One S24O in the bag.

The first Provo S24O has come and gone. It was a wonderful and beautiful ride up Provo Canyon to South Fork Canyon and then on to Big Spring Park. Fourteen people in all showed up (even though three of those fourteen showed up really late) but, more on that in a minute.

I left with the 7:20 group from the Riverwoods. We headed up the canyon after getting some supplies at Will’s Pit Stop. The weather was wonderful and the trail was green and beautiful. One of the reasons I love that stretch of the Provo River Trail is the river. It keeps things nice and cool.

We all got up the canyon feeling good and ready for the climb up South fork. South fork is were things got interesting not necessarily hard or horrible but, we had to work for our secluded camping. To prove that it was not to hard or horrible I present this evidence.

That’s right all Chris had was one gear all the way up. This is not to discount the climb, it was a bit of work, it is just to show that we did not go straight up Timp. or something crazy. On our way up we took our time and took rests as needed. At one such rest Chris came up with a new game while we stopped. He never named it so if anyone has suggestions make some comments. The way it works is while you are sitting and waiting for any reason with your bike take some pebbles and see if you can hit your bell with the pebbles. It is that simple. In practice though it is a little harder than it sounds.

On the way up we saw a Moose, and some Deer. It was a great ride. As we pulled into the park I was expecting to go all the way to the top and then branch left. However on our way up we were informed (by a nice guy in a truck) that we were to go right and go “way up” the road. After the ride up the canyon we decided to take a rest, and then head up to the campsite. It was not to far up and the ride/hike was worth the effort. Jordan (who left with the 4:30 group) had found us a great place to stay the night. As soon as we arrived half of us started setting up tents and the other half started a fire and some food.

It is here that I will voice my only regret from the evening. My regret is that I did not get any pictures of Emma’s delicious Rhubarb muffins or, Suzanne’s wonderful Chocolate Chip Cookies. Both of these were well received and appreciated after the ride to camp. Even though I missed a photo op on those treats I did get a picture of a S24O staple Virgil’s Root Beer.

Over fire and treats we all had great conversation waiting for the last group to show up. One by one sleep over took us and our group paired down to 5 people waiting to see if the other 3 or 4 we were expecting were going to show. To kill time we read from Paul Fornells “Need for the Bike.” This book is hands down the best cycling literature I have ever read. We all took turns reading and laughing from the short stories so carefully prepared by Mr. Fournell. Even with the great reading we all gave up hope and went to bed around 1 a.m. figuring the last group was not coming.

As with all camping trips we woke up bright and early got a fire going and noticed something strange about a football field away from camp. There were three people and three bikes asleep in the tall grass. Upon further inspection it turned out to be our missing group. They rode up determined to not miss out on the camping trip. I think this picture says it all.

Now fully united we all sat around the fire sharing our riding stories and catching up with the midnight ninja group that came in really late. Group by group we all shuffled off home.

This was a great kick off for the summer. A big thanks to everyone who came out and had a good time. If you missed this one do not dispair. This was only one of many to come this season. The next one will probably be the end of June sometime. We will keep you posted. In the words of Freddy and the Flames, ” You know what I like so get out on your bike.”