Saturday July 19, 2008
Brigham City to park city
Distance 164km Official 155.6
Uphill 5723ft
Downhill 3201 Ft
Net 2522 ft
Time 9:05
Max 69.3
Average 18

Well folks this was the killer ride. For the first time I had some serious doubts that I could make it, but make it I did. Mind you, I spent 12 ½ hrs on the road and just over 9 in the saddle. But I made it and I don’t think that there is anything they can through at me that I can’t do. It wasn’t the distance that made it so difficult, it wasn’t the hills it was the sequence. If the hills had been first this would have been a piece of cake., a big piece, mind you but very doable. We had done just over 100 k when we stopped at the church in Salt Lake City. Ed had warned us that the climb would begin as soon as we left the church. Boy, he wasn’t kidding. One block after we turned back onto the route and the grade increased to 12 percent. I walked. It lasted only one block and then the grade became manageable again. The climb through the canyon went up to 5800 ft. It was a lovely ride. Steep sections were broke up with nearly level ones and in many places it was shady. At one point a young couple was handing out popsicles to all sea to sea riders easily recognized by our yellow safety vests. They had seen about us on TV. He also had some contact with Calvin College. Further up the road a restaurant was offering to refill our bottles with ice water. At the top the canyon pass the church had another refreshment stop. The churches in Salt Lake City are small and they had asked the local Lutheran congregation to help them. So while the lunch wasn’t as posh as the one put on by the RCA church in Twin Falls, the commitment was probably far greater. From the top of the first pass we dropped a quick 500ft we then turned onto the interstate and the grade went up to 9percent for the first km. Thirty minutes after leaving at 5900ft. five miles from the top of the second pass at 7016ft. and it was hot. Those last five miles were littered with semi trucks and cars which had overheated. Almost immediately after we reached the top we were off the expressway. We all expected to see Walter with his RV but he wasn’t there so we all visited the local garage and convenience store and headed down. Five fast km later we saw Walter, he simply hadn’t been able to find a parking spot any earlier. In spite of the ice cream cone at the top of the hill, the watermelon was wonderful! We knew we had to climb into Park City, but after we turned away from it to go to the park no one expected that last hill. It was brutal, about 1 ½ km and 130 meter rise. That might not sound like much but that but that is about an 8 percent grade, the kind that truckers are warned to stop and test their brakes before proceeding. I heard that a lot of people muttered unmentionables at the sight of that hill and I was no exception. I was glad I had saved and orange and had it before tackling it. The last 1.6 km was completely downhill. Much of it was real steep and I reached 69.7 however, I had to break because there were two rumble strips and at times less that 18 inches between them with lots of debris. Supper was waiting, after supper it was get your tent up and by 9:15 I was sacked out. Lightning, some light rain and strong winds woke me up around midnight and I slept till seven thirty, just over ten hours.