Blather on Bicycling

The past week I was in Salt Lake City for a professional convention. This afforded me some riding opportunities on new roads. I wasn’t that impressed by the riding in and around SLC, but I did see a lot of cyclists there. The roads were congested with traffic and every road had bumpy and inconsistent surfaces. Fortunately, I was able to spend a few days in Park City, and was very impressed by the riding there. When I first looked at the map, I didn’t think it would offer good riding but quickly found I was wrong when I hit the roads the first day. The roads I sniffed out in Park City were awesome and I climbed thousands of vertical feet just riding through neighborhoods. The rides would be even better later in the summer when the high passes open. If anyone wants to know some roads I found, send me an email at bsather@LaGrandeRide.com

Also, congratulations to local racer Brian Bartel for his 18th place GC finish in his first race, the Tour of Walla Walla.

I’ve designate today as the first good riding day of 2006. I rode my cyclocross bike to and from work and the weather finally felt like spring. The combination of little wind, sunny skies, and a warmish temperature made for a pleasant ride. On the other hand, it wasn’t so warm that I was able to let my knees see the sun for the first time. My legs are shockingly pale considering how many miles I’ve ridden this year. I’m hoping for warmer weather soon, like everyone else in La Grande.