Providence Canyon is the closest trail to my house so I ride it all the time. Luckily for me it is also one of my favorite trails of all time. The trails gnomes have don’t an amazing job building a really fun trail. They also spend a ton of time maintaining it.
I ride a few miles of asphalt from my house to get to the trail. When I first started I would drive to the trailhead. Then realized that was stupid. A bike is a great form of transportation. Why put it in a truck and drive when you can cover the same distance in not much more time. Also, there isn’t a ton of parking and on busy days the parking lot can be full. By riding I can ensure I don’t waste time looking for a spot.
I do ride the trail year round. Here’s what it looks like.
- This is the way grasshopper
As the summer ends there are so many grasshoppers wandering the hills. They are funny to watch. They can kind of fly. Not well, but they can. Today I had one fly right alongside me for about 100 feet. I didn’t know they could even manage a straight line. For a moment I was one with the grasshopper. The Ripmo was entertained and preoccupied with - Dodging horse dung
If a human took a dump in the middle of a trail people would be disgusted, and there’s a good chance there’s some legal consequences for the individual. If your dog poops on the trail it’s a courtesy and in a lot of instances a requirement to clean it up. Also, there’s no poop fairly. Don’t leave the bags of dog crap all over the - Houston the Ripmo has landed
Skies devoid of clouds and ongoing temperatures north of 90 degrees have extracted every H2O molecule from the trails leaving billowy piles of moon dust. With my only audience stands of sunflowers observing at attention the Ripmo took us on a magical journey sliding through the moon dust and rolling through the marbles. The ride – Providence Canyon The bike – Ibis Ripmo - That’s no Stick
It was a snake. It looked just like a stick until the Ripmo almost crushed it and it slithered for its life. My brain sees every root or fallen stick as a snake so I’ve spent a bunch of time training myself to not see snakes. When everything is a snake my poor heart can’t take the stress. Ironically, right after telling myself it wasn’t - Choose Wisely
Later today we’re headed to southern Utah to take my daughter to college. I couldn’t resist pausing for a photo of this fork that I’ve ridden hundreds of times. This time it made me pause to think about the choices I’ve made at the forks in my life and about the decisions ahead of her. In other news it doesn’t matter which path you choose - Wasps Not Welcome
The Ripmo has been sitting idle since our quick trip to Yellowstone. An idle Ripmo is a grouchy Ripmo and so in spite of the blazing sun we went out for a reconciliation ride. We were mostly good except for my burning quads which were unable to drive the bike to its full potential. On our second loop a wasp caught a ride on the - Muggy Miles
Sleeping late is the theme of my summer. Staying in bed a little longer is nice. Sweating buckets in the extreme heat is not. The ride – Providence Canyon The bike – Ibis Ripmo - Bee Awesome
Just two loops on Providence today. I was lazy and short on time and I’m sure I could pull out more excuses. There’s an old log right at the end of the trail where it looks like a new bee hive is forming. The ride – Providence Canyon The bike – Ibis Ripmo - Rain Delays and Sliced Sidewalls.
The weather showed rain so I was going to sleep in. The rain didn’t come but I woke up before 7 to cloud filled skies. I decided since the water wasn’t falling I would chance. Then as I got on my bike to head down the driveway drops fell from the sky and I slunk back to the basement to work and wait out the - Late, Weak Ride
Wow I had no power and no energy and it shows. At least the scenery was pretty. The ride – Providence Canyon The bike – Ibis Ripmo - Treasure Hunting Money Dirt
The moondust and marble ridden trails have missed the rain. With the blessed return of a bit of H2O my hope in money dirt led me to a late morning ride with the Ripmo. With the dust tightened down to the trail and nary a puddle or bog in sight the quest to find ideal riding conditions was declared a successful venture. The ride – - There’s Always Room for One More
We’re headed to the Tetons today. I considered just sleeping in but I couldn’t do it. I had about an hour and when I push it on Providence Canyon I can do a ride in about an hour. With that goal in mind I rushed to get ready and made it out of the house in record time. I hit the top right around 51:30