September 2002 Issue 8/29/02 3:15 PM Page 1 VOLUME 10 NUMBER 6 FREE SEPTEMBER 2002 cycling utah Get Your Life in Gear, Pedal Farther! •Calendar of Events •Navajo Lake Loop Trail •Results •Utah Bike Project Underspending •Snowbird Hillclimb •Freeriding and Environmentalism •Lotoja Preview MOUNTAIN WEST CYCLING JOURNAL September 2002 Issue 8/29/02 3:15 PM Page 2 2 cycling utah.com SEPTEMBER 2002 SPEAKING OF SPOKES End of the Summer Musings By Dave Ward Standing in front of me was a Publisher most beautiful piece of bicycle art, a Serotta Ottrott (pro- I do not watch much televi- nounced “oh tro”) ST. sion, my viewing being pretty A bicycling Frank Lloyd much limited to Star Trek (any Wright would appreciate this generation will do) and what artistic work of functional form. coverage of the Tour de France I A carbon fiber frame with titani- am able to pick up. So this year, um lugs, seat tube and bottom I decided to upgrade my cable bracket, curved carbon seat stays service to digital cable so I could and even wrote a book, Ma and pivoting rear dropouts put watch the Tour coverage on the Verité (french for “My Truth”), this frame in a class by itself. Outdoor Life Network (OLN). denying it. Then later, when all So, of course, does the price. A This was like steak to a starving this came to trial, Virenque visit to Serotta’s website showed man. I spent (wasted, some admitted to using drugs. So, not prices for the frame alone begin- would say) at least two hours only was he a cheater, but a con- ning at $4300, and that was with every night keeping up with the niving liar, too. It really burned titanium seat stays, not the exploits of Lance and the me to see him win Mont optional carbon seat stays, which Posties. Ventoux. Anybody but him. of course will cost more. So, Karma and I were watch- And then to hear that the French Joel had chosen a frame with ing the legendary climb up Mont fans were jeering Armstrong as a a tint finish that sparkles and Ventoux, only to learn from doper, when their own favorite changes color with the angle of Wade Simmons at the 2001 Red Bull Rampage. The 2002 those two delightful English rider was a virtual pin cushion, light. Additionally, he had out- Rampage is in VIrgin, Utah on Oct 10-13. really fried me. Hello, is any- bavards (french for “bullshit- fitted the bike with a new carbon Photo: Justin Machus body home? Anyway, that is my ters”) that Armstrong was being handlebar which by itself will * * * * * * * * * * price to pay. By the time we tirade on that. jeered by some roadside idiots set you back close to a half thou- Speaking of the ULCER, were mounted and leaving, the yelling, “Dopé!” (french for sand bucks. when Karma and I arrived at the guy I was behind in the preregis- * * * * * * * * * * “doped”). The French press and After Karma calmed me start, I was appalled to look at a tration line had finally made his some French fans just do not down, we chatted with Joel line at least 50 yards long for way to the front. My wife, Karma and I, rode want to let die claims that Lance about what a beautiful piece of registration. I dutifully took my Do not get me wrong, though. the Utah Lake Century Epic uses performance enhancing work this was, and Joel made it place in line, only to learn that The Bonneville Bicycle Touring Ride (ULCER) last Saturday on drugs. a point to let me know Serotta these were the pre-registered rid- Club (BBTC) which puts on this our tandem. While at the first But the ironic part was that at had promised him he would ers! For us slugs who failed to event, while experiencing a food stop, we met up with Joel that very moment the Mont receive his frame before Robin pre-register, we only had a line small disaster with registration, Bingham, the owner of Ventoux stage was being won by Williams, who also had an order of about five people to deal with. did a great job. As they do every Bingham’s Cyclery. We chatted Richard Virenque, an extremely in, would receive his. Of course, Now, admittedly, I had to pay year with this and other events. a little, and then suddenly Joel popular French rider who was on Joel probably generates more more and did not get a t-shirt (as Indeed, the members of BBTC grabbed this bike from behind the Festina team busted and income for Serotta than Robin if I need any more t-shirts). But are to be thanked and praised for him and held it in front of me, kicked out of the 1998 Tour for Williams. So, Mr. Williams, being the impatient line curmud- all they do for bicycling in Utah. primarily to watch me drool with big time drug usage. Virenque step aside. geon that I am, it was a small repeatedly denied he used drugs, lust and envy, I am certain. Cover Photo: Mike Schneider at speed in Alta, UT Photo: Adam Clark © 2002 cycling utah cycling utah P.O. Box 57980 Murray, UT 84157-0980 www.cyclingutah.com You can reach us by phone: (801) 268-2652 Our Fax number: (801) 263-1010 David R. Ward, Publisher Robert L. Truelsen, Executive Editor Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Dave Iltis, Editor & Advertising (801) 268-2652 Email: [email protected] Contributors: Greg Overton, Neal Skorpen, Gregg Bromka, Ben Simonson, Bill Harris, Charles Pekow, James Kirk, Inlightmedia.com, Adam Clark cycling utah is published eight times a year beginning in March and continuing monthly through October. Annual Subscription rate: $7 Postage paid in Murray, UT Editorial contributions are welcome. Please included a stamped, self- addressed envelope to return unused material. Submission of articles and accompanying artwork to cycling utah is the author’s warranty that the material is in no way an infringement upon the rights of others and that the material may be published without additional approval. Permission is required to reprint any of the contents of this publication. September 2002 Issue 8/29/02 3:15 PM Page 3 SEPTEMBER 2002 cycling utah.com 3 TRAIL OF THE MONTH Navajo Lake Loop Trail By Gregg Bromka Length: Navajo Lake Loop Trail: 11.7 miles. Although Utah is ranked as one of the driest states in the Tread: Singletrack with a touch nation, and we’re not talking of dirt and paved roads. about liquor laws, it hosts a number of natural mountain Physical Difficulty: Moderately lakes that are veritable aquatic easy (a few short hills are jewels. Navajo Lake is such a thrown in for good measure). gem. Located 28 miles east of Cedar City and up on the 9,000- Technical Difficulty: Low foot high Markagunt Plateau, (mostly smooth-running tread Navajo Lake is a stone’s throw with some rocks and roots, peri- from Brian Head and Cedar odically). Breaks National Monument. How convenient. Anglers have Elevation: Between 9,000-9,200 cast their baited hooks into the feet. Gain is only a few hundred lake’s chilly waters for decades, feet. but there is more to do here than troll in a sputtering dingy. Excerpted from Mountain Mountain bikers, hikers, and Biking Utah’s Brian Head- equestrians will find mile upon Bryce Country, available at mile of prime trails that were www.offroadpub.com. built with them in mind, thanks to the Cedar City Ranger District of the Dixie National Forest. Tricia takes a lap around the Navajo Lake Loop Trail. Photo by Gregg Bromka With three campgrounds along the lake’s edge and with basic visitor services at nearby Duck through the pourous rocks or Navajo. If you make it to you can cruise the lake road Creek Village, you can set up underground. The dike was built Navajo Point, you’ll be rewarded back or cross over and circle You’ll stay base camp at Navajo and spend a to give the lake a more consisent by an all-out bombing run clockwise around the lake on the long weekend exploring sweet level. A mile away, the collective descent on tight singletrack. Loop Trail. Jackie Gleason smarter! singletracks until your legs can groundwater exits from a single Bank right onto Lodge Trail to would say, “How sweet it is!” turn the pedals no more. portal in the face of the Pink circle back to the Dike Trailhead Wear your The 12-mile long Navajo Cliffs, called Cascade Falls, and on the lake’s south side, or let Location: 21 miles southeast of Lake Loop Trail serves as the gives birth to the North Fork of your momentum carry you all Brian Head; 28 miles east of helmet! backbone to the area’s trails. It’s the Virgin River. the way down to the Te-ah Cedar City on UT 14. a fun little ride that the whole The north-side Loop Trail Campground Trailhead. There, family can enjoy because the rolls 3.6 miles to Navajo Spring, hills are gentle and the trail is where it joins with a dirt road. buttery smooth, by and large. Take the dirt road to the paved Along the lake’s north side, flut- lake road, and then pedal the tering aspens cast flickering road right/west to just past the shadows across the path; on the entrance to Te-ah Campground. south shore, commingling fir Go left on the VRRT, and climb trees block even the most deter- moderately for 1.5 miles to mined rays of sun.