon and back to my house. It looks outstanding on paper. A tour of the mid-Wasatch that features over 50 miles of single track, plenty of climbing, and mainly down hill street riding.



We begin our adventure at While Pine Touring. 10 minutes later and we're lost. Well, not lost exactly but we were not on the right trail. Looking for something called Skid Row we seemed to be on something called Lost Prospector. At least it was going up. We keep taking easternly turns but eventually get dumped into some hifalutin neighborhood above Deer Valley. We roam around looking for our supposed trail and laugh the absurdity of the size of all the homes (still, I could probably live in this area if I had to). We wander around touring homes for too long and then bail and glide down streets to the Deer Valley ski area, where I actually know the trails.

This doesn't help, however, as some trail construction forces us off of Deer Crest and we're exploring again. Somehow we come back down to the base and hit Devo. Um, we're NOT climbing this as I'd ridden down it once and got slaughtered, and end up climbing up the Tour de Homes on the other side of the valley. This is supposed to be the "easiest way down", and just may be, but it's not the easiest way up. I find the only section steep enough to force me off of my bike on this climb. Other n' that, it is technically easy and we do get to tour some more ridiculous homes.

At Silver Lake Lodge we've already been out nearly two hours and Jill's a bit tired "we don't have this much climbing where I ride." That's okay, 'cause now I really do know the way, and it's more or less flat--well, not really flat, but at least rolling. We fill out water, inventory food, eat and people watch, then off on Mid Mountain. Theoretically, the rest of the day should be nothing but fun.

Sure enough, Mid Mountain, even with the new bypass, which requires some climbing, is a blast and now Jill is thoroughly enjoying herself. Deer Valley was packed but there aren't many people on the trail--lucky for a Saturday. We cruise along until we get to the connector with John's trail. Jill is cooked and wants to go down but I determine that riding Mid Mountain and decending Spiro will be physically easier than dealing with John's technical challenges. We continue on MM and are forced to climb just a bit more.



It's all worth it as we hit the mainly view point above Park City. Some folks from Baltimore had made full use of the bench and have a picnic spread over it. The first thing I notice is the flask.

"Brilliant idea," I say. "I should have brought mine."

Before a word is spoken the flask is offered in my direction. A nip of Jamison's never tasted so good. Jill arrives, accepts her serendipitous reward for reaching the high point of her ride, and we hang and chat about Baltimore vs. Park City for a while. This was definitely a civilized time on our hippie bikes.

Jill says her legs are like rubber, but that's cool since she'll hardly have to pedal anymore. The Jamison's should help. We fly down MM to Spiro, where Jill will head back to the car. She looks a little uncomfortable leaving me in a place where, I'm sure, it feels like I'm an awful long way from where she picked me up that morning. I assure her that I'm quite comfy in the situations and happily am on my way.

Between Park City and the Canyons MM can be a little lonely because you are commited to around 14 miles of riding. My next stop, hopefully, would be Red Pine Lodge. I hammered this part because I was slightly worried that it would be closed and it was my last stop for water. Red Pine is only about 9 miles from the Spiro connector. It's a lifeline for long rides up here because, if closed, you've got to descend a couple thousand feet to town and come back up. I wasn't too psyched at the prospect of riding Holly's uphill.



Red Pine was getting ready for a wedding when I got there. The restaurant was closed, so I was glad I took those Gu's from Jill, but I could fill my water. I then rode the rest of MM and, at the end of the Canyons, took the Wasatch Trail connector. This cooked my legs and I had to walk. I'd ridden this once before and it was hard but after 6 hours I just couldn't pedal the grade. This really made me question whether I could do the E100 (and its 18,000+ feet of climbing) on my ss.

I took a short break at the crest. Though it seemed a long way from home it would be nearly all downhill from here. It was also going to get warmer, so I enjoyed the cool mountain air until it felt as though I was procrastinating.



I headed down Great Western to Big Water, then took Little Water because I hadn't ridden it. It was much steeper and more techie than Big but I made it, so it couldn't be too hard. Next was a few miles of pavement down Mill Creek, which was fast and fun. My last bit of single track was the Pipeline Trail. This is a famous trail that everyone seemes to love. I'd run it many times but never ridden it. Compared to everything else I'd done, it felt hot and dusty. I suppose it is a good trail. I'd been getting spoiled all day and was probably a little tired.

I popped out of Mill Creek to another 100 degree SLC evening. At least it was downhill home--well, mostly. It was a little slow due to my not being able to pedal even the most gentle decline but, whatever. It was a small pennance to face for 8 hours of nirvanna.