Day 25 & 26: (the Epic) MadLotoSa

MadLotoSa Day 1: Logan to Willard

This was the big day, I snuck out a bit early the last day of my awesome internship so I could make it to Willard before dark. Everyone there concluded I was nuts for trying something like this. (I have to admit, that I sometimes thrive on that kind of reputation.)

I have been dreading the climb up the unrelenting Sardine Canyon for weeks, especially on a loaded bike. I had the day's journey broken into legs as follows. (Can you tell that my pop's favorite advice is embedded in me? "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.")

• Leg 1: Logan to Wellsville 11.1 miles
• Leg 2: Summit Sardine Canyon: 6.9 miles from 4490 ft to 5892 ft (just over 1400' gain)
• Leg 3: Sardine Summit to Brigham: 6.7 miles
• Leg 4: Brigham to Willard: 7 miles

I figured I could crank out the first leg in an hour and I was

dead on. My main fear about the entire project was Leg 2. I estimated that I could summit in 2-2.5 hours with rests here and there given that I was hauling a ton of gear. I knew if I could summit, it'd be a quick ride the rest of the day, and more importantly, accomplish my primary goal of leaving Cache Valley on the Madsen. In reality, Sardine was unrelenting and diffucult, but not the full-scale brutality I had imagined. You can imagine my ecstatic yelps as I summed in about 1:15. As I dismounted to snap this photo and grab a snack, waves of shock surprise and glee swept over me having conquered this canyon.

Leg 3 was over before I knew it as I flew down the canyon hitting a top speed of 38 mph. It was now barely 7 pm and I had only the short Leg 4 to get to the planned campsite at Willard Bay State Park. I was feeling great so before I turned towards the park I checked out a few other possible camp sites further on towards Perry or Ogden, thinking I could make tomorrow's ride a bit shorter. I opted against it, so I headed into the park. The nice ranger in the entrance station sure was surprised to see me (and the spectacle of a loaded bike). Turns out that if you ride into the park it's only $5 to enjoy the camp with all it's amenities!

I planned on riding a dirt road that followed the lake for a few miles the next day and then on southward, but after discussing this with the ranger found that there is no feasible exit from the park. I was a bit bummed about this, but that's life. I therefore turned into the nearest campground to avoid too much backtracking the next morning. I circled through Willow Campground looking for the perfect spot for my hammock. On my second time around the loop I settled on this blissful little place that would have felt home in the Bayou. I unstrapped my cargo and used the garish tie down straps to sling my hammock from two trees. I then scooted my bike so that as I relaxed in the hammock I could just reach into the bucket for anything I needed.

Perfection.

I went for a little after-dinner stroll (cold cereal) and found a perfect little swimming area. I grabbed some spare shorts and went for a little toe-dip. I was so pleasantly surprised by the delightfully warm water that it turned into a wade.

I slept well, as there was just enough breeze to keep the mosquitos away.

MadLotoSa Day 2: Willard to... ?

I awoke refreshed and as I hopped out of my hammock my legs were jelly and I nearly collapsed to the ground. This worried me. My plan had been to wake up on day 2, assess and ride as far as I could before calling for backup. After all, there's no reason to blow out my knees just for the sake of doing something. I wasn't sure about the days ride, but knew that the most difficult bit was behind me. I studied my printed-out google maps so I could ride with as few stops as possible as I ate a leisurely breakfast in the hammock. With the help of a mapping genius, I had broken the route into 3 roughly 19 mile legs.

• Leg 5: Willard to Ogden
• Leg 6: Ogden to Farmington
• Leg 7: Farmington to Salt Lake

I figured I could approach each leg as two 8-9 mile chunks. I'd assess my legs and what-not at each rest point and either bail or go on. I will say that from the outset, I knew that if I could make it to Farmington, I would absolutely go the entire way to Salt Lake, barring major injury.

At this point I'd like to ask a you, dear reader, a simple question. If you were the barging-in-to-a-locked-stall-type of old foreign man, would you be carrying your coffee mug? I'm just curious.

I packed up all my gear and refilled my on-board water stores (2L camelback, 1 L bottle, ~2 L sundry bottles), slathered on a double layer of SPF 50 and headed out, uncertain how the day would end. After a heart-warming wave from the ranger, I was out of the park and headed south.

As I turned towards South Willard on highway 89, I began to have some serious reservations based on the soreness of my legs. I gave myself a good 6 or 7 miles to warm up before making any rash quitting decisions. I'm glad I waited because the morning ride through South Willard, Pleasant View, Farr West and Marriot-Slaterville was enjoyable due to the lonely roads and splendid rural scenery.

I stopped for a good 20 minute rest somewhere west of Ogden. I'd been sucking down water and gatorade all day, with intermittent granola bars. I knew by this time I should be seriously hungry, but food did not sound good, so I forced a few more granola bars down. This was essentially Leg 5, about 18 miles or so. I felt good and had made reasonably good time so I pushed on.

Bolstered by supportive texts from friends and family I was amazed as the signs flew by. Sunset. Clearfield. Layton. Kaysville. Kaysville was a biggie as I knew that from there Farmington was only 6 miles further. My legs seemed to have endless strength as I had a feeling I was going to complete the journey. I took another food-forcing break in Farmington in the shade of a cottonwood tree. Leg 6 was complete and I'd been able to maintain decent speeds.

I cycled on toward Bountiful, glad I could almost see my home city. The afternoon heat had begun to set in and I was really getting tired. Again, I was not hungry so I knew I had to refuel. I pulled over in a deserted park in Bountiful and forced 3 bowls of cereal down. Partially to feed and partially to eliminate extra weight I chugged my remaining carton of soy milk. I changed out some batteries on my devices and rested. When I realized I'd been there almost an hour, I could tell that I needed to keep moving before I couldn't. Two great friends used my live tracking to find me just as I was heading out for the final stretch. They offered watermelon and support, however I could stomach only the latter, which was more satisfying than anything. They did tell me about a quick route change by a semi-hidden bike path over Beck street. I was growing more tired and hot by the minute so I had to get rolling again.

At this point I knew the next time I stopped would be my last so I pushed hard. The bike path was smooth and the access road it led to had just been sprayed down with water, giving me a few miles of cool respite. Then, I nearly died.

Victory road. 250' elevation gain in just over a mile. After 5-6 hours of cranking. This hill at solar noon was absolutely brutal and seemed to go on forever. When I made it to the top, I was sweating to the point that it looked as if you'd just pulled me from a pool. Victory road indeed. I stopped in front of the Capitol only long enough to change my water bottle out. The last 6 miles or so would be a breeze compared to that.

At long last I turned onto my street, pulled the bike up onto the sidewalk and collapsed with sheer joy into the grass. I had made it.

MadLotoSa Stats:

Day 1: 33.2 miles, 4:02 hours

Day 2: 58.4 miles, 6:33 hours

Total: 91.7 miles, 10 hours, 35 minutes.

Bike + gear weight (determining that was another story): 140 lbs

Day 24... Preparing for the Finale

I've been scheming a Grand Finale to Project Month On A Madsen, and tomorrow is it.

I call it the MadLotoSa. Originally, in my naivete, I thought it'd be no problem to ride all the way to Salt Lake (88-92 miles depending on the route), hence the name. However, upon regaining my sanity, I've decided I will ride triumphantly out of Cache Valley up the dreaded Sardine Canyon and end up somewhere in Brigham or Willard Bay for the night. The next morning I will ride as far as I possibly can (barring my knees aren't too angry) and backup will be called when I poop out.

I will have live GPS tracking so you can join me in the culmination of the project.

Today I set out all my gear that will be packed into the bucket. Not too shabby considering this will be hauled for 4-5 (please not 8) hours tomorrow. Note the picture is a crudely stitched shot of everything going with me.Can you find each of these items in the picture above?

• 3 button-up shirts
• 1 pair pants
• small laundry bag
• jacket
• shoes
• sandals
• 6 pairs socks
• 3 belts / straps
• sun glasses
• mosquito net (for hammocking in Willard Bay)
• water in various collected bottles
• 22 spare AA batteries
• multimeter (nerd!)
• battery cases
• electrical tape
• rigged charger
• sundry USB cables
• GPS unit
• rigging rope
• 2 enclosures
• nuts & bolts
• tie down straps
• bike bag
• bike lock
  
• chain lube
• patch kits
• tire levers
• various tools
• writing implements
• pump (rigged w/ electrical tape)
• sleeping bag
• camp pillow
• laptop
• mouse
• hammock
  
• paper towels
• butt paper
• cereal
• instant breakfast
• various nuts, berries
• food stash
  
• honey (for quick energy)
• peanut butter (ditto)
  
• mess kit
• spork'n'knife
• extra soy milk (curse you costco)
• sunscreen (50 baby!)
• camp soap
• hand lotion
• hydrocortisone cream
• purel
• shave kit (stripped of extra weight)
• dental care
• 4 ricolas (ri-co-la)
• 2 claritins
• 3 chapsticks
• eye drops
• helmet
• gloves
• eyewear
• maps
• cards from sweethearts
• crap bag
• gatorade
• not pictured: clothes on my back, camera, camp towels
  

The live tracking will be rigged up with an iPhone, a custom battery pack, custom enclosure mounted on a hacked up and repurposed bike lock mount. The software is from the fabulous instamapper.com and is called "GPS tracker". To track me tomorrow beginning around 3-5 pm MST, go to http://tinyurl.com/MadLotoSa My position will be updated approximately every 60 seconds, so refresh your browser often.

Below is an embedded map that will also require manual refreshes of this page to be updated.

Day 23

Work rocked.

I had a bunch of errands to run after work and I was in no hurry. I had a need for some fresh Aggie Ice Cream so I chugged up the hill to the outlet. I got a bit side tracked trying to find a shortcut through a canal easement and I stopped so some ducks could check out the Madsen.

Back to ice cream. Fresh Raspberry, waffle cone, one (large) scoop. I enjoyed my dripping cone as I coasted through campus towards my home. When I neared "old main hill" I was chased by two formerly ice-blocking teens screaming "hey, is that free ice cream?" while gesturing to the bucket. Seeing the dissappointment on their faces I jokingly replied, "no, but I can give you a ride."

Before I knew it I was unloading my shoes, work bag, bike lock, and sundries from the evening's errands onto the grass as the skinny kids climbed in. What a deal, I didn't even have to offer them any candy. They screamed with glee as I tore down the winding pathway to the bottom of the hill and careened off onto the wet grass. As I skidded to a halt, they said they needed to buy one of these and in the same spastic breath invited me to "break in to the creepy haunted cheese factory" with them tonight. I declined.

Today's mileage: 8.86 miles, saddle time: 1:13:36

Day 15

Work: Good learning day.

Bikey folk at Sunrise Cycles: awesome.

Dinner: solo peanut butter and creamy honey sandwich picnic.

Evening ride: projecty errands + 4 miles up Logan Canyon.

Daily total: 22.09 miles, 1:29 in the saddle.

Day 14

Can I just say that in one week I put 115.9 miles on the Madsen? Think about that as you get a taste of what it is like to sit in a field with Madsen and watch the sun set over Cache Valley.

Day 13

11:00 am: Fitted with a helmet, wetsuit, fins and riverboard. To get an idea of what riverboarding is like, check out these photos from the local newspaper. They were taken last week on the exact stretch of river I rode. I'm glad I didn't read the descriptions (from the kayaker site EddyFlower) of the major features before I went. While reading those descriptions, note the day's flow was 550 cfs. In summary: super awesome adrenaline rush.

3:00 Joined by a good friend who kindly brought along my Rocky Mountain full suspension cross-country bike, we decided to hit up some trails. For this, sadly, Madsen stayed at home. I have ridden a lot of trail, and I can without reservation say that the Green Canyon trail is some of the best mountain biking around. Much of the singletrack was shaded and the recent rains have the grasses up to chest level. My favorite part? The half-dozen plus river crossings. After ten miles of bliss it was time for the next adventure.

Maps were studied and rally points made. My friend's car was left at the bottom of the canyon where I met him on the bike.

Tubes were acquired, traded and inflated (thanks to the Langdon's for trading two inflated tubes for two mint in the box ones). We loaded up one person in the cargo bucket and two tubes (one worn as a backpack and one held off to the side) and set off up the canyon to find the start of the canal to cheers of "you guys rock!" from other (jealous?) canal rats. Naturally we traded as one would rest in the bucket as the other pedalled. I'm not sure drivers in Logan Canyon have seen such a spectacle! It was my first time as an actual passenger of the Madsen and I am totally impressed. The canal ride itself can only be described as idyllic given that it's carved into the side of a mountain high above the road.

After a short hike from the canal exit point, I was shuttled back up the canyon to retrieve Madsen. I was soaking wet and beyond hungry so I wanted to get home fast. On the way down the canyon I was passed by a road biker (was that a scoff!?). Now, I can be, well, a tad competitive, so this really egged me on. I pushed and pushed but was no match for her. She had a few hundred yards on me when we hit a climb after the mouth of the canyon. I narrowed her lead to 30 yards and I noticed her legs going faster after she looked back. This really got to me so I turned on the afterburners, passed her (uphill!) and left her in the dust.

Yeah, today was a good day.

Overall Madsen mileage (some carrying a person!): 8.05 miles, saddle time: 00:46:13. Note this does not include the 10 miles mountain biking.

Day 12

Four tens can be a bit brutal late in the day, but having a three day weekend every week is fantastic. So, on my day off, spreadsheets of data captivated me for most of the grey morning. I've added saddle time as one of my data points. I was very interested in looking at calorie estimates, and from my (little) research, the estimates can vary widely.

Today was errand day. Last weekend I got a hold of a prototype rain lid for the Madsen bucket and was eager to try it out. After a bit of fiddling I found a great way to use a ratcheting strap to hold it on. I loaded my dirty laundry, some articles to read, rain gear, a change of shoes, snacks, and my ever-present bike tools into the bucket and set off hoping for rain.

Other than my red pen imploding all over my study papers, the laundromat was uneventful. Many years ago I would transport laundry via bike by having two bags slug over the handlebars, what a nightmare, but the Madsen, wow. I'm a line-dryer, so I just chucked the two bags of wet clothes in the bucket and zoomed
off.

I stopped by a thrift store looking for a camera cable so I can get some higher quality pictures. What did find were some rad spacey boots that I imagine are for walking in a volcano. Three dollars? Done. In the bucket (the silvery thing on the bottom right next to my shoes above).

I hit up a big box store for a few sundries and by this time I was famished, though still sadly dry. As I cruised towards Taco Time the clouds let loose a torrent. It was fantastic. The classic summer thunderstorm with thunder, lightning, huge warm drops of rain. Veggie burritos to go tossed in the bucket and I was off home, laughing my dry-cargo self all the way home through the tumultuous downpour.

The storm had moved on by the time I polished off my dinner, so I planned for an evening cruise. I wanted part country, part city and that is exactly what I got. There is little better than cruising through the countryside after a summer rain. The roads steamed a little and the air was crisp and moist. I headed north then when the road ended, turned west toward the center of Cache Valley. Making my way through some newer subdivisions I found myself trapped with the only escape through an unfenced field of wheat. I rode near the fence line and the man-size weeds were a fun challenge to navigate. Madsen handled perfectly until I found myself in a muddy rut in the last few yards of the quarter-mile field. From there I took main through "downtown" Logan, and even had a lady yell "I love your bicycle!" at me out of a truck.

On my way home, I wanted a better vantage of the setting sun, so I tooled up the four level parking terrace on a hilltop near my flat. The two picture below show Madsen looking out, and what she sees.

Overall ride stats: 13.95 miles, duration: 1:24:00, est calories 554.

Daily total: 22.62 miles, 2:31 hours in the saddle.