Journey to Utah Lake with a Side Quest or Two

One of my goals in training is to become better at longboarding longer distances. The furthest I had gone before I got this idea was about eight miles. Two days ago I put in my headphones and got on my board headed down the Provo River Trail. There are few things that are more relaxing than cruising on your longboard listening to some tasty jams. The soothing and constant rhythm of kicking your feet and carving down the trails, a steady grumble of your wheels spinning on the pavement below your feet, the warm summer sun beaming down on you as you have this time alone to just move and think. I absolutely love it.

Before I knew it I had been going for about a half hour and needed to turn around, a friend was coming to visit. I turned around and rolled on for a few feet when I saw a sign. It was a map of the trail and on it I saw that I had gone about five miles from my home and I was a mere half mile from Utah Lake. I turned back around and went all the way to the lake. It actually felt really cool to go there, but sadly they wouldn't let me into the lake property because I didn't have two dollars to pay the entrance fee. I just got to see the sign and turn back.

Headed home I was cruising along again and I looked over the the river on my right, I saw some kids on a rope swing swimming in the river. I jumped off my board and ran over to join them. This rope swing...was awesome. The water was deep and slow making it perfect to swim in, although it did smell a little like fish and was completely opaque. It was a fun little adventure and I have since gone back again with my friends to swim there. You can't see these things when driving by in a car. That is what is great about traveling by longboard, you are inserted into the local environment, you experience everything as you pass through, instead of just passing through.

Another thing I saw was a movie being filmed along the river. There were camera crews and a bunch of people dressed up in clothes from the 1800's singing and two men dressed in white in the river re-enacting a baptism from early Mormon times. I hope I didn't bother them when I was crunching through leaves and sticks trying to take a picture of the event. I'm a little disappointed with how my picture turned out but I didn't want them to film and view the footage later only to find a guy with a longboard and bright blue skating helmet peeking out of the bushes across the river.

I got home after 10-11 miles of riding and hung out with my good friends. One thing I want to mention is that my back started killing me in the evening, something that hasn't happened yet on a longer ride. I wonder what wearing a hiking backpack will do on 30-50 mile days will do. Hmmmmm.........