75 Miles and Camping Trip #1

Unfortunately this picture is the only proof we have of our Salt Lake Century Ride. It was back on May 21st, and it was supposed to be 67 miles but it ended up being 75 miles. So far, NONE of the rides we have done have advertised the correct mileage. What's that about? It started at the State Fairgrounds in Salt Lake and went up through North Salt Lake, Bountiful, Farmington, Layton, Kaysville, and Syracuse and out to the Great Salt Lake and then back. We hardly trained for this ride at all. We've been waiting on my stinkin ankle to get better for months, and I've had a few setbacks (via basketball and wearing heels), so we just had to be patient. Paula also desperately needed a new road bike, and thanks to her super-awesome hubby, she GOT ONE for Mother's Day. So we didn't have much time to train. A few 15-mile rides and one 28-mile one, and that was it. It is possible that we are insane.

So as for the Salt Lake Century .... LOVED IT! What a great ride. Beautiful country, relatively flat terrain, good support. I'd really like to do the 100-mile route on this ride next year. I WAY preferred this ride to the ULCER for a lot of reasons. Maybe cause there wasn't a 30-mile gradual uphill climb with 20-mph headwind. I don't know??? Both rides are near water and seem to have an issue with those little bugs that fly around in massive packs ... and since I tend to ride with my mouth open ... yep. Nasty. Surprisingly neither of us wore sunscreen and ended up with some awesome sunburn/tan lines. We kept good time and didn't take long stops at our rest stations, and that seemed to help. We've made the mistake before of taking long breaks for lunch, etc. Bad idea. Getting off those bikes for more than 10 minutes makes it SO hard to get back on. Quick stops to refill water, grab fruit snacks/oranges, and back on the road is the way to go. So it was a fun ride. Great bikes, great company, great weather .... great ride.

We took our first camping trip of the year over Memorial Day weekend with a big group of amazing friends. We were up Hobble Creek Canyon in the Cherry Campground. The ranger came up halfway through to tell us there was a bear in the area. We mostly shrugged, kept a close eye on the little bite-size kids, and kept the food in the cars. We might not be the most responsible group of people or I guess we figured even a bear isn't dumb enough to come anywhere near a crowd that size. Either way, the camping trip went off without a hitch. No bear. No injuries. Lots of good food and fun.

It was a little chilly ... so we borrowed a tent heater. Those are about the coolest things ever. We'll definitely be getting one of our own.

Austin basically chopped up things with the hatchet all weekend. Sometimes he took breaks and carved up things with his pocket knife. Should I be worried?

Jackson tormenting Daniel and Jason while they play a riveting game of chess.

Me and my finished product of chocolate heaven in a dutch oven. Chocolate cake, caramel, nuts, whipped cream. Yum.

Again with the freezing. Of course, the tent heater was on MY side of the tent and Austin was on the opposite side. Hello??? I purchased the child a mummy bag that's SUPPOSED to keep him warm in the North Pole ... and it wasn't that cold. Don't feel sorry for him.

London (along with her trusty sidekick, T.J.) spent her weekend making boats to float down the raging rapids of the much-higher-than-usual-cause-it's-still-snowing-in-June river. Very safe I know.


This is Dave's patented method for getting the tent to fit in the five-sizes-too-small tent bag. Fold and then recruit volunteers to roll on the folded product. Something about getting out all the air ... blah, blah, blah. It seems to work though.


So all in all we had a great camping trip and a great time with friends.