I did the Canyon Rim to Swett Ranch Loop ride in the heat of the day and nearly killed myself. The ride was a lot longer and harder than I thought or else I was just depleted from a weekend of camping fun. I started out on the Swett Ranch Loop which was supposed to be a pretty easy 6 miles on gentle flowing dirt roads and doubletrack. Tack on a little backtracking mishap in the beginning and an extra mile to check out the Swett Ranch (which is a must see) and the 6 mile loop turned into an 8 mile loop that took me a solid 2 hours to finish. The climb out from Swett Ranch and around the loop was a consistent uphill grind that seemed harder than it should have.
After the loop, I still had to finish off another 4 1/2 miles of singletrack back to the Red Canyon Visitor's Center where Mary and the dogs were waiting. The bouncing, bumpy, rocky singletrack took me another hour to finish, landing me back at the car well behind my projected total ride time of 2 hours. I think I would try this ride again under better circumstances, and it might be quite enjoyable. Notes for next time - start earlier in the day, start with fresh legs, and drink more water!
Total Distance: 12.5 miles
Total Elevation: 1,840 feet
Total Time: 3:05 hours
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