A Schwinn Day,City Creek Canyon

I need to get in shape! I love the outdoors but my lungs and muscles don't as much... So when the opportunity came to go biking with Jeff and Kris, I took it. It was one of those mornings that I was so tired and could have slept for days...but no, I had to make plans.

We met Kris at his house and proceeded to find out where we were going and to try and "make magic" by getting all three bikes into the back of the van. (Some wheels had to be taken off but we can do without those, so no big deal.) We piled in and headed up to City Creek Canyon where we could get beautiful views of the hills behind the capital. I wasn't sure where we should park but Jeff wasn't hesitant to drive into the park uninvited and park nearest to the trail. I just hoped we wouldn't get a ticket or something.

We unloaded the bikes but I found that my front breaks were a little tight and not allowing the wheel to move freely. Good thing the boys knew how to fix that because I am pretty clueless.

Thanks to Kris and Jeff, my bike was now working fine. Two great guys right there!I didn't want to feel left out so I thought I would take a look at Kris' bike and make sure everything was up to par.... "Yup, looks good!"We went on our way and decided the road was a bit boring and wanted something a little more technical... So Jeff popped up on this ice covered, steep, cliff hanging, trail of death....(okay, maybe it wasn't that bad..) so we followed. The trail lived up to it's name. It was so technical that we were off our bikes most the time taking them for a grand tour of the wilderness. Here we are trying to get past the worst of it. It was a really skinny trail that hardly fit a person, let alone a person and a bike. It was also really slippery and steep. (I knew I should have brought my crampons...) Luckily if we did take a fall it wasn't that far down before you landed in the creek.

This wall behind Kris was a tough part to pass. We had to grab onto the wall and pass our bike along to the next person in order to continue on. One of my dear hand holds decided this was it's last day with it's rock family and came out in chunks and fell into the creek below. "Don't grab that one guys...."Here's Jeff attempting to ride on the icy slope. I was hoping for a good fall so I grabbed the camera....but nothing. Here's Kris' attempt..... He opted to walk his bike...so did I.Whoops, it's a bit slippery! Those old bush branches should hold him and the bike, so not to worry! :0)So if walking the bike seemed a bit risky, then definitely getting on the bike is the better idea.....? ;0) Here's Kris losing the back wheel to the ice. We made it down safe and decided that crossing the creek and getting back on the road might serve better progress. Not nearly as fun but at least we would be able to ride our bikes.

As we carried on up I was definitely finding that I wasn't the best at this. Jeff was always ahead and Kris and I took turns at bringing up the rear. I would be peddling so fast, trying to make it up the hill, going like a mile an hour, thinking that my bike needed more gears. My head was held low as to keep concentrating on the road and I kept telling myself that "when going through hell, keep walking" as the saying goes.... I then would hear the faint, light,footsteps of a jogger.....passing me.... "I rock!" I thought to myself with a side of sarcasm....

Finally it was break time! Much needed because my legs were burning. I got off my bike and my legs felt huge! Every muscle tightened as I attempted to walk in a straight line and act as if I was totally fine. We stopped by the side of the creek and had a snack and a bit of water.

Here's Kris taking in the moment of silence, with granola bar in hand.

Here's Jeff and I taking a self portrait. This is me watching for mountain lions on the hill above....jk. Well, probably not totally kidding...

Our short break was over and it was time to keep riding. We headed up until we had ridden a total of a little over.....ready for this................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. a mile! You heard it baby! We ROCK!!This was a little of our view of the beautiful rolling hills....and the occasional expensive home. At this moment, as Kris is trying to take in the serenity of it all, I was busy making jokes with Jeff and laughing it up pretty good. Sorry Kris..... Jeff decided to take some artsy pictures of Kris and his bikes. I was like...."uh, no, not without my cute bike in there too!" So I grabbed my bike from off it's perfectly balanced kick stand....... and attempted to place it near the others so we could send our amazing picture to outdoor magazine...jk (hey, you never know).

Now please enjoy watching me attempt to place my bike in the snow... you wouldn't think it would be that tough..

And she's up! Isn't that such a cute picture?!

I took some time and wondered off into the trees to see what I could see...for fun. I attempted to start a fire but to no avail.... The kindling was in short supply....lol.We stayed at the top of our 1 mile hill for about 20 minutes chatting and having a grand ol' time being out in the wilderness. But it was time to head back because Jeff and I had to pick up the kids from school soon.

Now it's FUN time, The ride down! We hoped on and just started flying down. I started out in front but was quickly passed by Jeff and Kris. I think I was being a bit more cautious of our speed then they were but that's okay. Mud was spraying in our faces as we sped down and I was really hoping not to crash...that road rash would be pretty bad!! We had to slow down just a few times for tight squeezes and....people, lame! But what seemed like forever to get up, took 10 minutes to get down!

Back at the car!

While the boys were working hard to get the bikes back in the van I was taking self portraits trying to show the mud on my face. Looking at the picture this small it looks pretty pathetic, so I should have shoved my face in the dirt and that would have looked a lot cooler! ( I can see the boys now saying, "right Lace, that would have been cooler...")And our van wasn't towed and there was no ticket! Yay!