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.