slc marathon bike tour...

we have family involved with the organization of the slc marathon and so the years i've lived in utah i've tried to be a part (if even just watching at the finish line:)

this year jonny and i decided to ride the bike tour and it was a riot.

the race started at 0600 and the temperature was just under 50 degrees with wind chill.

there were around 1500 riders lined up near legacy bridge at the university of utah. we got there 15 minutes early and jumped up and down to keep warm (i think i'll wear a few more clothes next year? uncle joe evans started the race with a countdown.

the ride itself was a riot. we had two police escort motorcycles the whole of the course. it was a motorcade of cyclists. i've embedded the course down below. i started my timer 15 minutes before we began, so anytime i moved my bike it turned on. aside from that the averages etc are pretty close to accurate.

anyway. the first twenty minutes were harrowing at times as it was really dark and the lights from the police motorcycles were a bit blinding. there was one particular section of road that was torn out and very rough with a few potholes. and potholes at 25 mph in the dark can rattle the hands and the mind.

otherwise it was fast paced and fun. at 18 miles i ran out of water because at the height of my training i could go 30 miles with one water bottle. but i guess i'm a bit out of shape...

at the gateway i nearly took a wrong turn and found myself riding on the trax line for 100 yards until i jumped out over the side and back to the road. and finally the finish on the cobbles was great.


after the race we hung out at the skybar until other family members came in from the 5k. it was fun to catch up with everyone. i'll have to post the pictures of the kids marathon etc. once i can find the camera...

thanks for riding with me jonny!


the course is shown below. there were about 2 miles with intermittent 4% grades that broke the group up starting at mile 4.5. otherwise the course was slightly downhill...