A Few Photos From Saturday's Ride

[Robert Hakim]

Last Saturday I took a ramble from my home near Salt Lake City down valley to Utah Lake. I reckon it was a bit over 50, perhaps even edging towards 60 miles in that hot high desert heat. 

I tried to attach photos here, but I believe they were too large. You can follow along here (or better yet skip my rambling and get to the goods!): https://photos.app.goo.gl/YaWqzyDfqMZEqF3t6

The route I took was quite nice and peppered with city parks and trail heads with water taps- a saving grace in the 100*F sunshine- I must have drank six to seven liters of water en route! It was mostly on a network of connecting and sometimes patchy bike paths. The central part of the Jordan River Trail runs just west of I-15 through a number of suburban towns that fill the valley with their sprawl. I didn't take many photographs on the first half of my journey, for I wanted to cover ground and avoid the riff raff that tends to hang around the trail. Once I got farther south, the path seems to run through more open spaces, where there are more snakes and birds than humans- at least during midday in the summertime. 

The lake ended up being a bit farther of a ride than I had anticipated, but no worries- I had nothing to do but ride, and plenty of water en route. One of my favorite sections of the trail ran from around South Jordan past Riverton, through Bluffdale and stopped just shy of Lehi. That seemed to be the stretch with the lowest population density and the highest concentration of cottonwood and olive trees. The Jordan River Trail rolls past a couple of open gravel pits before climbing up a small "pass" that separates Utah County from Salt Lake County. Passing this point, the route grew more suburban as I approached the mega-mall of Thanksgiving Point and the Town of Lehi. Not to imply that the riding from here-on-out wasn't as enjoyable, but I certainly didn't feel the brief solitude I did feel on the last stretch. Now, I would be sharing the path with the occasional golf cart through pop-up neighborhoods and oddly green golf courses. 

Meandering on, I finally reached Utah Lake. Grateful to have reached my destination, but wishing the shore (and the lake) was a bit more suitable for a swim. The long, shallow,  muddy shore and long history of heavy industry and mining adjacent to the lake kept me from taking a dip. 

While I stopped for some shade and a beer I had carried, I really enjoyed watching the birds float over this wetland. The wild-land/urban interface is quite strong here, with habitats for young families, small farms, and migratory species almost overlapping. It is a bit more open and a little less crowded here than my neighborhood, and I can certainly see myself returning to the shores of Utah lake for another ride in the near future. 

Time to begin heading home! I leave the sanctuary of the bike path and hop onto some quiet- if not rural-feeling roads heading east to the town of American Fork. Here, I plan to catch the train back to downtown Salt Lake instead of retracing my route... But not before following a short farm road  to a small beach for one more lake view.

As I ride past willows as tall as me, I startle hundreds of birds hiding nearby and they all seem to take flight at once! 

The ride through some modern neighborhoods and along the shore is uneventful, save for one lifted diesel truck... It is Utah, after all! The train station is conveniently located at the western edge of American Fork, allowing for a low stress and low traffic arrival into the station. A fifteen minute wait on the platform gives me time to reflect on my ride... Certainly one of the most enjoyable I've had in a few weeks! I often lament that the train doesn't run on Sundays here, I would love to take advantage of their bike-friendly cars more often than I do. 

The only downside of arriving in downtown Salt Lake is that my ride home is all up hill... getting steeper, and steeper until I finally arrive. After sitting with stiffening muscles for almost an hour in the aggressive air-conditioning of the train car, uphill in the heat is the last thing I want to do! 

Fortunately for me, my favorite brewery is a few blocks south of the train station- and they typically have a food truck out front on Saturdays. My partner is easily persuaded with liquid motivation, so I offer a cold beverage for a ride home. 

All in all, a great time out on a fantastic bicycle! 

Happy Riding, 

Robert, SLC, UT

[Kent Peterson -- Eugene, Oregon]

Great pictures and a nice report. The pump storage between the double top tubes just looks so right. It makes me wish I was taller so I could ride one of those double tubed frames!

Kent Peterson
Eugene, OR USA

[Mark Anderson]

Nice ride report.  Thanks for sharing it.  I haven't made it that far south on the trails* yet on my own blue, twin-top-tubed Hillborne.  Looks like fun---maybe next summer.

Now to the important question:  Which is that favorite brewery of yours?  Sounds like it could be Fisher or Templin.  Inquiring minds want to know.

[*] South of town it's less of a single trail than a reticulated network meant to confuse non-locals and dump us out into light industrial areas or McMansion tracts every half mile or so. :P

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Mark in SLC

[Grady Wright]

Thanks for the ride report. Last fall I followed the same trail from SLC north to Ogden and took frontrunner back. I always intended to do the southern section. I have recently moved away from SLC so I imagine it's not a ride I'll get to do now, but now I feel like I was able to.

[A. Douglas M.]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and images. I loved the photo in the high grass. Also a good reminder for me not to be a wimp when it’s hot!

Best,

Aaron Millhench

[Robert Hakim]

Thanks for the kind words, folks! 

Kent, 

The double top tubes seem to be a love it or hate it dichotomy! I quite like it on the Sam, but it seems like more of a novely than a necessity on the 58- at least unloaded with someone of my size on it. Haven't loaded this bike up for an overnight yet, but I imagine that is when I will really appreciate the benefit of that extra tube! 

 Mark Anderson wrote:

Now to the important question:  Which is that favorite brewery of yours?  Sounds like it could be Fisher or Templin.  Inquiring minds want to know. 

Kiitos Brewing tucked away near 6th W and 7th S- across the way from the DPS Skis factory. I've never seen it too crowded, they've got a nice selection of pinball machines and other games, and pretty decent beers- for being 4%. I like their amber and the lighter-than-you-might-expect coffee cream ale. It's a trip to have such a strong coffee flavor in a beer that is as light in body and clear in color as a pilsner!

Fisher always seems too crowded and too loud for my enjoyment- never been to Templin but I will definitely check it out. What is your favorite brewery in town?

 

[*] South of town it's less of a single trail than a reticulated network meant to confuse non-locals and dump us out into light industrial areas or McMansion tracts every half mile or so. :P

I'm not sure I ever actually found *the* Jordan River Trail. Every sign made it seem like I was on the JRT Connector. Perhaps the trail itself is just one long junction in that part of town! So long as I kept on the 'connector' I usually was on it... I think! 

Grady,

 I've only made it up to Farmington up north, but that is a nice ride. Glad I could show you what the southern terminus looks like! Any ride selections you could share farther north? I admittedly haven't explored very much up there!

Aaron, 

It sure can be easy to wimp out when its hot! I ended up staying inside for home projects the rest of the long weekend! 

Last summer I didn't ride as much as I should have because it was easy to convince myself to find other things to do- it has been a goal of mine to try to ride more this summer. While sometimes tough, it sure beats not riding! At least that is what I tell myself.  

[Kainalu V. -Brooklyn NY]

Had a Kiitos this summer during Pie and Beer day festivities. Delicious beer, and the best can I've ever had the pleasure of sipping from.
As for riding the Jordan River trail, I rode from Parleys canyon to Bountiful and used it for a good stretch of that ride. Started the ride at midnight to stay cool and weave through the fascinating Riff Raff hanging out in the middle of the night (myself very much included!). Looking forward to seeing more in both directions, and more Kiitos.
-Kai

[Robert Hakim]

I have no doubt that was an interesting ride, Kai- especially with the holiday! It seems even the mild mannered folks in my neighborhood go a little nuts, the JRT must have been happening at 1 am!

I should strive to live more like you and do some more serious night riding.... I always intend to, but bed always wins.

Let me know if you ever are up for a nocturnal ride!

-Robert,

SLC

[Mark Anderson]

Actual Riv content:

The second top tube is mildly nice for picking up a bike with a frame pump on it without picking it up *by* the frame pump.  For me, with a larger (62 cm) bike, the second TT is at a very convenient height for lifting the bike without having to bend my elbow much---also a very minor benefit. It also looks cool, a major benefit.

Tangentially bikish trail comment:

Following "connector" signs and choosing the minor-looking path at each fork seems to be the way to stay on the main trail down south.  It seems like many of the spurs out to streets are wider than the main trail, perhaps because they were built for construction/maintenance vehicle access.  Then again, I ride down that way to explore the region, and I get to see more things by getting mildly lost.

Local breweries (i.e., some places to ride bikes to):

I haven't been to Kiitos yet, but with pinball and not being too loud, it sounds like my kind of place.  I'm still relatively new to town, and haven't found the ideal brewpub yet.  The convoluted and restrictive licensing doesn't help.  I agree that Fisher gets a little raucous.  I do like Hopkins, down in Sugarhouse.  They brew creatively, vary their beers regularly, serve decent food and have been pretty calm, but not dead, when I've been there.  Templin has a nice space, food trucks and I appreciated their stocking good soft drinks (e.g., ginger beer) when I was on the wagon after a recent surgery*, but still wanted to get out of the house and play cards with beer-swilling pals.  Their beers veer to german styles which don't appeal greatly to me unfortunately. Finally, I think Saltfire deserves a few points with this crowd just for having indoor bike parking and being just a block or so from the bicycle collective.

[*] Surgery due to crashing my Riv on the very Jordan river trail under discussion.  See, I'm still on-topic. =P

  

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Mark in Utah

[ascpgh]

Very nice ride report and pictures, I'm catching up on close looks and reads after a marathon work stint through last weekend and this week. In your riding around Utah do you have thorn troubles like PM's goatheads down in NM?

Images remind me of rides in the desert I took as a kid from my grandparents' home in the west valley of Phoenix. My grandfather had an English Raleigh with rack, fork lock and best of all, a bottle generator for its dim headlight and fender mounted tail light. I rode into the open desert, sometimes on dirt tracks, others on animal trails on that bike. I loved sneaking out on that bike, returning just as the adults' Canasta game was starting, my arrival at dark plus one not drawing attention. 

Andy Cheatham

Pittsburgh

[Robert Hakim]

Sorry to hear about your crash and subsequent surgery, Mark! Hopefully you have recovered well and are back on the bike!

I checked out Templin, I like it! Nice environment- it is refreshing to see one of these local spots that is able to serve full strength brews, cocktails, and non-alcoholic beverages as well!

I do like Saltfire's proximity to Parley's trail and their indoor bike parking- not to mention the fact they sell full flavor beers (and kombucha!) - but I must confess- while I do enjoy their flavors, all of their beers seem sort of... flat. I have had their beers leak out of the 'sealed' cap before. That is, however, one of the few places where I have spotted more Rivendells than anywhere else I have been in the valley! I will keep an eye out for your 62 cm Sam- maybe we will run into one another someday.

Andy, thanks for sharing the vignette of your childhood riding. I'm sure those desert evening rambles got you hooked on bikes for life! It is amazing what a little taste of freedom will do to an inspired child with a bicycle!

We do have goatheads here in the Salt Lake valley- they seem to be more in the lower elevations of the central and western part of the valleys, though I have seen them higher up on the eastern side of the valley where I live. I haven't ridden in New Mexico, but I remember the goatheads being much more rampant in Colorado's Front Range than they are here. I have heard they flourish in New Mexico.

Boise, Idaho has created a clever event partnering with New Belgium and local bicycle advocacy groups and they celebrate the removal of the weeds before they dry out and spread their thorn. I haven't been to the Boise Goathead Festival yet, but it seems like a good time full of costumes, live music, and of course- bicycles! Hopefully I can mosey up there next year to catch their community event.

Cheers,

Robert Hakim

SLC

[Mark Anderson]

Andy, there are plenty of goatheads strewn among the lovely deserts and mountains of Utah.  The most insidious patch of them surrounds my bike shed. 

Thanks, Robert, for the heads-up on the  Boise goathead festival.  It looks like a gas, and their website had a promising tip about picking up loose nutlets with squares of carpet.  I'll have to give that a try on the decades of thorn buildup in my yard.

Glad you enjoyed Templin Robert.  I'd hate to steer anyone to a bad beer experience.  =)

Perhaps your Riv sightings mean we've coincided at Saltfire in the past, although I never noticed a Tuxedo Sam when I was there.  I'm up and about post-crash, thanks for the well-wishes, but don't strain yours eyes looking for my cornflower-blue 62 around town until next spring or summer.  It seems I won't be able to safely control an upright bike for awhile due to obstreperous nerves in my arm.  Such is life.  You could try to look out for me there as a person, but "bald, pudgy, bearded" tends to describe an overwhelmingly large proportion of the patrons at any brewery (or non-racy bike shop, for that matter), hindering identification.

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Mark "Anonymous" Anderson in Utah