Ride to Cache Valley and Back

This year was the year that I had planned to do the Frank To Fred ride.   However, because of a long list of excuses, the least of which is a job that seriously curtailed my training time, I was not able to go.  So, it is on the calendar for next year.  

I was able to carve out a bit of training time late in the year, so I decided I would go on my first bike "tour".  I decided to keep it simple, so I planned an overnight ride with a route to some relatives that live in Cache Valley.  I wanted distances that were similar to what we would be doing on the Frank to Fred ride and this ride was perfect (60-80 miles each day)  I also wanted to be loaded up a bit so I packed two panniers full of stuff so that I could get the feel for a loaded bike.  

Here is a picture of my Surly LHT loaded up and ready to go.  I took some extra water so it would weigh more.  I could not be happier with the bike.  It is very comfortable to ride, it performed exceptionally well and I had zero bike problems.  

Day 1:  On my route headed north, I decided to take the rail trail as far as I could.  When it ran out in Ogden, I stayed west of the freeway until I got to Smith and Edwards, then I crossed over to the old highway. The frustrating part about the leg of the ride from 12th street in Ogden to Brigham City is that there is no real shoulder on the road.  In some places there was zero shoulder.    People were generally very courteous and gave me a few feet, but I dislike not have at least a few feet of shoulder.  

After a short rest at the Maverick in Brigham City I started up Sardine canyon.  I had never ridden over the canyon and I had in my mind that it would be a huge challenge.  Like most things in life, my perception of the climb and the actual climb were much different.  The climb is only a few miles and with the wide gear range of the Surly, I had no trouble motoring over the top.   Here is a picture at the top of Sardine Canyon.

After a fun ride down the canyon, I dropped into the valley and found great roads with wide shoulders all the way to Smithfield.  Other than a being a bit behind on the calories, I felt pretty good.   The total distance was 69.3 Miles.   

Day 2:  On the way back I decided to work my way out of the valley on the back roads and then then head up past Beaver Dam.  I got on the bike and felt a bit sore, but after a few minutes of getting the legs going again, I headed out with enthusiasm.  I did pretty good winding my way out of the valley and only had one short stretch where I had to ride on a gravel road.  The good news is that with the wide tires on the Surly I made it down the 1 mile stretch of gravel road with no problems.

This route was much less climbing than the other route.  However, it is almost 10 miles longer.  The total distance on Day 2 was 78.9 miles.  The climb back into Box Elder County was a non-event.  The road has a bit of a shoulder until I started south and then the shoulder was only about a foot wide.  Fortunately, the road over to Brigham City is lightly traveled.     

I stopped in Brigham City and got some lunch at the Taco Bell.  After eating several cliff bars, a bean burrito tasted great.   I thought about trying to find a different route between Brigham City and Ogden, but there were not any really good choices, so I rode the same roads all the way home.  I was exhausted and a bit saddle sore when I got home, but it felt great to get my first multi-day tour under my belt.  

Lessons learned:

- A longer bike tour would be more fun with another person.   It would also be safer and easier to make rest stops.  

- My average speed was lower than I thought it would be.   On a loaded touring bike I think I should plan on covering 13-14 miles per hour.  

- Keep eating.  On the first day I didn't eat much and late in the day I started to fade.  The second day I was much more diligent about eating.  

- I only packed for overnight.  I think I had about 12-15 pounds of luggage on the bike.  The plan is to do Frank to Fred using the same two panniers and put the rest of the trip on the Visa card.  I think I should plan to be in the 15-20 pound range for the luggage.  

- On a long tour I need to stop more, take more pictures and enjoy the scenery.  It is about the journey, not the destination.  

- The biggest lesson learned was that bike touring looks like it would be great fun.  I looking forward to doing more of it next riding season.  

Final Picture:  I couldn't help but stop and snap a picture of the Brigham City LDS Temple on the way by.  It is a beautiful building.