Spring fever strikes me at least a month before any springtime weather actually occurs in Utah. It is particularly bad this year after the unusually cold and snowy winter we've had down in the city. I've been anxious to get back on my road bike but the days haven't been warm enough in Salt Lake for comfortable, enjoyable riding. To get a jump start on Spring, Roger and I decided to head south to St. George, UT and take advantage of the warmer climate and do some early Spring rides. We planned to camp in
Snow Canyon State Park on Friday and Saturday night and do rides on Saturday and Sunday.
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| Snow Canyon State Park |
The weather was anything but spring-like on the ride down to St. George Friday afternoon. We had plenty of rain and some periods of snow for most of the trip. After a brief stop in St. George for dinner, we headed to Snow Canyon and set up camp in a downpour, followed by a very rainy night in the tent. The rain stopped early Saturday morning but the weather remained cloudy, windy, and cold for the rest of the day. We decided to do some hiking around snow canyon because the riding conditions were so poor.
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| Enjoying the view in Snow Canyon |
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| Snow Canyon |
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| Roger hiking in Snow Canyon |
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| Spikey |
After a cloudy, windy day in Snow Canyon, the weather cleared right around sunset. Even though we were disappointed that we didn'tride during the day, the small hikes in the canyon were an excellent alternative. The clearing weather meant Sunday would be good for a ride.
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| Sunset in Snow Canyon |
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| Enjoying the camp fire on Saturday night |
The weather was sunny and dry on Sunday morning. We finally got on our bikes a did a fantastic first ride of the season through Snow Canyon, up to Veyo, down past Gunlock, through Ivins and Santa Clara, and finally back to Snow Canyon. The loop was just over 50 miles and the scenery was fantastic. The highlight of the ride, of course, was when Hunter and Col spotted us as they were driving home and stopped to chat with us for a few minutes. I obviously didn't pay close enough attention to Hunter's directions because I couldn't find his house later. Hopefully that Pale Ale will be waiting for me next time.
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| Biking out of Snow Canyon |
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| Heading north toward Veyo, UT |
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| Roger at Gunlock State Park |
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| Bike Path near Ivins, UT |
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| Back at Snow Canyon |
