Click here for Part 1 and for Part 2 here
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A tail wind has the opposite effect that you think it would, because the wind is at your back, there is no benefit of the cooling effects it has on the body, so a tail wind seems to always leave a cyclist overheating and sweaty.
So today a slight headwind was welcome.
okay. . . A LOT MORE
which made going up Empire even more of a challenge than it was destined to be without additional obstacles
ie. . . the wind.

As a group we were hating life, and seriously questioning our logic and enthusiasm for even considering this. . . what did they call it???
oh yeah,
an epic event. . .
WHAT WAS I THINKING WHEN I ENCOURAGED
EVERYONE TO PUT THIS ON THEIR BUCKET LIST?
. . . I still don’t have a logical answer to this question
and I suspect Charcie and Becca were wondering the same thing
and I suspect Charcie and Becca were wondering the same thing
except, I love torture,
paying to have the experience,
oh, and. . . yes,
I LOVE riding my bike
. . . some call it a demented state of mind
today, I think they nailed their assessment of my passion
- 6.4 Miles
- 2146 foot elevation gain
- Average Grade 5.3%
- Max Grade 14.4%

They say that this stretch is only 5.3% grade???
I think they are mistaken
in fact, I’m confident they mis-calculated completely
The wind was blowing . . . still
not as strong as it had been,
but, nonetheless, it was still blowing.
"How much farther to the top of this death trap"?,
There were all kinds of estimates and not one of them were the same
. . . not one soul was able to give me a convincing answer.
I kept going,
slowly forward.
grinding upward
but honestly, paperboy style is about the only way
to get back on your bike and pedaling on a 14% grade.

stopping turned out to be a very bad idea.
I had to wait for the gusts to calm down,
my legs didn't complain much though.
But then, Becca and Charcie were together and passed me, while I was attempting to get on my bike and pedaling once again
. . . I was embarrassed,
my pride was being challenged
because I stopped, they passed me
and saw I was stuck, stranded, unable to get going
oh, the humiliation of it all
I questioned myself. . . was it necessary to stop?
Even today, I still wonder.
unfortunately, there wasn’t room for mourning lost pride
finally it happened. . . I got going again
Yes, I succeeded, but barely
I was able to catch up with Charcie and Becca, and presented my plan to Charcie, as Becca quietly listened, I assume with curiosity, to how Charcie would feel.
THE LOGIC OF THE PLAN:
This section, was taking longer than we anticipated. . . It was now a reality that we were not going to arrive at the finish line before the pros came through. I knew from my training rides that Little Cottonwood takes an hour on fresh strong legs. . . I was guessing on tired, beat up legs it would be at least 90 minutes.
Our fear was that in the ride guidelines, ANYONE not finished when the pro’s came through would NOT BE ALLOWED to finish. . . period.
There was good logical reasoning for this. . . After the Pro’s come in,
the canyon becomes dangerous, at best. dozens of Cyclists, riding down,
Cars, people, thousands of them all trying to get back down the canyon.
The reason they were up there, and for many of them it was a whole day affair,
were now ready to go home. It was a sketchy proposition for a cyclist
going up.
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But, with a very strong BUT,
we could not afford to fail
Setting aside the expense of this accomplishment, it requires 1000’s of miles on the bike, which equates to hundreds of hours of training involved to earn the Triple Crank Award. It quickly becomes a family affair. Everyone sacrifices so we can train and be successful in our endeavor.
Rockwell is difficult logistically. Becca and Charcie probably wouldn’t be able to repeat the ride again any time soon. It requires 4 days away from Family, Work, Home. . . difficult for both of them. LOTOJA, we all knew we could do that, we’ve done it several times before. Ultimate Challenge was taxing. Emotionally ~ ~ ~ Physically ~ ~ ~ Mentally.
Rockwell is difficult logistically. Becca and Charcie probably wouldn’t be able to repeat the ride again any time soon. It requires 4 days away from Family, Work, Home. . . difficult for both of them. LOTOJA, we all knew we could do that, we’ve done it several times before. Ultimate Challenge was taxing. Emotionally ~ ~ ~ Physically ~ ~ ~ Mentally.
This is the ride that NO ONE wanted to repeat. . .
Thus it was imperative that we finish THIS YEAR for our Triple Crank,we had come too far to be unsuccessful and for us, it was a one time attempt.
PRESENTING THE PLAN:
We would ride to the bottom of Big Cottonwood canyon, 14 miles of downhill then once we turned the corner headed to Little Cottonwood Canyon we would load up in the Green Goblin (ie: our truck) . . drive to the top, claim our medals, watch the pros come in, drive back down the canyon where we were picked up and FINISH the ride officially. This way we would be able to say we did it, every linear foot of pavement and feel good about our accomplishments of the day. In addition, by the time we got back down to begin our ride UP to Snowbird, the majority of spectator traffic would be gone, making it safer for us.
Charcie didn’t hesitate
with only three of us remaining of our group, it was a majority vote
we were in this together, and Becca reluctantly agreed.
It was a fabulous plan and it was a win-win.
The three of us continued slowly, and painfully forward,
. . . or rather upward.

(This is a file photo from a previous training ride)
then a few moments later,
I spotted the summit . . .
we were almost there.
FINALLY!
the end was near, and I was grateful,
We were going to make it.
in my mind, my heart, and soul I sang a beautiful rendition of Hallelujah
Guardsman Pass
- 1.6 Miles
- 796 foot elevation gain
- Average Grade 8.1%
- Max Grade 13.3%
The Park City side of Guardsman Pass is an AWFUL road!
In fact, it’s questionable to call it a road suitable for road bikes.
While, it’s only 1.6 miles long, it is equally steep, which isn’t the bigger problem. The real challenge with this road is what it’s made of.
it is a chunky,
lumpy,
pot-holed road
made of road base that makes riding a bike up this road difficult,
and may I add NO FUN,
No fun at all!
. . . Either way, my friends, it is a brutal 1.6 miles on any given day, but especially when you have 70+ miles and now close to 11,000 ft of climbing on the legs for the day.
excitedly, we were getting it done, and that thrill carried our legs
slowly grinding our way up
up. . .
up. . .
up
within a few feet of the top. . . my angel of mercy came to my aid. . .
A spectator offered to give me a push. . .
I had heard of this type of thing happening and I marveled
that I was now a benefactor of such generosity.
I had heard of this type of thing happening and I marveled
that I was now a benefactor of such generosity.
There was no way I was turning that offer down!
and he definitely earned a spot in heaven . . .
The guy who gave me a push wasn’t dressed as eloquently as these two,
but you get the idea. . . right?
Ever
. . . but at the top it gets cold. . . fast!
even when it's +80° f outside . . . I dread these descents,
today was no exception.
It was flat out cold.
allow me to correct myself. . .
it was POURING rain.
While this was a close second to that day, it was only sprinkling,
but then it turned to hail.
I have a story to tell
it HURTS!
Those little pellets of ice hit and pierce at the body like stinging darts.
As we approached the bottom descent of Guardsman
the Green Goblin, and Superman there waiting for us. . .
I had never been so grateful to see him!
Becca came in right behind us.
We were all cold,
VERY cold and wet from the rain and hail
. . . and we quickly bundled up.
In fact, had I known that the rain was going to stay at the top of the mountain I would have just toughed it out, but often the decisions we make we get to live with for a while.
The wind for the descent out of Big Cottonwood Canyon was equally awful as it had been all day and dramatically slowed my descent,
there were a couple of spots that were flat out sketchy!

We made it to the bottom of Little Cottonwood at 2:15 pm.
We shed our gear and the wind felt fantastic as I cooled down.
Superman was just up the road and as our plan was, we loaded up we were less than 1 mile up the road and found it closed to all motor vehicle traffic!
This section of my report ended up being longer than I anticipated, so I promise we will finish up next week. I have it basically written and pictures for most of the post so it should be a quick one to finish up.
Thanks for stopping in for a visit and a story or two
oh, and Have a great weekend!
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