Tour De St. George Metric Century Route

Whew, 65 miles today. Have I mentioned that I LOVE TO RIDE MY BICYCLE?! Jason's new bike did not make it any easier for me to keep up with him. He was quite color coordinated, I wish I had a digital camera to capture it, but words will have to do for now....his bike is bright blue and white, it also has yellow stickers (I think they are safety warnings and should probably come off, but nonetheless). He has bright blue leggings/tights that match the bike perfectly (he didn't really choose them, they were a duff at Mega Pro and they are warm, so he kept them). Then he had on a yellow wind breaker and his shoes have yellow S's on them. To top it off, his helmet is bright blue too. For a moment he wore my sunglasses with yellow padding by the ears and that just totally completed the look. He is dead sexy and all mine!

We did basically the route of the metric century for the Tour De St. George, just starting at our house, not in town. We did it in 4 hours and 45 minutes, last year it took me 5 hours or maybe 5 hours and 15 minutes, so I am definitely stronger! The route runs out through Washington, over the Coral Canyon hill, down Highway 9 to the Sand Hallow turn off, around Sand Hallow (that hill is still a killer!) then out through Hurricane, LaVerkin and Toquerville. I have lived in dread of the Toquerville hills and today I kept waiting for the really tough climb and it never came, I really am getting better at this stuff! Then we go up the frontage road along I-15 and through Leeds- I love that stretch, it is a little hilly but you can fly through it. Even with the wind today (a breeze of about 9 miles per hour), we were averaging 18-24 mph. Then we went around Quail Creek- those hills are deceptive and get a bit frustrating, though again it was never as hard as I remembered it : ). We finished up going back up Highway 9, back over Coral Canyon, through Washington and home.

We got home at 5pm, just enough time to shower, hop in the truck and make it to The Smith's for Guy's belated birthday party! We had a great time over there, with excellent food and company. All in all a great end to a terrific (all be it COLD-we went from ideal Fall weather in the 70's to the 40's in one day, I certainly hope Fall isn't over and it is going to warm back up for at least a few weeks!) weekend.