VOLUME 11 NUMBER 2 FREE APRIL 2003 cycling utah •Bike Club Guide - part II - p. 6 •Calendar of Events - p. 14 Over 200 Events to choose from! •Cedar Mountains Loop - p. 3 •RMR Results - p. 16 •Airport Bike Path - p. 7 •Moab Skinny Tire Festival - p. 10 •RMR Criteriums - p. 11 •Race, Race, Race - p. 17 •National Bike Summit - p. 4 •May is Bike Month - Preview - p. 9 MOUNTAIN WEST CYCLING JOURNAL 2 cycling utah.com APRIL 2003 SPEAKING OF SPOKES Utah’s Weekday Race Series By Dave Ward other Saturday for that matter. A Publisher mid-week race series allows me to enjoy the thrill of competing As I sat here looking at a every week in the space of a few blank computer screen, I realized evening hours. I recognize that that I am still “looking ahead to these race series do not just the coming cycling season”. I magically occur, and I appreciate know that most of you are not and laud the efforts of those who still “looking ahead”. For you, make them happen. the season is already here. Series and the Saltair Time Trial These race series are also Nevertheless, though I have Series. On the mountain bike great for beginning racers who come out of hibernation, I have side, the Soldier Hollow want to get a little experience Above:The B Flite rounds corner one at the RMR on not yet gotten in the cycling Training Series is back again this before tackling the “weekend” March 29. groove. year as well. Several years ago, events. While the racing is just Cover: Rodney Mena leads Bill Harris and the rest of the A part of my problem is that I we had the Decker Dash moun- as intense, the racers tend to be A Flite through the hairpin at the RMR withthe Oquirrh love to ski. While most people tain bike series right in the heart more forgiving of those new to Mountains in the background. Photos: Dave Iltis look forward to the start of the of the Salt Lake valley. the sport, and usually quite free cycling season, I dread the end Unfortunately, that even was list, with their advice. (At times, in of the ski year. So, you will and I have greatly missed it. the heat of the race, that advice usually find me at the ski areas I was glad to note that in is sometimes loud and laced at least till the end of March, and Idaho there is the Snake River with a little profanity. But be often through the middle of Criterium Series in the Boise patient. They are usually not April. Still, in March I do start area and the Idaho Cycling personal attacks, and are often looking forward to the cycling Enthusiasts Criterium Series in followed up with apologies at year, and get serious about it Pocatello. There may be other the end of the race.) In addi- around the middle of April mid-week race series out there tion, the RMR Series includes a As I have contemplated the of which we at cycling utah category specifically for begin- cycling season, I am excited as I have not received word. If so, ner racers with several experi- review cycling utah’s calendar. please let us know so that we enced racers riding the race not As a road racer, I am pleased to may include them in our calen- to compete, but to teach. see, though I did not expect oth- dar. So, take advantage of these erwise, that the several mid- I am a great devotee of these mid-week races. They are good week race series are still in series. With family, professional training, intense, and yet great place. In the Salt Lake area, and other activities and obliga- fun. I hope to see you there. there are the Rocky Mountain tions, it has become impossible Raceways (“RMR”) Criterium for me to participate in a race Series, the Division of Motor every Saturday, or even every Vehicle (“DMV”) Criterium AA BicycleBicycle isis Forever.Forever. © 2003 cycling utah GetGet YoursYours Today.Today. 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 What Else is Simonson, Bill Harris, Charles Pekow, Cindi Hansen, Edward Whitney, Ingrid Middleton, MoabActionShots.com, Quinn There? Jacobson, Trudy Truss, Brian Price, Jason Bultman, Jon R Smith, Lou Melini Guthrie cycling utah is published eight times a year beginning in Bicycle Co. March and continuing monthly through October. Annual Subscription rate: $10 Doing it right Postage paid in Murray, UT Editorial contributions are welcome. Please included a stamped, self- for over addressed envelope to return unused material. Or, send email to [email protected]. Submission of articles and accompanying art- 100 work 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 Years! be published without additional approval. Permission is required to guthriebicycle.com reprint any of the contents of this publication. Cycling Utah is free, limit one copy per person. APRIL 2003 cycling utah.com 3 TRAIL OF THE MONTH Sublime High Desert Miles: Cedar Mountains Loop By Gregg Bromka lava spit from its side. Go right hundred pedal strokes to the top at a T-junction a few miles far- of Hastings are the toughest. But ther then right again at a three- then you're done, and gravity Just 10 kilometers short of a way junction at the base of a will pull you down at breakneck metric century, the Cedar knoll spotted with charred trees speeds to close the loop. The tall Mountains loop is ideal for from a recent wildfire. rocky cornice of Deseret Peak is endurance junkies who want to a welcomed sight. spend all day in the saddle. The If your physical or mental generally smooth dirt roads lend endurance has faded, then turn A word of caution: Be in to a fast pace, but the rolling around now and limp back shape for this ride, take a map, hills and the two passes you home; otherwise, gear down for and don't sacrifice tools, water, must climb add to the elevation the steady 800-foot climb to or food for traveling light. If you gain quickly. Located in Utah's Rydalch Pass. The last few hun- get stuck in the rain (roads are west desert, the land is bleak and dred yards are the toughest. It's a impassable when wet), have a utterly desolate at first glance, full throttle descent off the top mechanical breakdown, or just but what may seem to be a and onto the loop's "back nine," plain "bonk," then you're buz- wasteland to nuclear power pro- but don't pass up Browns Spring zard meat! ponents bears intrinsic beauty. In if you're low on water. The pipe- spring, the desert's tenacious fed spring purportedly flows Trailhead Access: plants burst with verdant, or new year round. From Salt Lake City, drive 50 green, and the nearby Stansbury miles west on I-80 toward Reno, Mountains, home to the Deseret The westside road is baby- and take Exit 70 for Delle. Drive Peak Wilderness, instill alpine butt smooth at first. Good thing west from the gas station on the beauty. All sorts of critters hop, because you'll want to knock off south Frontage Road (dirt), and scurry, and slither between the these miles as quickly as possi- fork left at an unsigned junction brush, while pronghorn antelope ble, for the terrain is more hap- in 2 miles. Park at or near the and wild horses romp among the less than ever. The Bonneville unsigned junction for Hastings namesake cedars. Distant salt Salt Flats appear as a bleach- Pass 9.2 miles farther. All roads flats flicker through the rising white mirage off to the west. If are impassable when wet. heat waves, and more mountains you cock your head left, you'll back up against the western sky- catch a fading glimpse of Ibapah line. Whether you view the Peak in the Deep Creek Range. Excerpted from Mountain Biking Cedar Mountains as a land of It's the tallest peak in western Utah's Wasatch Front, by Gregg Bromka (May 2003) monotony or a delicate balance, Utah at 12,087 feet. they define an inseparable part of Utah's varied landscape. Struggle up a half-mile stretch of rough road, and Deseret Peak draw a weary biker home after rounding the Cedar Just the Facts: resume cruising on smooth sand Mountains. Photo by Gregg Bromka Location: 61 miles west of Salt and dirt. There's not much visual Lake City stimulation out here other than Length: 55.7 mile loop (90 kilo- an abandoned turn-of-the-centu- meters) ry cabin and more charred Tread: Light-duty dirt roads junipers. Still, keep your eyes on throughout the desert for pronghorn ante- Physical Difficulty: Extreme lope and wild horses. (long miles, rolling hills, two Pronghorns are the sprint cham- significant climbs) pions of the animal world; they Technical Difficulty: Low-mod- can attain a speed of nearly 70 erate (smooth dirt & gravel roads miles per hour for short dura- w/ intermittent choppy sections) tions. You'll reconnect with civi- Financing available Elevation gain: 4,000 feet lization after hours of nomadic through RC Willey wandering when the smoke- Details: belching stacks of the Aragonite Head south from the Hastings plant come into view.