My wife and I had planned a trip to Park City for August. My friend Byron and his wife live nearby and when Byron found out we were going to be in the area, he offered to loan me a bike and to ride one of his permanents. I was happy to take him up on the offer. Just before we left Austin, Byron texted me to say the winds had returned to normal and the California and Idaho wildfire smoke were no longer causing problems in central Utah. I was happy to hear this until the next day when Byron texted me to tell me about the Parley Canyon fire, This fire had been started near I80 between Park City and Salt Lake City. Interstate 80 had been closed the day the fire started, but it had reopened by the time we landed in SLC and picked up our rental car.
As we drove to Park City, we saw the firefighters using helicopters to bring water into the area of the fire. Fortunately, the interstate had only 1 lane closed, I could not see any fire, but I could see plenty of smoke in the area. We arrived to our hotel in Park City and we could see that the air was hazy and visibility was poor.
Tuesday night, Colleen and I drove into Salt Lake City for the Yo Yo Ma concert at the Red Butte Amphitheater located near the botanical garden at the University of Utah. We had planned to visit the garden before the concert, but the garden closed early because of the concert. We queued up early for the gates to open as general admission are lawn seats. You are encouraged to bring low slung chairs, blankets, and your own food and beverages. We stopped at Whole Foods in Park City on our way to SLC and bought things for our picnic dinner.
As we waited for the gates to open, rain clouds rolled in and it started to pour down rain. It rained on and off all evening and my hope was that this would help the firefighters and the air quality. The next day, it rained more and it was cold. We met Byron and his wife for drinks at the St Regis near Deer Park and decided Friday would be the day to meet for the ride. Byron gave me a rough idea of how to find his house and we agreed to try and meet around 8am on Friday.
Funicular takes you up the mountain to the bar at St Regis
Byron had a signature Bloody Mary
Thursday was another damp cold morning. By afternoon, the sun came out but it was blustery and cold with temperatures in the 40s. I was hoping the weather would improve for Friday's ride.
Friday morning, I got up at 7am and dressed for the ride. I added a long sleeve shirt base layer to my kit and also made sure to grab my Rapha jacket, my sun knees, and sun sleeves. I programmed Byron's address into my GPS and headed south to Heber City. My GPS eventually navigated me to what will eventually be a road, but was still under construction. I called Byron and after a few turns and twists, I was able to find his house. I finished dressing in Byron's garage and filled my water bottle with ice and water. Byron put me on his Moots which fit me perfectly with no changes. He rode his other bike which is a Giant.
A nice view from Byron's garage.
We departed his house for the first control and headed towards the first climb of the day which was about 900ft up on a mountain along Utah SR 32 (peak at around 6600ft). I started my climb feeling good, but I got about half way up and I started to have an asthma attack. I stopped to catch my breath and wished like heck and I had used my Advair before leaving the hotel. Normally, if I use this the night before, all is well. But on this ride, I would find that my breathing was labored all morning and I made sure to manage my output to try and avoid another asthma attack.
View of Jordanelle resevoir from top of the SR-32 climb.
The weather was beautiful and there was very little wind. We made good time to the first store in Kampas. I ate an apple pie and drank a Dr Pepper. Byron had coffee. We asked the local kids who were visiting the store for lunch what the SS on the side of the mountain meant. It stands for South Summit and their high school are The Wildcats. We mounted our bikes and completed the loop on the north side of the ride. I even saw a sign indicating Park City was only 13 miles away! We eventually headed back to the climb at SR-32 (from the opposite direction). This was a much easier climb and then we enjoyed 2 long descents (6% and 8%) back down to US-40 intersection.
A couple more photos I took along our journey.
We eventually reached Midway and stopped at a Chevron for a cold drink and a bite to eat. I purchased chocolate milk for me and V8 for Byron. I ate some of the trail mix I had brought with me. I was having trouble with my breathing but endeavored to keep pushing and hoping for things to clear up.
We had about 25 miles of the ride left after the store. We ambled south a bit and found the wind had picked up. Byron assured me we would turn north and east soon enough. As we did turn east, we climbed what looked like a flat road but found it was a 3-4% climb. We finally hit the high point of this stretch and enjoyed a descent down to another road that also climbed several miles for 3-4%. It was getting hot and I took off my jacket and rode sleeveless.
We finally made a turn and there was a long downhill with a couple of rollers in the middle. The end of the ride was there before I knew it! I was glad to be done. We finished in 5 hours 4 minutes. We rode back to Byron's house and put the bikes up. I had some cold water and then the 3 of us (Byron, Roxann, and I) went to lunch in town. I thoroughly enjoyed my pastrami sandwich and cold summer manhattan (made with Woodford Reserve and 2 Luxardo cherries).
Byron and Roxann shared a Mountain Mule
After lunch we chatted a bit and then bid each other farewell. I drove back to the hotel and showered, used my asthma medicine and hoped it would relieve the tightness in my chest. Completing this permanent bags me one more state. It was a tough day, but I was happy to be offered the opportunity to ride with a good friend on a gorgeous day.
All photos from the ride are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/jRzpVZ8CnBLkF25R6
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