hell on wheels

Mixing things up a little bit, we went MTBing at Round Valley on Saturday late morning.  The traffic into Park City was a bit heavier than usual, probably due in part to the Park City Kimball Arts Festival going on.  The trails were not at all crowded, however, and I was able to show off my mad skillz learned at MTB camp.  H said that I did seem to be descending faster than I have; I worked very hard at keeping my elbows out, shifting my weight correctly, and looking where I wanted to go.  I did manage to ride up one switchback in the Sweet Sixteen series that I have never been able to ride up before (one of the rocky ones) and I'm pretty sure I can do another one too, but my legs were tired so I had to put my foot down.  I'll get it next time.

Here's a completely ridiculous video of me for your entertainment.  I shouldn't be in such a granny gear for where we are but I'd just finished climbing my nemesis hill and hadn't shifted yet.  Yes, I am a total dork:

The reason we rode Saturday was because H wanted to go out to Miller Motorsports Park on Sunday to watch the AMA Pro Road Racing motorcycle races.  I can only handle about an hour and a half of really fast motorized vehicles driving in circles so I opted out and did my Catherine's Area loop.  H, however, watched four races: Harley-Davidson 8 laps/25 miles, SportBike 16 laps/50 miles, SuperBike 16 laps/50 miles and SuperSport 13 laps/40 miles.

These guys are absolutely nuts, driving nearly 200 m.p.h. and leaning waaaaaaay over on the turns so that their steel-plated knees and elbows often brush the asphalt.  Because they lean over so far, and because they're covered in steel plates, when they do crash, it's often just a slip and slide into the gravel.  H saw three crashes that afternoon, only one of which seemed to require medical attention, thank goodness.

I may not be able to appreciate motorcycle racing but I can appreciate the fact that Miller Motorsports Park is pretty scenic, centered in the Tooele Valley and surrounded by mountains.