A Joy Ride Through Cache Valley

For those who know me well, know that I love a good ride...especially in the countryside. (I got this from my dad.) Unfortunately, the price of gas has caused me to reduce the amount of car "rides" I go on.

Well, Saturday, I had the privilege of going on a beautiful, 40-mile ride through Cache Valley...powered not by the engine of a car, but by my legs and heart. The only fuel consumed is what I ate and drank at the feed stops throughout the course. A plus of doing a ride on a bicylce, as opposed to one in the car, is that you get to take in the sights, sounds, and smells of the area.

Additionally, this ride was not only for my enjoyment, but also for a very worthy cause; to raise awareness and money to find a cure for MS. I have to say this ride was very organized and I give a big "thank-you" to the sponsors and especially the many volunteers. It was a beautiful, clear-blue-sky day to ride through the small rural communities north of Logan...Benson, Cache Junction, Newton, Trenton, Amalga were the communities on my route.

This is me at the Cache County fairgrounds just before we started the ride.

Richard Vandenberg. Karin's dad and my riding partner for a good part of the ride. That was a really fun part of the ride - being able to talk to him and catch on up on him and Daisy and their grandchildren.

The feed stop in Trenton. This is where the routes separated. The 75- and 100-mile routes went north and the 40-mile route went east.

This is just a closer view of the Trenton feed stop.

Highlights of the ride:

• Taking in the view of Cache Valley. It was a beautiful day in an equally beautiful valley!!!
• Getting some exercise. I need to get more...on a daily basis. I have just enough pain in my left knee today to know that I need to train (what's that?) next time. :)
• The smell of Russian olive trees. I know they are "trash" trees, but the sweet smell of those trees is the smell of summer to me...and bring back a ton of memories of growing up on a farm in northern Utah.
• Cache Valley dairies. Okay, dairies can be "smelly" if you're not used to them, and I'm really kind of glad I don't live next door to one, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that there are still several dairies throughout Cache Valley.
• Passing a moving vehicle - going in the same direction as me. So it was a tractor, but I still passed it!!!
• Riding with Richard Vandenberg. He is awesome. I told him he could "leave me in his dust" if he wanted to...and he did. I hope we can be riding partners again next year.
• Staying at Kerry and Howard's the night before. It was great going over to Logan on Friday night to pick up my ride packet and going to the temple with them while we were over there, then staying at their home in Tremonton the night before the ride. Thank you Kerry for getting up soooo early to see me off!!
• Participating in a worthwhile cause. "Thank You" to all who contributed!!
• Being part of Karin's team and being at the end of the race to see Karin and Steve ride in from their 100-mile ride!!
  
  

  

Karin and Steve at the finish.