to the moon and back

(courtesy fightingmean)

Riding in the To the Moon and Back Century

Riding a bike gives the rider a sense of space that is lost on a person in a car. On a bike bumps and vibrations from the road are transmitted through the handlebars and saddle. The olfactory system constantly provides smell from the landscape. Sights that are a blur in a car are lasting memories from the vantage point of a bike seat. Especially if there's suffering involved. Which 'To the Moon & Back Bike Century (M&B)' had in plenty. Not only was this the first time being in this part of Utah but I was experiencing it on a bike which made it unforgettable.

The ride started at the fairgrounds in Tabiona UT, population 184. The race director, Karen Redden, brought obvious passion to the event. In recent years race packets have become a personal drop box of junk mail. Every event you're left combing through mounds of ads for things you'll never ever, ever, ever buy in the hope that there might be something of value.The M&B race packet was created from a better time when packets were awesome. This sampling of Duchesne (pronounced dew-shane) County goods was the best race packet I've ever received, seriously. Here's an incomplete list of contents: event sticker, small notebook & pen, water bottle, event t-shirt, dinosaur mints, tourist guide, and super cool Centennial pin. Once at the starting line Karen welcomed us to the event. She gave us a run down on the route and spoke about supporting Rapha House in the fight against human trafficking by creating the ride. Karen's passion in supporting this cause came across in her sincere words. There's no doubt she had worked hard to make this event successful for the reason of supporting Rapha House. After her short speech we began rolling out of Tabiona.

The ride began with a downhill river valley. Me and a riding buddy Amber were quickly out front. After a couple of miles we were caught by a small group of three women. This pack of five riders with four women became the lead pack for the century. But the fast easy river valley was merely a quick warm up before rolling hills and thousands of feet of net gain. As soon as we turned North and started toward the Uintahs the ride changed from a quick pace line to hill repeats. The smells of juniper trees filled the air. We were riding on major roads but there was almost no traffic and all the motorists that did share the road with us were respectful.

The first place we stopped was the Rock Creek Bed and Breakfast. This B&B is at the center of Mountain Home, an unincorporated community that sits at 7,000' and is at the intersection of several destinations including moon lake. A lake we didn't ride to. That's right, the road to the main destination and namesake of the ride, moon lake, was under construction. This meant that instead of continuing North out of Mountain Home to the picturesque lake, we instead turned West and followed Rock Creek. This section of road had a long gradual climb that was followed by a short steep 1.7 mile descent at 8% average grade. This steep descent would mean a CAT 3 climb at mile 70 on the way out. But after the descent was the best part of the ride.

The next 13 miles took riders into the Ashley National Forest. The Rock Creek river simply brought me back to growing up in Montana. I was now riding above 7,000' and mountains were on both sides of the valley the river below. I could envision the cool water swishing around waders as I stood in the water fly fishing for trout that are undoubtedly prize worthy. The clean mountain air was free of city pollution and noise. The valley was a steady uphill pull and lunch could have been around any corner. Then I literally hit the wall.


Usually 'the wall' is a figurative term in endurance sports where the body runs out of glycogen and the event stops being fun. The passing of time slows to a crawl and the mind enters a pain cave where sounds echo and speech slurs. But on this ride 'the wall' was in fact a literal concrete wall. The Stillwater Dam is a massive concrete gravity dam that is at 8,176' elevation and is 167' deep. As I rounded a corner and the dam was now towering above me I was caught up in a moment of awe. Then I noticed a parking lot with cars on top of the dam and I knew. I knew lunch was being served not at the bottom of the dam but at the top of the dam. The service road that snakes to the top of the dam with two switchbacks had me struggling for air. When I finally did read the top I collapsed on a informative sign for a good 10-15 minutes. My head was spinning and I was feeling a little sick when Phil of the RIU crew asked me if I was ok. After a good half minute pause during which I was trying to process what had been asked this scene from cool runnings ran through my mind, "Sanka you Dead? Yeh man."

As far as I know I was the only rider to go the 50 extra yards to see the lake

photo credit: Amber Watson

To understand how hard the ride was from Tabiona to the top of the dam for the halfway mark here's some perspective. A typical time for me to be at the halfway point for a century event is somewhere between 2 to 2-1/2 hours. For this ride the halfway mark came in at 4hrs. That's a hard dam ride...er...that's a hard ride to a dam. After a PB&J lunch the ride out of the national forest was as pretty as the ride in but much easier. After 20 more miles I hit the CAT 3 climb. Almost every inch of the 70 miles up to the climb had been tough and 1.7 miles of 8% grade loomed ahead. I heard several reports of experienced riders throwing their bikes on racks and getting a shuttle to the top of the climb. I also heard reports of inexperienced riders sticking it out and grinding the climb. For me it was a simple. Keep the feet moving. I dropped my subcompact crank and 28 tooth cassette into the easiest gear and simply kept moving. Finally gaining the summit meant an easy ride back to the B&B. After a quick conversation the group I had driven with to the event had decided to move the finish line up from the fairgrounds. The ride would have been 112 miles but I ended at 87 miles with 6500' of gain.

 Events have been struggling this year in Utah with the most notable being the St George marathon that is usually a tough lottery to get into. Not only was St George not a lottery this year but they discounted the entries to get it to fill up. With the most in demand event in the state struggling the trickle down has been brutal. Races have been cancelled, sold, and abandoned. A tough year for a new event with a remote locale to be sure.  But there is serious potential for the event. Karen is a great race director and the roads are prime for cycling. If both Moon Lake and Stillwater Dam were incorporated from the B&B the ride would spend more time in national forest as well as supporting a local business. Changing the route up a little would make this already great route one of the best century rides in Utah. The small group of riders made this feel more like a ride with friends than an event. The course was challenging and beautiful and the event proved to be a hard, long, great day.

Watermelon is officially my favorite race treat!