my favorite road ride
August 3, 2011
I have a few favorite things.
The Godfather, for instance, is my favorite movie.
Gooseberry Mesa, for example, is my favorite trail.
And American Fork Canyon is my favorite road ride. About 11 miles, over 3000 feet, and it’s also kind of pretty.
And the descent is wicked awesome. Tight and twisty for the upper half, and wide open with big sweeping turns for the lower half. If you don’t scare yourself silly up high and top 50mph in the middle, you’re not doing it right.
When we ride it as a group, it’s understood that there is a winner on the up, and a winner on the down.
I haven’t won the up for quite some time. Decades, it seems.
Well, I stopped winning the sprint at the bottom a while back too. But turns out, if you can get enough of a gap in the technical upper reaches, you can hold off the pack for the lower five miles and solo in.
Like this:
August 3, 2011 at 10:56 am
Saw you down the hall at church. Buy a bag of licorice. You’re looking kind of thin.
August 3, 2011 at 11:30 am
The Godfather? Did they have any/many good quotes in there? Where does Princess Bride rank or is it a comedy vs. drama thing?
Dang it, i wish you guys still did the top 5 lists.
August 4, 2011 at 8:58 am
yeah, the godfather.
as far as ranking goes, yes, definitely, it’s a comedy vs drama thing.
i haven’t updated this for about 3 years, but it’ll give you an idea of where my head’s at, movie-wise:
http://suncrestdug.wordpress.com/2008/04/03/i-likes-me-some-movies-2/
August 4, 2011 at 10:24 am
sorry, didn’t mean for “the godfather” to come out as wtf, man.
snakes on a plane, even though not on any of your favorites list, should be listed as a disaster… movie.
August 3, 2011 at 12:42 pm
I still don’t understand how you can roll the top twisty section so fast. When I deploy my ass fairing I can usually catch you just above Tibble Jct – with the exception of the day Riessen clawed back on (then blew up at the shack) we’ve been able to hold that break every time. Now if I could just figure out how to pip you in the sprint.
Script for the two Rick passes:
1st Pass
Dug: “Move aside grasshoppa. I show you how to go fast downhill”
Rick: “Shifu, by all means, show the way.”
2nd Pass
Rick: “you’re number one, dug.”
I’ve yet to ride that canyon this year. Next time you go I’ll say yes. Maybe.
August 3, 2011 at 2:11 pm
7:00 – Oh de(e)r!
August 4, 2011 at 8:59 am
i know, right? seeing a deer in that situation will raise an already elevated heart rate. i spent the next couple minutes wondering what a collision with a deer at 55mph would be like.
August 3, 2011 at 3:04 pm
Next time, I’m starting my sprint at the bottom of the climb. I think that’s the only way I can beat you.
August 4, 2011 at 8:59 am
i’ve thought the same thing, that if you just stopped waiting for me at the top, and we made the race to the bottom sort of a round trip thing, i would never win anything ever again.
so thanks for waiting for me at the top.
August 3, 2011 at 7:10 pm
You totally missed an opportunity at 7:00
MMMMM… Venison
August 4, 2011 at 12:51 am
So much to say. First, ‘kind of pretty?’ You have a way with understatement, my friend. Second, if you captured the first screen, where you’re reflected in the car window? Very cool pic. Bada@@, one might even say. Third, your first turn in the descent made me drop an f-bomb. Out loud. Great music selection in ‘Ready to Go.’ Finally, I’m glad I watched ’til the end, to see your ‘king of the world’ shadow. I know that feeling well, it’s a big part of why I ride. Awesome, awesome video; thanks!!
August 4, 2011 at 9:01 am
jenn, you know what’s kind of funny about that first switchback? well, the tour of utah descends this same route, and there was a great pic of tyler hamilton there. he had completely missed the turn, and was a ways off the road. in fact, aaron smith likes to call that turn “hamilton falls.”
i say that’s a disservice to the rest of us who have missed that turn once or twice over 20 years.
August 4, 2011 at 9:42 am
My favorite part: when you reach down to your helmet cam while posting up to make sure it’s on to capture your shadow.
August 4, 2011 at 7:27 pm
Maybe it’s just the angle, but is your seat high enough?
August 5, 2011 at 12:09 am
that is an excellent question. but i’m the guy who rode a single speed for two years before asking what gear i was running. so, um, i don’t know.
August 4, 2011 at 10:51 pm
It’s not the Alpine Loop if you don’t ride past Sundance. You should call it AF Canyon or Hogg’s There ‘n Back.
August 4, 2011 at 10:55 pm
Please ignore this comment. I twisted your words in my head and then argued against the twist of my own creation. I’m turning into a Republican.
August 5, 2011 at 12:10 am
or dementia. same thing?
August 5, 2011 at 11:14 am
I tried to stay on your wheel once, scared me silly. You are the master, or insane. Since you haven’t crashed the nod goes to master.
August 5, 2011 at 11:14 am
Oops, I’m not logged in, this is KanyonKris.
August 5, 2011 at 2:39 pm
So are you really that much faster than anyone else on that descent, or did that deer scare the fluff out of you and everyone else had to slow down to avoid the road apples?
If that was me I would know the answer…
August 5, 2011 at 3:52 pm
im not so super fast. but i was fastest on this day. that’s why i made the video. like i would do that on a slow day.
August 8, 2011 at 10:35 am
[...] you should perhaps stop here and read something else. For example, you might want to look at Dug’s video of a recent ride he went on in American Fork Canyon. Sure, it’s nearly ten minutes long, but it’s a pleasure to watch (Dug is an [...]
August 9, 2011 at 1:47 pm
Where’s the moose? And…the dude…