Kent and I parked in a dirt lot east of Thanksgiving Point along Timpanogos Highway and began our ride on the fairly new Murdock Canal Trail. If ever we start not far from the beginning of a trail, we bike "back" to the beginning – to say we did the whole thing... and this we did today, riding over two miles west to the intersection of, like, Timp Highway and the very trafficked I-15 exit ramp onto that. Then we traveled that distance back; then shooting past the car we cycled quickly alongside a commercial area including an elementary school where kids were already on the playground, and finally into countryside. It wasn't many miles before we (oh my gosh!!!) descended,
flying, into an immense ravine. I coasted down, down, down, thinking
this isn't going to be pretty getting up the other side.
At the bottom, facing the Dry Creek bridge crossing.
Dry Creek.
Once Kent and I had pedaled furiously half a minute uphill and walked our bikes six minutes to the top
(intrepid we are not), I turned and captured where we'd come from. See across the ravine the low white buildings? These are those you'd recognize in a minute driving south past the point of the mountain, on the left. T'giving Point would grab your attention to your right, but these line the Timpanogos Highway and very new commuter lanes looking east toward Alpine. Here, we're a good distance away from our starting point near there.
Movin' on down the highway!
Grrr, Kent gets going fast once we've stopped and start up again. He's the hare, and I'm the tortoise.
Murdock Canal Trail was opened in 2013 after years of construction to cover the actual canal; that runs underground now, is a better way to say it. The canal siphons water out of Strawberry Reservoir to feed the Great Salt Lake, and serves Salt Lake City on the way.
The paved multi-use path is 16 miles from its north trail head east of Thanksgiving Point to 800 North 1100 East in Provo, that intersection a stone's throw from the mouth of Provo Canyon. It's extra-wide and is flanked by one commercial zone at the beginning,
and the rest of the way by neighborhoods (great landscaped rest stops and trail heads),
farmland,
and foothills with stunning mountain views (see the temple to the right, middle, in the
second pic below).
The trail itself flanks the whole valley to the southeast over which the temple presides. (Dead center,
↓.)
The mountain views ARE amazing; I couldn't get enough of watching Utah Lake as we biked this part of the trail, this east bench. My pics hardly show the lake in the background though it was
breathtaking in real life! I pointed out to Kent how not long ago we were biking the
west side of the lake, having pedaled from Thanksgiving Point to Saratoga Springs. That point is so far distant you can't see it in the picture, but we could spy that community across the valley from our perch on the mountains.
Below, Kent counts the number of church spires he can see from here... I think he got twelve...
and while he counted I turned my camera to the hills. Straight up behind us. It would be daunting to hike there.
I kept saying as rode,
Kent, this is my favorite part! Until I'd said I had
half a dozen favorite parts and Kent didn't believe a word after that. I truly loved best the pastoral views (except for when we were atop the mountain and seeing the lake glitter and the valley below us [with its church spires], the hillside beside us,
oh my!). This barn, for instance, going...
...and coming,
thrilled me! Kent couldn't help telling me (both going and coming) how the barn is a dead ringer for the barn that used to be on his parents' farm when he was a kid, even to the hay hook swinging from the topmost peak. It was an attention-grabber for him, not just me!
Here's a picture from the Internet of how this part of the trail used to look before the canal was covered over.
The pastoral scenes continued: round a bend, horses in a fenced pasture; the blue skies; mountains... could it
be better? For one of the last hot, high days of summer in this desert, this day has seemed picture-perfect.
Almost two hours in the sunshine riding – more, I'd say – and my "happy hormones" were
overflowing. We pedaled and pedaled. Heading into the last stretch through Orem to the north border of Provo.
Looking for something to eat, we followed a sign at the end of the trail (yup, we made it!) for a convenience store .6 miles east... and wound up at the mouth of Provo Canyon. A Subway, a convenience store and a Mexican restaurant were our choices.
We chained our bikes to a table behind Subway and went in and ordered. I was glad,
glad, to be on my feet; we'd done 20 miles what with backtracking at the beginning – remember, this trail's 16, and that was four more – and now I'd come to noon
, LUNCH! on the clock, and my stomach was against my backbone! Besides, my "sitter" hurt.
Good to be on my feet and walking myself into the sandwich shop!
We'd debated whether or not to get whole subs each, or split one... would we need
tonnage to fuel us home? Or would we be bogged down by that...? I called it: one sub to split, and that we did, our favorite: turkey and Swiss on Italian Herbs and Cheese, lettuce, tomatoes red onion, lots'a salt and pepper, oregano and olive oil, and extra olive oil; dill pickle slices on my half. Spare.
It got us back to the car. 16 miles back the way we came.
We'd done 36 by the time we approached the car and I looked at Kent and started saying how
I've wanted all summer to see if I could ride 40 miles in one day and we're awful close... it's on my bucket list... do you want to wait in the car while I ride four extra miles...?
He's no wimp: he'd do it with me. And he did. Back and forth we rode passing the car twice, four extra miles to make it an even
oh-my-gosh-we-did-it 40.
Bliss! Bliss
is no more pedaling after that. Done! I was
whipped, spent, and so was Kent. Bikes on the back of the car finally; air-conditioning on us both in the front seat; Kent driving us to the nearest McDonald's for ice cream cones,
bliss!
Bliss is pushing your limits and checking off a big goal and having fun and a half doing it! With the one you love, on a picture-perfect day!