2nd Annual BME - Another Scouting Mission

SLC crit was broken so we Fixed it

Palimpsest Cat

SLUG Cat 2025

Kiroro Pokarourou

I once heard that the key to teaching kids how to ski is to take them off the hill before they start crying. You'd rather have them cry because they want more, rather than cry because it was too much. I'm crying because I want more...

What an epic outing! Left my house around 4:45am and back around 8:30pm. Oh the places a bicycle can take you!

Started with a trip down memory lane swinging by friends old houses and a rip through the U, which was POPPING at 5am. Football something? Glad the college kids are still at it. 

Then I was met by the one and only Colin P, who stoked moral, provided wife snacks, and smashed the rigid single speed distance record for the BME. Absolute beast, Colin. Thanks for your support till Skyline Drive had enough of you and spit you out. 

Now on my own, it's a hunt to find water before pushing through the void of the session mountains. Turns out the cars dusting us all afternoon were full of friendly folk willing to share some bottled water with enough shirtless harassment on my part. I guess those cars are good for something. 

Upper skyline drive was lovely, abruptly intercepted by the great western trail. First class hike a biking, and a lot of it! Not so bad if you just pretend you're taking your bike for a walk in the woods. Until it got steep. And loose. And overgrown. Then it was kinda bad. But stunning views, cooler temps, fall colors, and solitude made up for the brutality of this section. It's a shame you have to endure skyline drive to get up there. It would be fun to ride that more and give it some more love. It was so awesome to finally put this section together to Big Mountain pass, as well as get a unique vista of familiar peaks near and far.  Also a call from Ian V saved me from my own thoughts when I needed it most. Shout out him. 

At Big Mountain Pass, deciding to continue on the single track for the full loop or head down the pavement for the bail home, a melancholy sunset and increasing rain told me to pack it up and head down big mountain towards Emi instead of pushing for Millcreek via Mormon Pioneer -> Jeremy ranch -> summit park -> Mid Mountain. Felt like the ride of shame bombing all that hard earned elevation on the asphalt with the MTB. 

Emi then back to town was super pleasant. Good music and increasing dryness and warmth greated me all the way back home. 

THE FULL BRODIE'S MIIXED EPIC IS DOABLE! There's a version of myself that can get this done, and I'm certain others could to. With the right bike, clothing, food, water strategy, and navigation this could be laced together quite smoothly. 
- a full suspension bike is mandatory. Sorry Colin, the great western trail would have destroyed your rigid bike. Shoutout to the Smuggler for being light, playful, capable, and sexy. Couldn't have done this ride without you.
- clothing is tricky. It's still hot and exposed out there. Long sleeves we're nice to hide from the sun and protect against the shwack, but it's was brutalll in the heat. Maybe it's time to invest in some sexy MTB kit? Something that's cool but also covers me up?
- I brought like 4,000 calories and a bunch of electrolytes and that seems like it would have been enough. Plus the full loop would hit the Jeremy store so you could resupply there to finish out. I was pretty maxed out on space for more food. 
-water. There's a fill up at city creek, wild rose, mueller park, but then you're stuck till Jeremy ranch. There's some pretty sad puddles and weird roadside flowing water towards the top of skyline drive. My spring from last year was pretty much dry. On a weekend I think you could bank on mooching off of cars. A weekday I imagine that would be trickier. Probably best to leave Mueller with at least 5 liters if you want that to take you to Jeremy? Or be ready to filter some weird shallow water towards the top. 
- lastly, I think it's about time to invest in a bike computer. Gaia did great! But I got off course more than once and had to do some backtracking. I think every minute counts on this ride to get the hard parts done in the daylight, so being notified of off-route would be helpful.
- also, starting at 4:20am seems like it would be about perfect. 

If anyone is interested in piecing this together for themselges or sectioning it out let me know! Could be a pretty wild bikepacking loop as well. Happy to share what I found.

Feeling so grateful for this place, bikes, and everyone who supported! Lots of folks cheering me on and watching my dot. Coworkers had good beta. Though I set out alone, I had a whole heard of good people as wind at my back (and Colin for a good chunk of it). Thank you all for supporting me and this big dumb ride. And if you read this far, thanks for reading my rambles while I wait for the freezer pizza in the oven and ice my knees. Much love❣️

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Brodie Mead

2nd Annual BME - Another Scouting Mission

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2nd Annual BME - Another Scouting Mission

SLC crit was broken so we Fixed it

Palimpsest Cat

SLUG Cat 2025

Kiroro Pokarourou

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