My first real ride was early in the spring of 1988, I rode from my house in American Fork to the highest peak on the Point of the Mountain just west of where Suncrest is now. I knew better than giving details of where I was going, my mom surely would have put a stop to that. I simply said, “Going for a bike ride”. Since I had never attempted a ride like that I had no Idea how long it would take. I was having fun and I kept thinking the top was just around the next bend. After multiple false summits I finally reached the large triangular survey marker that sits on the peak. The views were amazing, I could see the Salt Lake and Utah County valleys. It was the first time I experienced the rumble of the city from a mountain peak. I didn’t get home until after dark and my mom was a little freaked out ready to call in a missing persons report.
The bike wasn’t a car but it was close. It provided some of the same freedoms that a car does and allowed me to experience those freedoms a couple of years before any of my friends. Later when I got a car it just meant that I could now drive to the trailheads and spend more time in the good stuff, Hog Hollow, Sliding Rock, Ridge Trail, Moab...!
I could have played Highschool sports like football, basketball, or baseball, oh how about wresteling that sounds fun. All those sports have a season, a very small window of opportunity comes and goes, when it goes you get a job, get old and get fat. You spend the rest of your life like Uncle Rico dreaming of your highschool days when you were the hero. Well, I am still a hero. On a bike for the most part you simply get better with time. Twenty one years later I am still advancing in the sport. I feel strong, another 21+ years should be no problem.
