Brrrrrrrr

The weather has begun to change and the opportunities to ride are now diminishing but you take what chances allow.

On Saturday, we had scheduled a ride to go through Logan Canyon to Bear Lake and return over Monte Cristo. It's been warm lately but the leaves have been changing. We thought this would be a great ride on a nice day but as the day drew closer the temperatures began to go lower. The forecast called for partly cloudy and 56*.

We left SLC about 9:00 am and were linking up with additional riders in Ogden. The Ogden group had met for breakfast and ended up about 30 minutes behind. As soon as they arrived and gassed up, we were off.

Normally I would take I-15 up to Brigham City and turn off to Logan, but this mornings ride would take us up US-89 through Willard and Perry. It brought back some memories of being up with my Grandpa Harris, on his farm in Pleasant View, picking apples, plums or peaches and them taking them to one of the many fruit stands along the highway to sell.

Turning up Sardine Canyon we made our way to Logan and took a stop to stretch and talk. The canyon turned out to be cooler than I expected but the sun was peaking through.

Next we rode through Logan Canyon. What a beautiful ride!! The leaves hadn't turned as much as I had hoped but the canyon is always beautiful and the view as you crest the hill to drop down into Bear Lake is breathtaking. We stopped at a small burger joint in Garden City for lunch to top off the riders tanks as well as topping off the bike tanks.

As we rode around the south end of the lake and made our way to Woodruff, the entryway to Monte Cristo, the temps remained cool and the sky clouded over a bit more. As we started over the mountain, the clouds closed in and turned a bit dark. I suspected that we would see some snow on the top but was surprised at how much there was, not deep but not patchy either. At the summit of 9100 feet the temperature had dropped to a finger chilling 28* and then warmed a little as we came down the other side. By Huntsville we were all the way up to 40*. The view was great as we rode through the canyon.

We made our way home over Trappers Loop to Morgan and down US-89/Legacy Highway.

The ride was worth every minute, cold but worth it. Next year I do think I'll try to pick a warmer day (or get heated gloves)

I only got a few pictures of the group.