With all of the biking that I do during the week, I often find myself wishing for a weekend activity that would keep me active while allowing my lower body to rest a little. It occurred to me several weekends ago that kayaking would be that perfect activity. I still get to be outdoors, I still get to be active, but it puts no strain on my lower body at all.
So, on Saturday, Rosey and I, rented a couple of kayaks from the Wasatch Touring company and headed out onto the Great Salt Lake. The kayaks were reasonably priced at $25/day. If I end up doing this very often, I'd probably want to just buy my own, but in the mean time that's not so bad.
We put in at the Great Salt Lake Marina just a mile down the road from Saltair. I've only been kayaking once before in my life when I was visiting Hawaii for Christmas a couple of years back. Fortunately for me, Rosey is a seasoned kayaking veteran and was able to give me a number of tips on paddling technique and maneuvering. By the end of the day I still wasn't nearly as proficient as she was, but I was at least able to keep the boat going mostly straight :)
We set our sights on Stanisbury island, one of the larger islands in the Great Salt Lake. It was just off in the distance and looked like it would make for a good afternoon of paddling. Well, looks can be deceiving. After 2 hours and a little over 5 miles of paddling, Stanisbury island still looked about as far away as when we started :) When I got home and looked it up on the map, I discovered that it was about 15 miles from the Marina to the island. Oops.
Even without reaching the island it was fun to be out on the water. Our paddle out was through unusually calm water... almost glasslike. We had a few more waves on the way back.
I never really appreciated how salty the Great Salt Lake was until I paddled it. About 30 minutes into our trip we were both covered in a crust of salt from all the water that splashed up onto us. Of course, I was far worse off than Rosey, since my paddling technique was so sloppy that I tended to get water everywhere and over everything :) By the time that we got back to the marina, all of our clothes were stiff from the salt, and Rosey's hair was like a helmet (my hair was spared by a baseball cap that I was wearing).
I'm not sure that I'm reading to go out and buy two new kayaks yet, but I certainly had fun and you can be assured that this won't be the last time that we go kayaking this summer. Next time, I think that we may go for the closers and less saline waters of Utah Lake.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Our Spring Break Adventure
My sister Marci was on Spring Break last week and wanted to get out and have an adventure. Marci, Rosey and I decided to do some backpacking in the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park. We hiked 5.5 miles into our campsite at Peekaboo Springs where we setup camp next to the Salt Creek. The full set of pictures is here.
I think that we may have been packed a little heavy for one night in the backcountry :) How many backpackers do you know that pack in a queen size air mattress and battery operated pump? Hey, I'm not complaining... I slept awesome that night!
The views were spectacular. We hiked in and out of several canyons that wound through the park like a maze.
We had to scale several ladders on the hike including this one. This one was particularly challenging because of how narrow the opening was. My pack was so large that I got wedged in between the rocks about 2/3 of the way down. I wanted to just push back and force my pack through, but I was worried that once I broke free I would end up toppling backwards off of the ladder.
I think that we may have been packed a little heavy for one night in the backcountry :) How many backpackers do you know that pack in a queen size air mattress and battery operated pump? Hey, I'm not complaining... I slept awesome that night!
The views were spectacular. We hiked in and out of several canyons that wound through the park like a maze.
We had to scale several ladders on the hike including this one. This one was particularly challenging because of how narrow the opening was. My pack was so large that I got wedged in between the rocks about 2/3 of the way down. I wanted to just push back and force my pack through, but I was worried that once I broke free I would end up toppling backwards off of the ladder.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Climbing with Two Wheels
I didn't get a ton of miles on my bike this weekend, but the ones that I did get I had to work for.
Saturday, Rosey and I went mountain biking in Diamond Fork Canyon. We survived about8 miles straight uphill on a rocky mountain trail. We probably would have kept plowing through to Hobble creek canyon but we were both running low on water and didn't want to take any chances. Here is the elevation profile from my GPS:
As if that wasn't enough, on Sunday I decided to tackle Indian Pass on Hwy 191 connecting Price and Duchesne. The inspiration for this ride came last weekend as we were riding the Harley through this very spot. I thought it would make an awesome bike ride... and it did.
The only problem is that it's difficult to gauge exactly how steep a road is when riding in a motorized vehicle. I gained nearly 2000 feet of elevation in the first 7.5 miles of riding. That was rough. My favorite part of the climb was looking at the faces of the passing motorists wondering why the hell I was voluntarily climbing a hill like that.
Once I reached the summit at 9100 ft, it was pretty much all downhill for the next 28 miles. My top speed was a little over 40 miles per hour coming down the steepest section of the mountain. I do wear a helmet on whenever I anticipate speeds like that. Although I was thinking today as I was descending, that at 40 miles per hour, I don't think that my bicycle helmet would really help that much.
My original plan had been to have lunch in Duchesne and then ride back to where I started. Only I hadn't counted on having regain so much elevation coming back from Duchesne. I had imagined that the road was mostly flat after the initial ascent/descent from Indian Pass. Between the mountain biking I had done on Saturday and the climbing that I had already done that morning, my legs were pretty much fried.
I started back to the car but only got about half-way before Rosey met me with the car. I was so happy that she decided to come along and hike while I biked, because I'm not sure that I would have made it back up that mountain :)
Here is the elevation profile of the Indian Pass ride:
Saturday, Rosey and I went mountain biking in Diamond Fork Canyon. We survived about8 miles straight uphill on a rocky mountain trail. We probably would have kept plowing through to Hobble creek canyon but we were both running low on water and didn't want to take any chances. Here is the elevation profile from my GPS:
As if that wasn't enough, on Sunday I decided to tackle Indian Pass on Hwy 191 connecting Price and Duchesne. The inspiration for this ride came last weekend as we were riding the Harley through this very spot. I thought it would make an awesome bike ride... and it did.
The only problem is that it's difficult to gauge exactly how steep a road is when riding in a motorized vehicle. I gained nearly 2000 feet of elevation in the first 7.5 miles of riding. That was rough. My favorite part of the climb was looking at the faces of the passing motorists wondering why the hell I was voluntarily climbing a hill like that.
Once I reached the summit at 9100 ft, it was pretty much all downhill for the next 28 miles. My top speed was a little over 40 miles per hour coming down the steepest section of the mountain. I do wear a helmet on whenever I anticipate speeds like that. Although I was thinking today as I was descending, that at 40 miles per hour, I don't think that my bicycle helmet would really help that much.
My original plan had been to have lunch in Duchesne and then ride back to where I started. Only I hadn't counted on having regain so much elevation coming back from Duchesne. I had imagined that the road was mostly flat after the initial ascent/descent from Indian Pass. Between the mountain biking I had done on Saturday and the climbing that I had already done that morning, my legs were pretty much fried.
I started back to the car but only got about half-way before Rosey met me with the car. I was so happy that she decided to come along and hike while I biked, because I'm not sure that I would have made it back up that mountain :)
Here is the elevation profile of the Indian Pass ride:
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Fuel Costs of Commuting By Bike
I was talking to a friend the other day about how I love cycling to work because it is good exercise, good fun, environmentally friendly and saves me a ton of money on gas. He looked at me quizzically and said, "Do you really save that much money on fuel?".
"What do you mean? Of course, I do. I don't have to put ANY gas in my bike"
"Yeah, but how much extra fuel do you have to put in yourself in order to bike back and forth to work?"
I had never really thought of it that way before. On an average day that I drive to work, I end up driving 56 miles. That's 14 miles each way, twice (I usually come home for lunch). My Camry gets about 28 miles per gallon which means that I use 2 gallons of fuel on an average work day. Given the current price of fuel, commuting by car costs me between 5 and 6 dollars a day.
That means that for commuting by bike to be economically advantageous I would have to spend less than 5 dollars a day extra on food. An average day of riding to work accrues 40 miles; that 12.5 each way and then a 15 mile ride at lunch. Between bigger meals to fuel myself and snacks in between meals to keep me going, I probably spend pretty close to an extra 5 dollars a day when I bike.
Of course, that's not going to prevent me from biking to work. Even if I only break even financially, I still get all of the other benefits of biking. And from a fitness and lifestyle perspective I really like the philsophy of "eat more, exercise more". I ran into some guys on a ride last year that put it this way, "I eat to live, live to ride, and ride so that I can eat more".
"What do you mean? Of course, I do. I don't have to put ANY gas in my bike"
"Yeah, but how much extra fuel do you have to put in yourself in order to bike back and forth to work?"
I had never really thought of it that way before. On an average day that I drive to work, I end up driving 56 miles. That's 14 miles each way, twice (I usually come home for lunch). My Camry gets about 28 miles per gallon which means that I use 2 gallons of fuel on an average work day. Given the current price of fuel, commuting by car costs me between 5 and 6 dollars a day.
That means that for commuting by bike to be economically advantageous I would have to spend less than 5 dollars a day extra on food. An average day of riding to work accrues 40 miles; that 12.5 each way and then a 15 mile ride at lunch. Between bigger meals to fuel myself and snacks in between meals to keep me going, I probably spend pretty close to an extra 5 dollars a day when I bike.
Of course, that's not going to prevent me from biking to work. Even if I only break even financially, I still get all of the other benefits of biking. And from a fitness and lifestyle perspective I really like the philsophy of "eat more, exercise more". I ran into some guys on a ride last year that put it this way, "I eat to live, live to ride, and ride so that I can eat more".
LOTOJA Route Misunderstanding
I was talking to one of my coworkers yesterday who actually rode LOTOJA last year and realized that I misunderstood the route. The ride does not go through Logan canyon and descend on Bear lake like I had originally thought. Rather it continues North from Logan into Idaho and then turns Northwest at Preston and rides along Hwy 36. We will rejoin Hwy 89 just outside of Montpellier.
On the one hand I'm relieved to discover that I won't have to tackle Logan canyon as part of a 200 mile ride. On the other hand, I'm a little disappointed to discover that the epic ride that I was imagining is going to be a little less epic than I imagined. I've already told a handful people that I was riding Logan canyon as part of LOTOJA. Maybe I'll ride it my way anyway and meet up with everyone else in Montpellier :)
On the one hand I'm relieved to discover that I won't have to tackle Logan canyon as part of a 200 mile ride. On the other hand, I'm a little disappointed to discover that the epic ride that I was imagining is going to be a little less epic than I imagined. I've already told a handful people that I was riding Logan canyon as part of LOTOJA. Maybe I'll ride it my way anyway and meet up with everyone else in Montpellier :)
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Bike Seats and Long Rides
TK asked in the comments of my last blog whether or not they make comfort seats for long rides on a bicycle. The answer is yes and no. Yes, they do make large padded comfort seats for bicycles, but No, you would never use one for a long ride like LOTOJA. The comfort seats are generally marketed to people that ride slow and for really short distances.
Despite being contrary to what one might consider common sense, it's actually better to have a really small seat on a long ride. The difference between a bicycle and a motorcycle is that, on a bicycle, you actually need to move your legs to pedal. A large seat actually inhibits this action. In addition, there are large arteries that pump blood through your crotch area to your legs. Small seats are designed to avoid placing any pressure on these arteries. A poorly designed seat can actually make your legs go numb after 20 miles.
That's not to say that really small seats are "comfortable" by any stretch of the imagination. But after a 50 mile ride your butt is much less likely to be in agonizing pain on small seat than it would be on a large "comfort" seat.
Despite being contrary to what one might consider common sense, it's actually better to have a really small seat on a long ride. The difference between a bicycle and a motorcycle is that, on a bicycle, you actually need to move your legs to pedal. A large seat actually inhibits this action. In addition, there are large arteries that pump blood through your crotch area to your legs. Small seats are designed to avoid placing any pressure on these arteries. A poorly designed seat can actually make your legs go numb after 20 miles.
That's not to say that really small seats are "comfortable" by any stretch of the imagination. But after a 50 mile ride your butt is much less likely to be in agonizing pain on small seat than it would be on a large "comfort" seat.
Monday, April 02, 2007
LOTOJA Registration
I just completed my registration for the 2007 Logan to Jackson road bike race. The ride is a 206 mile trek through the mountains from Logan, Utah to Jackson, Wyoming... in a single day. At an average pace of about 20 miles per hour, I can expect to spend at least 10 hours in the saddle. Fortunately, the ride isn't until September 8th, so I have plenty of time to get my butt in shape :)
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