Since H had signed up to do the Porcupine Hill Climb the next morning, we hoped to finish the 22+ mile ride by midnight and thus be home and in bed by 1 p.m. Unfortunately, the logistics for getting all the bicyclists out to the island were not well-thought through: we planned to get out there by 9:30 p.m., giving ourselves a half hour to put our bikes together, putter around, etc. Instead, the folks running the park entry and parking were so overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of participants that we sat in traffic for over 1.5 hours, trying to get from the highway, across the causeway and parked. As a result, we weren't able to get on our bikes until nearly 11 p.m. - almost an hour late, making our hoped-for finish of midnight impossible. They also ran out of t-shirts and had to give us a voucher to mail in for our shirts. It's been estimated that there were over 1,500 participants, which would only have been 50 more than last year so they should have known how to deal with the crowds, but clearly the organizers need to re-tool this event.
Not a very good photo, but good
enough for being taken at midnight
That being said, the ride itself was so fun. Since we missed the start, it wasn't too crowded when we got on the road. Although the moon wasn't quite full and was in and out of the clouds for a while, our bikes' headlights gave us plenty of visibility. The road on the eastern side of the island has rolling hills and I am pleased to say that I rode up all of them, the whole 23.8 mile ride, which is the longest bike ride I have done in decades. Even though I was on my MTB (H rode his road bike), we managed to pass way more folks than passed us; our average speed was 12.9 m.p.h. - not blistering, certainly, but respectable enough to finish the ride in under 2 hours.
We didn't linger at the ranch - which was swarming with so many riders! - just long enough to grab a snack, check our tires for goathead thorns and head back out. On the return, with the moon at our backs, we were able to see up into the foothills a little and were thrilled to see a large herd of snoozing bison. We pulled off to the side of the road and could hear them snorting and snuffling. The next time we do this ride - and we will do it again, just not when it's the night before the Porcupine Hill Climb, as we didn't get home until 2 a.m. - we'll get out there way early to avoid the traffic, and bring a picnic supper with us. And we'll not do the ride quite so quickly, taking a little more time to enjoy the stars and sleeping bison and the rest of Antelope Island under the moon.
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Hello! I came across your blog while trying to find an update about this event. I was in that long, long line of cars for over an hour. I ended up turning around at 10 pm when I still hadn't reached the causeway. It would have been my first time out there and I was all alone so I just decided to turn back seeing how I am a slow rider. Thanks for posting about the event. I was very disappointed the traffic issues were not handled better. Even though I left SLC two hours early, I will plan better next time. I bet it was fun!
ReplyDeleteThat traffic really was nuts - I hope they get a handle on it for next time. I don't know whether the answer is to limit the number of participants ... or just to get there really, really early. And I'm sorry you didn't get to do the ride as it was really pretty fun. In hindsight, it was probably good that we didn't get there for the 10 p.m. start: I've never ridden in a huge group of cyclists and I'm not sure doing it for the first time in the middle of the night would have been entirely successful.
ReplyDeleteYou should go back out there in the daytime if you've never gone. I love Antelope Isl. The Fielding Garr Ranch is so interesting, there's good hiking and great wildlife viewing. Don't go in the springtime (biting gnats) but the other seasons are good - we're hoping to camp out there this fall once it cools down a bit.
I'm glad you found this little blog. Thanks for commenting!