Lamb to the Slaughter

"We go down, because down is the only way out." (a-ha, from the Memorial Beach album) After a ride with the Boy Scouts today, this song seems appropriate. The boys took a 25 (+/-) mile -- approx 40 km -- bike ride down a canyon on a Rail Trail. However, because of the point-to-point nature of the ride, I had to go down with them more than half way, then return up the canyon to get the cars with another leader.

On the downhill leg, as we were going just about fast enough to coast down the 2% grades, we were able to see rock squirrels, potguts, other rodents, several birds, and even a deer bounding down the trail in front of us. The boys were feeling challenged to even move their bikes downhill on the trail. One even seemed to think that "downhill" meant he wouldn't have to pedal at all for 25 miles.

Anyway, rather than bring the boys back uphill from Wanship to Park City, some 200+ meters vertically over just under 19 km, we sent them with a third leader down another 100 meters in the remaining distance to Coalville. That was apparently challenge enough for them, because we were able to return to the trailhead, then drive to meet the boys, arriving at Echo Reservoir at the same time as the boys did.

The return trip -- uphill -- was a good workout accounting for 2/3 of the 1100 calories I burned on the ride. With gradients of 1-3%, the ride was not impossible, but did provide some challenge.

In Wanship and Coalville both, I saw numerous club and group rides passing in clusters or meeting at the finish. There were some other groups of bikers on the trail as well.

If you need a good family ride, the Park City Rail Trail is a good option, particularly if you have the option to have a shuttle return you from Coalville to Park City, as the scouts did today. One thing I particularly like about this ride is that for part of the ride we were actually between the two directions of I-80 following a stream. Ever since I was a young teenager seeing a train track go between that section of freeway, I had wanted to be there myself. So, today was the culmination of a childhood desire, or maybe even a dream.