Bike Rides

Location: Home in Orem

Yesterday and today I went on some bike rides after work. Yesterday, as I was riding home from work, I approached the mouth of Provo Canyon and decided to keep riding up to Vivian Park from the mouth of Provo Canyon in my work clothes and with my backpack and computer from work and everything else. I had a sudden burst of energy from the crisp, clear, invigorating atmosphere around me as I approached the canyon. Despite the impending darkness (it was about 7 PM), I rode up the dark canyon and made my way up the trail the 5 miles to Vivian Park. While riding up, the light from the sunset was shining on Cascade Mountain to my right and Mt. Timpanogos to my left. I arrived at Vivian Park at about 7:30, just as it was getting to be completely dark. I turned my bike around, turned on my front and rear light, and zoomed back down the trail. From Vivian Park to the bottom of the canyon is nearly all downhill and it took me about 15 minutes to reach the mouth of the canyon.

Today after work, I drove up to a park near the end of the South Fork of Provo Canyon and did some mountain biking. My favorite trail in this area travels south out of the park and up a dirt road for a mile or two. There are some amazing views of Timpanogos and the mountains to the south and west from this trail. At one point, as I looked to the Cascade Mountain saddle to the west, I was able to see the bright yellow hues of the Aspens, the deep reds of the maples, and the greens of the evergreens. The top of the Cascade saddle was covered in snow. The air was crisp and clean, and the skies were clear. This trail drops down and connects with the main fire road to Big Springs. I took the fire road to Big Springs and then bombed down the singletrack trail until it forks, took the right (straight) fork, intersected with and crossed the fire road to the singletrack on the other side, flew through a meadow, and was back where I had started in about 15 minutes from the top to the bottom (it took about 30-40 minutes to climb to the top of the trail). The ride was sublime. I wish I had some pictures to show you the great views. Maybe I’ll have to go again tomorrow and take some photos!