ultimate fun ride
August 12, 2012
Eric Morgan, CEO by day, ultimate cyclist by other parts of the day, got me n Ricky n Jody to ride the Tour of Utah Ultimate Challenge, which is a super fun, super relaxing 105 mile ride from Park City through Kamas and Heber, up and over the Alpine Loop (Sundance side), through Alpine, over Suncrest, along Wasatch Boulevard, which is by the way, a totally sucky, not at all flat section that leads directly into the bowels of Hell, namely, Little Cottonwood Canyon, and only finishes once you’ve climbed 6 miles to Snowbird (entry 2, not 1, but entry 2).
The other guys rode strong all day. They kindly waited for me until I finally wore out their patience along Wasatch Blvd, when the rubber band snapped for the last time. I never saw them again. Not even at the finish. Not even later. I still haven’t seen them.
The LCC climb will count as one of my darkest hours (Ha! I WISH it was only an hour!). Darker than Churchill’s dark hour for sure. Luckily the pros were hot on my tail at Tanners Flat (flat? FLAT?!), so I had to sit and watch Adam Lisonbee chase the pro riders up the hill in a dress for about 40 minutes, after which I remounted and staggered the last two miles to the deserted finish line. Well, not entirely deserted. The caterers were still there, putting everything away.
A big shout out to the family and friends at the top of Suncrest, who upped my finishing likelihood from 35 to 42 percent. If not for the rest at Tanners Flat (!) I wouldn’t have made it. But I was meant to make it. As I pulled up to the hamburger stand at the Snowbird plaza, my left pedal broke in half. See? It was meant to be.
dug 
August 12, 2012 at 11:40 pm
Way to stick out and finish that beast.
I’ve only done LCC a few times. It’s a soul crusher. No rests, just steep and steeper. Can’t imagine climbing it with 100 miles in the legs.
And, yeah, Tanners Flat, what a sick joke.
I liked the finger wag at the fee booth.
What were you saying into the camera up LCC? Hmm, maybe I don’t want to know.
August 12, 2012 at 11:49 pm
I’m selling my road bike. That was hell. Eric’s in big trouble!
August 13, 2012 at 12:53 am
A nice visual of how Dug felt when he hit Tanner’s
August 13, 2012 at 1:48 pm
I watched the mens Olympic Mtn. Bike race on NBC yesterday…i feel your pain, bro.
August 13, 2012 at 4:35 pm
A little pain and suffering keeps us young….so they say.
August 13, 2012 at 11:45 pm
Nice job finishing that brutal event! Little Cottonwood was the most painful climb EVER after that course. And I’m glad to see Captain Morgan is still at it! I worked for him and rode with him a few years back.
August 14, 2012 at 10:55 am
Nicely done man!