The Winner of the Crazy Weather Contest 2011/2012 - Utah!!!

For years there has been a group of die-hard road bikers that have gone out on the last day of the year or on New Year's day. Some years the numbers have been quite sparce, mostly due to outside temps being in the high 20's or lower. We had 8 go out this year on December 30th and enjoy temps in the mid 40's.

We rode north from Orem to the southwest side of American Fork and back - just over 20 miles round trip. It was awesome to be outside in Utah County in late December; soaking up the sun, working up a sweat while enjoying good friends.

The next day, December 31, there were a dozen of us (young and old) looking forward to a good workout snowshoeing up American Fork Canyon. Only one problem, no snow (check out the pics)!! We were shocked at the lack of snow even at those altitudes, i.e. Tibble Fork Reservoir.

We were able to find a little snow in the shade on the southeast side but not enough to use our snowshoes - they stayed in the cars. We had a short hike in mud and ice, just enough to raise the heart rate into the aerobic zone.

Overall, thoughts were that it was a little eery to be out on New Year's eve in almost 40 degree temps in the North Fork of American Fork Canyon; no snow and none in the forecast. I hope that changes soon.

The kids were the highlight of this trip. They had never met before but it only took a minute or two to become friends. It was fun to watch and it was a good reminder to me that it's not that hard to make a new friend.

On January 2, we decided to stick to biking with temps in the mid 50's. Five of us headed south leaving Orem on State Street riding around Provo Towne Center, through East Bay and Springville into Spanish Fork. We made a loop of 34 miles; loving every minute; with thoughts like 'in a normal year, we would have to make a trip to St. George to get weather like this'. This was a good, fast ride with an average speed of 18 mph. There was no wind, only sunshine and the next two days look to be about the same. With a little luck, I hope to get out one of both days. See ya on the road!