Absolutely Exercise

A recent post , published on the The Trek Blog by the eponymous US-headquartered bicycle manufacturer, opened with this paragraph: " As many Americans across the country are facing extended social distancing orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers are turning to cycling as an alternate means of essential transportation, for mental and physical health, and to keep the kids busy. " The company was releasing " …results from a nationally representative survey of over 1,000 American adults 18-years-old and over, conducted in partnership with research firm Engine Insights. " Unsurprisingly, the presented data served to boost cycling as an upwardly trending activity. Locally observed for this weblog, anecdotal evidence seems to support that contention in the short term. The missing statistic in the Trek report was bicycle ownership. The Trek survey data reporting opens with this phrase, " Of Americans who own a bike… " We wondered, " How m...

Photographically speaking, it was a lackluster day. That's not a complaint; it was pleasant riding in the wind, but there was little sunshine and the light was dull with poor contrast. " Well it's all right, doing the best you can ". A bit of a challenge now and again is probably a good thing lest we become complacent and take our blessings for granted.

There is a certain horrified fascination to be experienced when watching monster machines rip the earth apart. I remember when the Sand Hollow reservoir development, and the infrastructure associated with it, were scars on the landscape. As the newness wears off and such things take on an everyday familiarity for us, we assimilate them into our consciousness. I expect that whatever scars these monsters are busy making today will heal over time, too. The landscape will be different, but maybe not worse. Away from the noise and dust of the earthmovers it was quite peaceful: a shy bird stepped cautiously through the growing herbage; a family of ducks paddled around in the temporary shallow pool where a mud run is held; the flower plantings at Copper Rock have bloomed and are starting to mature. For the first time, I was able to capture the sun on the water at the Sand Hollow beach with something of the color and sparkle that has evaded my efforts thus far. Click/tap on any ph...

A full-scale earthmover attack on the desert is in progress near the Sand Hollow North cattle guard at the western end of W3000S. There has been activity up there on the moor for months now. More recently a digger made a preemptive strike across the open-range landscape; today it was all-out war. The desert seems to be losing. A pipeline? A road? It's not easy to locate official information and asking individuals results in more confusion than clarity. If any visitor here knows where reliable information can be found then please email me confidentially and I will check it out and include it in another post. Click/tap on any photo to switch to gallery mode View a STRAVA entry for this post (free login required); click below for limited access:

There was turbulence in the sky above and wind on the ground below, which made for slow, albeit refreshing, progress. The crosswinds and tailwinds were energizing, but the final leg of my route was alongside the Gen. Dick Stout Field into a headwind, which was enervating. The usually reliable  Klimat weather tagging app declared a 15mph wind with 26mph gusts. I found myself wondering what is the maximum duration of a gust before it becomes a prevailing wind?

The weather was changeable and the changeable lighting conditions accompanying that were beautiful to watch. My late afternoon ride was short and the wind started to rise as I returned home to cross the town on an errand. The chiaroscuro (light and shade) had already dappled the hills; as the sunset started the lighting became even more dramatic. View a STRAVa entry for this post (free login required); click below for limited access:

One of my favorite quiet corners on the route has this delightful lilac bush. In the high heat of a Utah summer, I stop in the shade of the palm tree to drink water and to enjoy watching and listening to the birds as they flit around in this embowered location. View a STRAVA entry for this post (free login required); click below for limited access:

I was channeling Sir Harry Lauder  this evening, right down to the cromach (stick or crook), although I forwent the Wee Deoch-an-Doris at the End of the Road .

A delightful return to riding, on a spring day replete with sunshine, a fresh breeze, white clouds, blossom, flowers, and not much vehicular activity. There were many butterflies like the one shown; some were on the wing, but even more were lying on the ground. The lone blossom tree reminded me of the hawthorns back in the old country and their heady perfume. View a STRAVA entry for this post (free login required); click below for limited access:

I have been stuck indoors for a couple of days with mild seasonal-allergy symptoms. Thanks to the Utah Geological Survey (UGS) 2020 calendar [ link ] I was able to do some virtual exploring. Each of the twelve months in the calendar has an attractive photo of a geological feature in Utah taken by a UGS staff member. That's only the beginning: "… you ain't heard nothing yet ", as Al Jolson said in the Jazz Singer  [ link ] in 1927—the calendar is the start of a virtual journey [ link ] through the places it features using an interactive interface controlled by the reader..