Day 46: Fruit and Fast Bikers

By Alex Goldsmith
What a great day!  I don’t know if there are any days along the course of this trip that couldn’t be described using the same opening sentence that I used for this blog. 

This morning we awoke well rested and rarin’ to go, (just kidding about the well rested part, that hasn’t happened for six weeks now).  We packed up our things and headed out the door after grabbing some awesome banana bread made by our very own Susan Pratt.  We introduced A.J. and John, our two new riders, to the morning devotion routine before pedalling upward and onward.  The same Susan Pratt that was mentioned in making the delicious banana bread also led our morning devotion, (what an attention hog).  We pedalled past the Mormon Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City and into our first flat day in two weeks.

The first thirty miles of our ride were spent on some beautiful trails that run around the greater Salt Lake City area.  It was a beautiful change of scenery and atmosphere biking among fellow cyclists in a not traffic filled area.  The first twenty miles flew by, the same cannot be said about the second twenty miles.  Every half mile to mile of the bike trail there was a gate that was designed to keep cyclists from jutting out into on coming traffic.  While safety is definitely one of our priorities, dangerous metal obstacle course every time we get up to speed is not.  As we moved past this section we moved into an area where there was heavy construction.  We then carried our bikes for sections at a time.  This may seem like an inconvenience but really it us training to keep our upper bodies strong.  Let’s called it a cheaper and more innovative version of cross-fit.

The second half of the day was smooth sailing.  We passed by dozens of fruit stands along the way which was is always pleasant to see juxtaposed to the usual golden arches, gas stations and Subways.  Everyone moved along at an excellent clip until eventually arriving in Garland, Utah.  In case you don’t know where that it is at it is just outside of Tremonton, Utah.  In case you don’t know where that is it is eight-two miles outside of Salt Lake City.
 

Tonight we have yet again a unique opportunity.  The church that we are staying at couldn’t have us sleep on the floor so members of the congregation agreed to host us for the night.  It has been an excellent night seeing the area and being treated to nice showers, great meals, awesome company and a glorious bed which is awaiting me right this instant.  I can’t tell you about everyone’s experience but I can tell you that Ben and I have had a truly refreshing evening.  After our awesome dinner our host dad, Denny took us out to show us how he uses an irrigation ditch to water his hay fields.  Beautiful people, beautiful country, beautiful night.  As for now I am going to hit the hay (pun fully intended).  God has been so good to us every step of this trip and I am so thankful for the opportunity to share this lit piece with you.  Thank you for reading.