Alpine Loop - First Time

I have wanted to ride the Alpine Loop since I started riding a bike 2 years ago, but there was always a reason I didn't or couldn't.  An upcoming race, a cool mountain bike ride, fear of how long it would take to recover, not able to recruit someone to ride with me--always a reason.  Well, this weekend the opportunity arose, and I had to decide if I could go or not.  You see, there was still a really cool mountain bike ride I could go on and many other things.  Lucky for me my family made the decision for me.  They were sick, and it was better for me to be close by than a few hours away riding.

I was excited about the ride, but a little tenative.  I was riding with Jen who is much faster than me, and I knew there was no way I would keep up with her.  Also, the plan was not to just ride the loop, but South Fork and Squaws Peak.  I figured I could ride the loop, and probably South Fork, but Squaws Peak was on the we'll wait and see list.

We started out early in the morning, but ended up being delayed by almost 30 minutes due to my forgetfulness....I forgot the shammy butter!  Lucky for me my husband was home and was willing to bring it to me.  Unfortunately he did not understand I was at 400 East in Lindon/PG and went to 400 E in Orem.  There was some waiting, phone calls, and more waiting, but I eventually got the shammy butter.  Thanks goodness, because I think there would have been a lot of pain without it.

The ride was great, and I was much slower than Jen as I expected, but being slow has some benefits.  Did you know there are purple flowers that grow in random places on the side of the mountain?  There is not much shubbery in these spots, which makes seeing the flowers so beautiful.

The ride also went quicker than I expected.  I would see trailheads I was used to going to on my mountain bike and would be surprised I quickly I got to them.  However, after the last trailhead I was in unfamilar territory and did not know how much further it was to the summit.  Which sometimes can make it hard to keep going mentally, but I just pedaled and pedaled hoping the top would come soon.

It was not long after this point I ran into a cyclist with a flat tire.  I was able to give him some air, and would have given him my tube, but he refused--hope he made it down okay, because that was his 3rd/4th flat of the day.  While he was patching his tire I learned it was not much further to the top--yeah, I was almost there!  Jen sheepdogged back down, and we went back to the top to take some quick pictures and head down to South Fork.

At South Fork we filled up our water bottles and took off to the top.  The plan this time was for Jen to go up and I would catch her on the way down.  Guess what I was not too far behind and ended up going all the way to the top.  I was surprised how easy South Fork was, I seemed to zip right up to the top and was surprised how quickly I got there.  I am sure I was not that fast, but it sure did feel fast.

After South Fork, I was opted out of doing Squaws Peak.  It was pretty hot, and the thought of going up in the heat of the day was not appealing.  So Jen and I rode down to the Provo River trailhead, and I rode home.  Surprising enough when I got home I was not too tired.  I quickly did yoga stretches to help prevent undue soreness, and then spent the rest of the day going out and playing with the family.  Today I feel pretty good which gives me hope I could probably do this ride sometime again.