UTAH!

Since I've been out of school for my 3 week break before summer term starts, I've had the chance to get some good hard training in. Last Wednesday, I did the south mountain loop in which I ride south past the new Draper Temple, up and over the blistering Traverse Ridge road down into Utah County and back past point of the mountain on the frontage road into Salt Lake. It was a 2 1/2 hour ride with a brutal head wind the entire way back. I was pretty spent by the end of the ride when I flatted 4 blocks from my house. Since I was so close, I just decided to walk barefoot the rest of the way, leaving my shoes clipped to my pedals (it's extremely awkward to walk on concrete in bike shoes). No more than 30 seconds after I started walking, a nice couple pulled up next to me in a minivan and asked if I needed a ride. I thanked them and told them I was only a couple blocks from my house. After they drove off, I got to thinking what a great place Utah is. I've ridden my bike all over the world and the United States, and I can safely say that the people of Utah are the most caring and compassionate people I've ever been around. There have been times when I've been stranded in the middle of nowhere after flatting on my bike, and there is always someone willing to lend a hand. One such time was a few years ago on the west side of Utah lake. I flatted and couldn't get my flat fixed, so I started walking. Within minutes, a couple guys drove by in their pickup and offered to give me a ride all the way back to Provo. I have never experienced a kinder, more caring population in any other state of this great union. While I'm not a native of Utah, and home still means Nevada to me, I love this state and the people in it. So here's to Utah! The state with the best economy in the nation, lowest unemployment, most stable real estate market, and most charitable people on God's green earth. I couldn't be more grateful for the great people of this great state.