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.

Day 11

I got into the spirit of work today as I feel I made a difference; a great day.

At lunch I booked my riverboard for Saturday, and I am unbelievably stoked about it. I also convinced (not all that hard really) a good friend to join me for some other adventure Saturday.

Which leads me to my evening ride. Today's objective, canal scouting! As I sporked up frozen ravioli from my tiny mess-kit pot, I pulled up google maps on my little eee laptop (thanks ASUS). I loaded a few points of interest into my trusty garmin, threw my supplies into the bucket (bike) and headed out around 8:30 to avoid the heat.

What an enjoyable cruise through North Logan, a place I find myself crushing on. It has the feel of what I imagine Salt Lake did years ago with houses spread far apart by fields.

After checking out two of the four canal points I had planned, I was headed to the third when I was drawn compelled of course by an alluring dirt road. It had the look that it was oft-passed by, and that consumed my curiosity. About a mile up I stopped to enjoy a snack from the bucket and shoot a few quick pics.

Imagine the calm soothing pre-rain breeze as you listen to this little audio recording of the field.
After a soothing little rest, and given the darkening sky I decided it prudent to head home. As I turned the Madsen around and began my descent around the hill, I skidded to a stop when I could see signs of a sunset. I sprinted with the bike up the grassy hill past the private property signs (suggestions) for a better look. As I crested the hill my eyes beheld a truly ambrosial sunset. With my mind wiped clean of thoughts of dodging rain, I got the cameras out and shot and shot.

The ride home was pleasant and I passed many evening stroll-ers. I even got (and gave) two or three country waves from passing drivers.

Overall ride stats: 11.8 miles
Total daily mileage: 16.5

[Editor's note: I'm working on spiffing up the google doc (spreadsheet) for some additional information and fanciness, so stay tuned.]

Day 10

I learned a ton today at my internship.

[Editor's note: I have a strict no-blogaboutwork policy as to avoid being dooced, so dear reader, you'll have to expand in your head the generic one liner summaries.]

As I just did two twenty miler rides in the past two days, I was determined to have a less intense ride today. And I had the perfect thing to distract myself from (over)doing it.

River scouting.

Earlier in the week a mentor at work informed me of a little thing called riverboarding. I hit up the local college outdoor rec rental place on the way home to investigate. What I discovered shocked and delighted me. Of course, while I was there I had to show off my bike to the fellow gearheads. They were both very impressed, especially after I had taken one of them for a spin in the bucket (good thing I threw in the seat this morning). She gleefully screamed "Ooh, this is sooo fun, you've made my day!" as we tooled around the building. But, more importantly, riverboarding. Picture flying down rapids wearing fins a helmet and wetsuit on an oversized bodyboard. So, yes, I have got to try it. The only hitch is they seriously discourage going alone due to the sketchiness of the whole sport.

Scouting out the river became my main ride objective. I rode along the nature trail stopping frequently to mark out places that seemed mild enough that I might have the gumption to try solo. There were more than a few parts that looking at I nearly wet my pants from fright just imagining navigating them alone. Yikes. So, I schemed as I rode up the walking trail just enjoying my cruise and the cool canyon air. I even managed the uphill singletrack portion of the trail, though I had to hop off for a particularly sharp switchback.

I snapped a few photos at a Geologic Marker (commemorating the shore of Lake Bonneville). Check out the lighting on the cliffs above.

Overall ride stats: 12.3 miles, daily total mileage: 16.8, and man are my legs feeling it.

Day 9u

I set out for my after-internship ride thinking after yesterday's massive ride to paradise I needed a rest. I decided to head up Logan Canyon and once up a few cruisy miles, again I became so enchanted, when I checked the mileage on my trusty Garmin mounted to my handle bars I was alread 8 point something up. Surprised that my legs (and knees, please hold out knees!) were doing so well, I ran some quick maths in my head and realized that if I could make it 10 up, that'd make 20 miles overall, making my nice project odometer roll over to three digits. So I pushed on and turned around happily at 10.0. My new record up the canyon.

Going down the canyon, I was losing light so I really busted out the speed to get home. Near the end of the canyon I decided for a speed record and hit 33 mph. I was pretty stoked. Man am I tired.

Overall ride stats: 20.0 miles, total ascent: ~1820', max speed: 33.3 mph, est calories 730.
Daily mileage total: 23 miles!

Day 8

After a weekend of rest with wifey in her cute little hometown I'm back. Oh, how I'm back. Work flew by today as I anticipated my evening ride. As I approached the bike rack outside my work building, a scooterist who was helmeting up for his ride home hollered out with a grin "I'm jealous, you've got a bigger basket than me!"

To make him laugh a bit, I replied "I'm jealous, you've got a motor!", though I wasn't. I'm truthfully, though hopefully not smugly, enjoying this month-long project sans earth-destroying, noisy oil burners. Plus, my quads are going to rock.

I sprinted home (ooh that last hill is a doozy, I call it the quad buster), pounded a quick dinner of frozen ravioli (thank you Costco) and prepared for my ride. I threw on my bike clothes, filled up my camelback and bottle with water and gatorade respectively, snagged my GPS units (nerd!), grabbed a few treats, including some rootbeer milk (thank you Gosner's) and some yummy bars (thank you wifey's sister) and chucked all of this gear in the phenomenally huge bucket on the back of my Madsen.

[An editorial aside on the beauties of having a bike with a gargantuan bucket on the back]: May I take just a moment and tell you dear reader how freaking awesome it is to be able, on a moment's notice, to chuck anything--found bungees, groceries, beefy bike locks, gear, the worlds largest snack stash, or wandering graphic designers--in the bucket. On your bike. And ride off. Seriously, I would never have thought that a loaded bike could ride so much like a normal bike. Dear reader, please keep tabs on the sidebar list called "Items Hauled". It will be updated daily with things I have actually hauled during this project.

As I sat on the pavement to "velcro up" my bike shoes (that doesn't have quite the ring to it that "lace up" does, if only I cared about my writing enough to change my bike shoes...) I decided on a whim that I would not ride up Logan canyon for a change. I whipped out my map and a place jumped out at me. It called me. Now the only trouble was the distance. It appeard to be about 10 or so miles due south, and the worst part, it was pretty flat the whole way. This would not be a ride with an easy way home like the descents of canyons. This would be a serious ride, and I knew I had to do it. It would boost my confidence for the secret grand finale I am planning for the project.

I set off to main street and headed south. I am astonished with how beautiful Logan is. The ride was good, though the road was not terrible scenic until it narrowed to a classic two lane country road. Canal? check. No shoulder? check. Delightful drivers? check. (I'm not sarcastic here, these were the most biker friendly drivers I have ever seen, most people, even the usually arrogant pickup drivers passed me in the opposite lane!) As I rode I even grabbed a wheat stalk to hang out my mouth as is required by country living regulations.

I gleefully stopped at the above sign which was a mandatory picture, only to be topped by the following pic.

I found a tiny park and had my snacks. I must admit that I thought for a placed named paradise, it was sorely lacking in Del Tacos, but I relented given the sunset. I was worried that I may have overdone it, but the snacks perked me right up and I had an equally delightful ride home to Logan.

Today's stats:
1. work and back 3 miles
2. ride to paradise (and sadly back) 25.8 miles

Not a bad precedent, eh? Almost 29 miles in one day, when last week I did 47!

Day 4

After a week at a new job (read internship) I am pretty tired. I finally clocked the little ride to and from work which comes in at a mere 1.5 miles each way. So that means, the week's commuting mileage works out as follows.

1.5 miles per way = 3 miles per day * 4 work days (I'm doing 4 10s, which makes for a short work week) = 12 miles commuting per week on the Madsen.

I'll be heading out of state for the wife's reunion this weekend, so the mileage will stop there. The inflexible sticklers among you may think that this violates the entire premise of my experiment. I however view this as a real world 'in situ' project, plus I can't ride the requisite 200 miles.

The good news is that now my legs will have a chance to recuperate after a week of pushing fairly hard both at work and after on my evening rides.

Day 3

This morning's ride to work (a mere 1.6 miles) was delightful due to the early morning rain and crisp air. I had my rain pants on and escaped with only a dozen drops.

After my shift I rode home, cooked half a tombstone pizza and got back on the bike. I'd heard that a section of the Bonneville Shoreline trail connected Logan Canyon to Green Canyon so I wanted to find out. As I geared up I could see the storm clouds heading my way, and combined with not wanting to totally kill myself (I do tend to over-do it, though I prefer to think of my aggressiveness as "carpe diem") I decided I'd just find the trail and maybe get to Green Canyon. Well I found the trail and the access trail was way too steep for the 8 gears of the Madsen to handle so I carted it up to the shoreline. Once on the shoreline I was mostly OK with the rolling gravel path, but a few points were simply too steep for the traction to grasp. Annoyed, I carried on towards Green Canyon. I ended up going 2 miles up the rocky dirt road of the canyon 2 miles. This is a steeper canyon than Logan canyon and the jarring of the rocks made the downhill not unpleasant, but I'll just say I was a bit jealous of the folks flying by on their shocked out bikes. The scenery of this canyon is spectactular, close and very aptly named. I pulled over in one of the camp sites for a rest and granola bar to be surprised by 3 or so bolted sport climbs.

Overall ride stats: 11.1 miles, total ascent: 1962'

Day 2

Last night after work and a bit of dinner I took the bike up Logan canyon. I made it about 3-4 miles up, which sounds weak sauce but after a 10 hour day getting 70+ pound bike that far is no small feat. The total ride mileage was 9.8 miles with 1390 feet of ascent.

Today, work was fine, and now the good stuff. I was even more stunned than yesterday as I rode up the surprisingly gorgeous Logan canyon past a few dams. I went about 8 miles up thrilled as can be at the sights and relative wildernessiness of the place. As much as I enjoy a nice light road bike, the cruisey upright position make touring quite a treat. Here's a pic from the little pull-off where I turned around.

On the way down the canyon I thought I'd try out the nature trail that follows the river rather than coasting down the road. I hopped on at some campsite and enjoyed the wide graveled trail. A mile or so later the trail turns singletrack and circles up the hill to dodge some private property. I found this out after I had ridden up their driveway. I was hesitant about the singletrack given Madsen's length, but continued on for the sake of science. She handled remarkably well, reminded me of driving a rental Chevy Lumina across washboard in the Nevada desert (funny story), not the smoothest downhiller, but manageable. I did however knock the double kickstand on more than a few rocks as I'm not used to her clearance compared to my normal cross country mountain bike. I didn't think to much of the clunks until I got home and realized that I had lost both of the beefy rubber feet.

Oops. I'll have to find some old crutches somewhere....

I was however thrilled that I took a moderately technical bit of single track and handled all but the one sudden switchback on this longtail. Overall ride stats: 17.7 miles, total ascent 2589'.

I have a feeling my legs are going to be ripped and sinewy by the end.

Day 1

Hi.

I'm an adventurer pretending to be a student on an 4 week internship in Logan, UT. As this is away from my normal home of the great salty waters to the south I decided to be dropped off with a mess kit, hammock, a smattering of bike tools, the ever-present food cache, and most importantly, I figured since it's just me for the next month, why not see how I fare on only a bike. But not just any bike would do for this project. I'd need a cargo bike, for well, cargo. How else would I tote around my crap? Here she (I'm still not sure of the gender on the bike yet, but she seems to fit) is parked at work the first day.

Thus Project Month On A Madsen is a go.