By the look of some of these faces I don't think they thought the climb was gradual.
The entire ride up is very beautiful. And there is one part of the trail that is very patriotic having red berries and white and blue(ish) flowers.
At one point on Spiro we come to Mid-Mountain and have the choice to go right or left. We chose to go right first and saved the left for later. This was a nice trail that climbs up to a summit that over looks Park City (it does go further, but we stopped here). What a beautiful view.
After pausing to enjoy the view we took off back down the trail to explore a small part of the other side of Mid-Mountain. Jolene and I ended up doing this part as our riding companions took off back to the parking lot. We went about one mile and it was a blast great trail which seemed like you were going down hill both directions.
After Mid-Mountain it was back downhill to the parking lot. What a blast! You could not ask for better trail conditions. Smooth trail and great switchbacks for the downhill--this is saying a lot since downhill switchbacks tend to really slow me down. I caught air so much coming down that I lost count. This was a great ride, I can't wait to go back and explore some of the other trails.
My race was great. I started out pulling ahead, but not going too fast as no one was by me until all of the sudden Theresa pulled up right by me. At that point I started to push it so I could get in ahead of her on the single track. However, I didn't need to worry as we got close Theresa let me know she was going to let me in first. This was kind of her, because I know she is strong at downhill and I needed to put some distance between us. Unfortunately this did not work too well. I would get some distance and then get stuck behind a rider or have a slip on a rock. (Note, when you clear everything in pre-ride this may not be a good sign for the race). Theresa came up on me on my slip and was great she got me calmed down and then I started to clear everything and put a little distance between us. However this did not last long as we hit the downhill and came up to the first set of switchbacks...ugh. I take switchbacks way too slow. Eventually there was a spot for Theresa and she passed. I wasn't too worried as I knew there was uphill that I could close the gap or pass. The first one we came to was a small technical climb. I downshifted to get in the best gear for the climb and dropped my chain. Besides dropping it also stuck. I grimaced as I watcher Theresa knowing I may have missed a good chance to catch and pass. I made the climb and continued on seeing her on the small uphill technical stuff, but never getting close enough. I had another chain drop on the course which of course was not at a good point. Then we came to the down hill. By this time Theresa was out of my sights and I was concentrating on the course. I went down fairly well came out of the single track and came to the part that I knew was good for me the long climb. I saw Theresa and thought all I need to do is stay on my bike. I did for 3/4 of the hill until my tire skid out and around forcing me off my bike. I would like to say I ran up the hill, but I didn't. I went fast and pushed past a few people, but not fast enough. I was walking and Theresa had crested and was heading downhill. I got to the top of the hill and headed down. I went fast hoping I might meet Theresa at the final sprint out. I actually went too fast and ended up wiping out on the final corner around to the finish, and once again dropping my chain. I started to fix it and then realized it was probably faster to run in, so I ran jumped on my bike and finished. I took 2nd and did really well. There were no asthma attacks and although my pressure is low I felt great. It was a fun race.
The bad part about all the sleeping was I did not have anyone to navigate for me, and I have not driven to Jackson or Evanston, which was on the way to Jackson. As I approached our first intersection Mandy woke up and started asking me a bunch of questions and I was trying to figure out what happened after I exited. From the directions I thought I was supposed to exit again within 1/2 a mile. Wrong! Of course it took driving 10 miles back tracking and going back to figure this out. It was about this time Shandy woke up and tried to help navigate. She tried, but I had to pull over more than once to read the directions t make sure I was on the right route or taking the correct exit. With all of the misturns we got into Jackson a little after 3 pm.
After the falls we continued on and soon came upon two very large Elk.
After seeing the Elk we drove on Mammoth Springs. At Mammoth Springs we walked the built trail and looked how the springs had changed the environment. It is amazing how there is living and dead vegetation throughout the hot springs. One shot of the springs looks like a ghost face. Can you tell from the family picture we are a little bit tired--at least Mandy is.
After leaving Mammoth Springs we drove past a rock formation out of no where. We saw a pine tree growing right out of a rock.
We continued on our way heading to see Old Faithful. We saw another water fall.
After the falls we stopped at Norris Geyser. I was able to get a picture of Steamboat Geyser going off. I also like the picture of Cistine Springs. I took a lot of pretty pictures of the area, but don't want to make this too long.
By the time we finished looking at the geysers at Norris we were tired and decided to head back to the motel. I thought Mandy was tired, but as soon as we got to the motel she was swimming with friends again until 10. It took until 11 to get her to sleep. She was so wound up she wanted to talk and talk. This is the draw back of sharing a room with your kids. But it is also funny.
After playing it was time to go home. The ride was good. Mandy slept the entire time except the last hour, Shandy slept and Royce navigated. When we arrived to Park City we drove right in to a big rain, thunder and lightening storm. It was very dark and ominous. We also a fire being put out on the road after Heber and up in Bridal Veil Falls. After the long, fun vacation it was great to be home to rest.
