Rail Trail - Legacy Trail

I had a goal to ride from one end of the paved portion of the Rio Grande rail trail in Clinton to the other end of the Legacy parkway trail in Salt Lake.  On May 28th, Tom and I met at the North end and rode to the south.  Here are a few pictures and comments on the trip.  Thanks to Tom's Garmin, we have the GPS track of the ride.  The total distance on the trail was 27.9 miles. 

The North end of the trail ends/starts at the county line on the Roy city limit.  It is just north of 2300 North in Clinton.  We have been told that Roy is going to start paving their section of the trail this year.  We will call this mile 0. 

Here is the screen capture from Google Earth.  

The pictures are from my IPhone.  Sorry they are so crappy.
Here is the North end of the trail.

I took a few photos along the way of some interesting areas.

At mile 2 there is a very nice pond

In my mind these first few miles of the trail were the most beautiful.  

At Mile 3.1 you run into an interesting problem.  In the middle of the block, you come to a chain link fence that that has a no trespassing sign.  Do you go back, do you go forward?

What do now?  Look around, and you will see how others have solved the problem.  Pick up your bike and do a little cyclocross down the hill and around the fence.   I'm not sure why the trail can't cross this rail spur (not a main line).  I'm sure there is a good reason, but it doesn't seem like anyone is deterred by the short piece of chain link fence.

After you get across the tracks, then the trail gets long and boring.  It's a great time to do some sprint training between the road crossings.

The next major feature is at mile 14.4.  This is the end of the pavement for the rail trail.  Just as you pass the Davis County Fairgrounds there is a 0.7 mile cutoff trail that takes you over to the Legacy Parkway Trail.

Here is the end of the rail trail.

This next picture shows the cutoff trail heading east.

Looking back from the East end of the cutoff trail.

The cutoff trail dumps you out on State Street in Farmington just west of I-15.  You have to ride along the sidewalk and do one road crossing in order to get on to the Legacy Parkway trail.

The Legacy Parkway trail is well used on the weekends, so be careful of other cyclists, boy scout troops, joggers, and walkers.  

The South end of Legacy Parkway Trail ends just after you go under I-215.  Chevron donated some money to continue the trail about another mile to the south to join up with the Jordan River trail.   Unfortunately, there is still about another mile of unfinished trail before you get to the paved portion of the Jordan river trail.  Hopefully, someday, this piece will be finished as well.   We turned around at the end of the pavement.  The total distance from the north end to the south end was 27.9 miles.  

End of the line.

Overall, it was a very fun and relaxing ride.  You are not going to set any speed records on the trail, there are too many road crossings and too many people.  But, it is a nice ride and we are fortunate to have such a nice trail along the Wasatch Front.  

Salt Lake Century

This is a short review of the 2011 Salt Lake Century.

The weather was great.  A bit cool at the start.  Arm warmers for the first 30 miles was plenty.  The winds were very friendly.  At the start they were out of the south at 5-10 mph.  By the time we got out to Antelope Island the winds had shifted around and were blowing out of the west.  I don't think it could have been any better than that.

The start was a bit of a gaggle.  A few people started before the motorcycle cops went out.  Watching the police motorcycles roll out in front of the riders was very impressive.  It was nice to ride out of town with an escort and not having to stop at the lights.   Thanks for the support from local law enforcement.   The map they provided was accurate and the route was well marked.

The rest stops were all well marked and well stocked.  There were plenty of snack and plenty of water and sports drinks.  The Syracuse stop was crowded going both ways, but I didn't have to wait long for a restroom or for lunch.  They provided sandwiches for lunch with your choice of both PB&J and several kinds of meat with lots of condiments.

This year's T-shirt was better than some that I have received from cycling events.  I liked the logo and they printed it on a nice heavy gray T-shirt.

Overall, it was a well supported ride.  The committee did a very nice job.  I plan to participate again in the future.

The Three E's

In the May 2011 issue of Cycling Utah magazine there was a great article in the commuter column by Lou Melini.  This column is one of my favorite columns in the magazine.  He did an interview with some members of the Bonneville Cycling Club (BCC). In the article Norma Blubaugh said, "When the guys at work asked why I started riding a bike instead of driving, my short clever answer was, 'The three E's: Economy, Ecology, and Energy."

Here are some of my thoughts in relation to the Three E's as they apply to my bike commuting.

Economy: Is this really saving me money?  My commute is about 19 miles round trip.  If I drove my 16 year old pickup to work every day, it would cost me about $5 a day to get back and forth to work.  This doesn't count maintenance.   In the summer I commute just about every day, but in the winter there are some weeks that it is only once or twice.  Let's just say that I average 3 times a week for 50 weeks.  That's 150 commutes at $5 saved each time, so I'm saving $450 a year.  My commuter bike (Surly LHT) cost about 3 times that much to purchase and get set up with racks, panniers, lights and accessories.  So, I'm not really saving any money until I have been commuting for three years on the Surly.  I'm just coming up on a year, so I've got two more years to go before E #1 has any impact on my pocket book.

Ecology: Don't get me wrong.  I'm all about protecting the environment and saving the planet, but realistically I have about as much chance of making any impact on global warming (if there is such a thing) by riding my bike to work as I would by trying to raise the level of the Pacific ocean by spitting in the Bear River.  In the big scheme of things, I am really not making any impact.  There are too many people and too many cars for my measly reduction in fossil fuel usage to make any difference to the Banded Hair Wallaby in Australia.  I may feel better about myself, but that's about it.

Energy: Based on the article, she was referring to her own energy level, alertness, and fitness benefits.  I think of the third E more as Exercise.  For me, this is really the only sound reason to commute on a bike.  The other two E's can help me feel better about myself, but this third E makes me feel better.  The real benefits to me are the fresh air, the time to think, and the health benefits of regular exercise including helping to keep my weight under control.  

For me, the first two E's don't really mean much.  I commute for purely selfish reasons.  I'm sure there are those that pass me on my way to work (hopefully giving me 3') and think, "There goes some environmental wacko who thinks he is saving the planet".   Now you know, I'm not one.   The rest of you can ride your bike to work and tout that you are saving the Wallaby, but I'm riding so I can eat a hamburger for lunch.

Ride on!

Here is a link to the full article.
May 2011 Issue of Cycling Utah

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