Why Trifecta, you say? Well, today was one of those days where the timing of everything just worked to perfection. In short, the Trifecta was a hike in Bryce Canyon for Lisa, Maribeth and the kids, an epic bike ride in Red Canyon for Daddy and an unexpected oil and filter change for Gigantibeast. Here's how it all went down...
We got a good start on our day today - Bryce Canyon is nearly an hour away from camp and since planning this trip, Daddy has been looking at one trail to ride - Thunder Mountain in the Red Canyon. It is one of those places that is mountain bike only, technical, huge climbs and an elevation change of nearly 1,400 feet. The trailhead was 14 miles short of the entrance to Bryce Canyon, so Daddy got dropped off while everyone else headed to Bryce.
To say that this ride was epic would be an understatement. I took the trail in the reverse direction that most people take it, not by design - just because it was the only way I knew. It was essentially a 5 mile ascent and a 3 mile descent and the combination of the elevation and the grade had me walking and carrying my bike for about 1/3 of that first 5 miles.
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| Red Canyon |
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| A view from the handlebars |
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| Bike rack and a thunderstorm that followed me to Bryce Canyon |
This was the elevation near the top of Red Canyon after my 5 mile ascent. The effects were startling - at one point, I was so winded that I felt like I was hyperventilating and just couldn't get enough oxygen. According to my Run Keeper, I set 3 personal records: longest ride at 2:23:27; largest elevation climb at 2,137 ft and highest elevation at 8,719 ft. I was able to capture a lot of the ride on the Go Pro, including a crash. No big deal - I took a chance at a spot that allowed it and paid with a shoulder full of red dirt. The 3 mile descent was a blast - after that it was a 14 mile road ride to the Visitor Center at Bryce - pretty level ride until the last 2 miles.
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| A set of hoodoos about 4 miles into my ride |
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| Starting my descent |
So while Daddy was enjoying his ride, the rest of the clan was hiking about Bryce Canyon. By most accounts, it was their favorite place so far. Once I went there later in the day, I'd have to agree - one of the most interesting places geologically on the planet since this is a lesson on erosion.
As I'm sitting here in Nevada trying to catch up with this blog, I'm sorry to report that I have some external hard drive issues that have been plaguing me for 3 days now - all the photos from Bryce are on that drive and I can't seem to get that drive to do anything consistently. I'm hoping to resolve them tomorrow and will hopefully finish this post up then...
To say that this ride was epic would be an understatement. I took the trail in the reverse direction that most people take it, not by design - just because it was the only way I knew. It was essentially a 5 mile ascent and a 3 mile descent and the combination of the elevation and the grade had me walking and carrying my bike for about 1/3 of that first 5 miles.
I agree too...Bryce Canyon is breath taking....I thought the Grand Canyon was too but Bryce is just a bit more! :)
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