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January Ride Report
In all my years I cannot remember riding in January. The weather in northern Utah has been great. Afternoon temperatures have been in the 40's and 50's (F).
I had a day off from work January 3rd. By mid-afternoon I could hear The Dark Horse calling my name. I had a couple of hours of daylight left. Where to ride? I’ve never been for a ride on Antelope Island. It’s the largest of the islands in the Great Salt Lake. It is a real tourist attraction during the warm months. But this day there would be very little traffic. (Check this out: http://parks.state.ut.us/parks/www1/ante.htm)
Just four miles from home later I approached the state park ranger office and payed my $4.00 fee to enter. The causeway across the lake is about 7¼ miles long. There are a few cars but there’s like 2 miles between them. There’s a fog around the perimeter of the lake today. It gives kind of an eery feeling as I ride down the road. Salt water on both sides. You can see the distant mountains over the top of the fog but the lake seems to disappear into the cloud banks.
You can smell the brine in the air. All I can hear is the wind in my helmet and the purr of the engine. The speed limit is posted 40 mph. I’m going a little faster and pass a couple of tourists cars and they disappear in my rearview mirrors.
When I get to the island I see a sailboat just leaving the marina. He’s going to be using his motor today. There is hardly a breeze.
I take the road to the west that goes behind the marina. The marina is full of brine shrimp boats this time of year. It’s a pretty big business on the Great Salt Lake. Very competitive. Brine shrimp fishermen have been known to take gun shots at each other when they have felt “their” territory is being invaded by other fishermen. The brine shrimp is the only life form in the lake. Its way to salty for anything else.
I ride over to the egg island overlook and stop to take a picture. Then ride on over to Bridger Bay and get another picture. I make sure The Dark Horse is in the photos because that is the reason I am there. From Bridger Bay I ride over to the camp ground. There’s no one camping this time of year.
After I leave the camping area I turn south up the road toward Buffalo Point. As I reach the crest of a small hill I notice that there are Buffalo off to my right side. Not too far off the road. I stop and take another picture.
At the Buffalo Point parking lot the view is spectacular overlooking White Rock Bay. I get yet another picture.
(Can you tell that my kids gave me a new digital camera for Christmas?)
The road going down from Buffalo Point is steep and winding. Fun on a bike. I make my way down to a dirt (muddy and rutted) road that leads to the corals. ( They use this area for the annual “Buffalo Roundup”. Horsemen from around the state enter an annual lottery to see who gets to help roundup the bison for their yearly inoculations. They keep a few “buffs” in the corals for the less adventuresome tourists to view.) I travel slowly to keep control as it is quite slippery. Stop and get a quick pic of the buffalo and start back up the wet road.
Back on pavement I check the time. I think I can make it to and from the Fielding Garr Ranch on the south end of the island before it gets dark. It’s about 12½ miles. The lake is just like a mirror as I look across at the Wasatch Mountains. I have to stop and take a couple more pictures.
The speed limits on the island roads are posted 25 mph due to the amount of wildlife on the island. The buffalo have a tenancy to wonder on to the roads. Tourists are always slowing and stopping to view the scenery and the animals. But today there is only one vehicle on the road with me. A young family in a cage is ahead of me and he’s doing 50-60 mph. I hang back behind him a couple of hundred yards but keeping his pace.
The pavement is in good shape. In many areas the road is visible for over a mile ahead. Lots of small hills and curves. Even at this speed the curves are easily handled. I keep thinking, “It would be fun to do these twisties a little faster.” But not being familiar with the road I control my urges.
I finally arrive at the ranch. Finding a spot in the parking lot I dismount and walk down to see the tourist attractions. Some of the buildings here date back to 1848 but archeological digs have found Freemont and Anisazi native culture nearly 1000 yrs old. I stay for only about 15 minutes. Time enough to stretch my legs and get a few quick pictures.
No one has left the ranch since I arrived so I know that the road is clear of traffic ahead of me. I can’t control the urge to try some of the twisties at higher speeds. What a kick! It feels so good to be out riding today!
At one point I see about a half mile ahead, a herd of buffs have walked down toward the road. I slow down and stop about a hundred yards away. Of course I take some pictures. If I had been driving the cage I would have had some closer pictures. But being cautious I stay back. You never know when one of these big bulls will take a disliking to you. And they can cover a lot of ground in a short time when they feel threatened or provoked.
The sun is getting low in the sky and I feel the air temperature drop. I ride back to the causeway and head back into the fog towards home. A very memorable ride.
See pictures at the last pages of my web site: http://www.geocities.com/r_udy081855/index.html
I had a day off from work January 3rd. By mid-afternoon I could hear The Dark Horse calling my name. I had a couple of hours of daylight left. Where to ride? I’ve never been for a ride on Antelope Island. It’s the largest of the islands in the Great Salt Lake. It is a real tourist attraction during the warm months. But this day there would be very little traffic. (Check this out: http://parks.state.ut.us/parks/www1/ante.htm)
Just four miles from home later I approached the state park ranger office and payed my $4.00 fee to enter. The causeway across the lake is about 7¼ miles long. There are a few cars but there’s like 2 miles between them. There’s a fog around the perimeter of the lake today. It gives kind of an eery feeling as I ride down the road. Salt water on both sides. You can see the distant mountains over the top of the fog but the lake seems to disappear into the cloud banks.
You can smell the brine in the air. All I can hear is the wind in my helmet and the purr of the engine. The speed limit is posted 40 mph. I’m going a little faster and pass a couple of tourists cars and they disappear in my rearview mirrors.
When I get to the island I see a sailboat just leaving the marina. He’s going to be using his motor today. There is hardly a breeze.
I take the road to the west that goes behind the marina. The marina is full of brine shrimp boats this time of year. It’s a pretty big business on the Great Salt Lake. Very competitive. Brine shrimp fishermen have been known to take gun shots at each other when they have felt “their” territory is being invaded by other fishermen. The brine shrimp is the only life form in the lake. Its way to salty for anything else.
I ride over to the egg island overlook and stop to take a picture. Then ride on over to Bridger Bay and get another picture. I make sure The Dark Horse is in the photos because that is the reason I am there. From Bridger Bay I ride over to the camp ground. There’s no one camping this time of year.
After I leave the camping area I turn south up the road toward Buffalo Point. As I reach the crest of a small hill I notice that there are Buffalo off to my right side. Not too far off the road. I stop and take another picture.
At the Buffalo Point parking lot the view is spectacular overlooking White Rock Bay. I get yet another picture.
(Can you tell that my kids gave me a new digital camera for Christmas?)
The road going down from Buffalo Point is steep and winding. Fun on a bike. I make my way down to a dirt (muddy and rutted) road that leads to the corals. ( They use this area for the annual “Buffalo Roundup”. Horsemen from around the state enter an annual lottery to see who gets to help roundup the bison for their yearly inoculations. They keep a few “buffs” in the corals for the less adventuresome tourists to view.) I travel slowly to keep control as it is quite slippery. Stop and get a quick pic of the buffalo and start back up the wet road.
Back on pavement I check the time. I think I can make it to and from the Fielding Garr Ranch on the south end of the island before it gets dark. It’s about 12½ miles. The lake is just like a mirror as I look across at the Wasatch Mountains. I have to stop and take a couple more pictures.
The speed limits on the island roads are posted 25 mph due to the amount of wildlife on the island. The buffalo have a tenancy to wonder on to the roads. Tourists are always slowing and stopping to view the scenery and the animals. But today there is only one vehicle on the road with me. A young family in a cage is ahead of me and he’s doing 50-60 mph. I hang back behind him a couple of hundred yards but keeping his pace.
The pavement is in good shape. In many areas the road is visible for over a mile ahead. Lots of small hills and curves. Even at this speed the curves are easily handled. I keep thinking, “It would be fun to do these twisties a little faster.” But not being familiar with the road I control my urges.
I finally arrive at the ranch. Finding a spot in the parking lot I dismount and walk down to see the tourist attractions. Some of the buildings here date back to 1848 but archeological digs have found Freemont and Anisazi native culture nearly 1000 yrs old. I stay for only about 15 minutes. Time enough to stretch my legs and get a few quick pictures.
No one has left the ranch since I arrived so I know that the road is clear of traffic ahead of me. I can’t control the urge to try some of the twisties at higher speeds. What a kick! It feels so good to be out riding today!
At one point I see about a half mile ahead, a herd of buffs have walked down toward the road. I slow down and stop about a hundred yards away. Of course I take some pictures. If I had been driving the cage I would have had some closer pictures. But being cautious I stay back. You never know when one of these big bulls will take a disliking to you. And they can cover a lot of ground in a short time when they feel threatened or provoked.
The sun is getting low in the sky and I feel the air temperature drop. I ride back to the causeway and head back into the fog towards home. A very memorable ride.
See pictures at the last pages of my web site: http://www.geocities.com/r_udy081855/index.html
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