not-so dry creek

H and I do try to make the most of our weekends (when they're sunny and dry or it's ski season): for example, today I weeded and gardened while H went for a road ride and then went in to work for a bit, then we took the mountain bikes up to the city for a ride up Dry Creek to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail.  We parked up in the Federal Heights area at Popperton Park and followed a bike path through a gated community (pretty high rent neighborhood) to the single track cutting up the wash through the rolling hills.

The track followed Dry Creek which, because of the extra heavy snowpack and all the rain we had in May, was not at all dry.  We had to cross it numerous times, in fact.  Since I am such a novice MTBer and nervous about riding into and out of rushing creeks, I walked my bike across, sometimes halfway up to my knees in the clear and (fortunately) not very cold water.  Also, since I am such a novice MTBer and every frickin' trail out here seems to be up-up-up on the outbound leg, I found myself pushing my bike up many of the hills.  H likened it to "hiking with weights;" I likened it to hyperventilating and trying not to fall over into the shrubs whenever I had to dismount.

View of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail from H's MTB

After about 1.5 miles of nothing but up, we connected with the Bonneville Shoreline Trail as it followed the hills.  We had fantastic views of the city - the U, the state capital building, the Great Salt Lake.  I did a little better at that point, although the trail was fairly narrow and rutted in spots from the recent rains.  We followed the BST until it connected with the City Creek trail, paused for the views and some water, and then turned around.  I'd like to say that I'm much better on the downhill rides but no, that's not true.  While I don't have to get off and walk (unless it's really rocky and/or a loose gravel steep hairpin turn or a drop-off into a rushing creek), I'm still a big chicken and go pretty slowly.  Still, it felt good to be actually RIDING.

By the time we got back to the truck our brakes were pretty squeaky, so we dropped the bikes off at the bike shop in Sugarhouse for their 30-day tune-up and then, since we were in Sugarhouse, stopped in at Fiddler's Elbow for a pitcher of Full Suspension (totally fitting because, you know, of just having gone MTBing on fully-suspended bikes) and a black bean quesadilla.  And now, back home, we've got sausages on the grill and bourbon slushes in hand and are planning what to do with the second half of our weekend.  My money's on a hike - I'll let you know.