The Committing Day

25 September 2008

Atom, Kori and I dined euphorically last night. Brad decided to join me for the beginning ride. I was still throwing things together as he arrived. After I finished packing (for those who are curious, the bike weighs about 30 lbs, all the packs and incidentals about 70 lbs more), I slammed a quart of squash-coconut soup, leftover from last night's dinner, some raspberries and a peach. Not your typical power food, but satisfying.

With me on my tank, and Brad on my old road bike, we meandered through Mill Creek neighborhoods, up to Wasatch Drive, overlooking the city on the way to the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon. Just into the canyon, Brad's tire split. The tube bulged out and punctured on the road. With a failed tire, fixing the tube was useless. Brad hitchhiked to a bike shop, and I continued the climb.

Big Cottonwood Creek is steep enough, but Guardsman Pass is a wicked mistress, beginning comfortable and subtle and then heaving into a vertical nightmare. Another biker made the climb with me. He was circling around to Park City. He looked like he could be ninety years old. He was as thin as his bicycle, had a purple Grateful Dead jersey, and a grey beard and hair that flowed like Moses. I descended into Midway down a washboard dirt road, perhaps more miserable than the climb. The golden aspen gave way to red scrub oaks as I crossed from the Wasatch Front to Back. During the climb, I thought, quite strongly, that I could still go back, it's all downhill from here. Now in Heber, that would be much harder. Now the course is set.

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