Weekly Newsletter: May 19th-26th, 2025

Happy birthday to Keith! 🎂 🎉This week, Keith turned 45. We celebrated with an action-packed week of training rides, pizza, cake, and scenic mountain drives.

Check out our new posts and videos 🆕 🎥 📝

Part 10: Before and After the Camino: Amsterdam, Porto, and Paris Adventures

Keith and Lindsey were able to explore two extra cities while traveling to the Camino. They had layovers in Amsterdam and Paris! They took advantage of the time to explore these iconic cities.

Keith and LindseyLindsey Huster

Happy birthday, Keith! 🎂 🎉

Keith turned 45 this week! Lindsey surprised Keith with an awesome collage of photos from this year that formed the number "45". She also bought an amazing chocolate cake. What a treat!

For his birthday, Keith wants to go to a fancy dinner while we are in Banff, AB before the start of the Tour Divide race. So, he wanted to keep it low-key this week. We headed back to Brick Oven in Provo, UT to try out their pizza. We visited this restaurant once before to try to the pasta buffet. The pasta was delicious but the smell of the pizza enticed us to return.

Park City gravel loop XL 🚵‍♂️ 🚀

Keith has been getting burned out with training on the same basic rides over and over again. So, to break up the monotony, Keith packed up his bike and headed over to the Park City, UT area to ride one of his favorite local gravel loops. On previous rides, Keith had started much farther north on the loop. This time however, he found a section of trail that connects the main loop to a much closer parking area near the Mayflower area of Deer Valley resort.

The main loop he planned to ride was right around 60 miles (97 kilometers) which put the entire route close to 80 miles (129 kilometers). Keith's bike was loaded down with everything he plans to take on the actual Tour Divide race, minus the bear spray. 🐻 This made for an excellent training ride!

The trail conditions were smooth and fast. Keith made excellent time along the route between Park City, Coalville, and eventually Henefer. Keith stopped for lunch at a local geological landmark, The Witches, just south of Henefer to fuel up before the big climb of the day. Keith then climbed to the top of the East Canyon pass before descending to East Canyon State Park. Keith crushed the climb in just over 30 minutes without feeling like he had to exert himself all that much. 😅

After the descent, Keith breezed through the nearly 10 mile (16 kilometer) dirt road section of Jeremy Ranch Road. This section used to be very difficult for Keith due to multiple steep, punchy climbs. However, Keith's strength and muscular endurance has significantly improved over the past year of training. All that remained afterwards was a smooth ride along the bike paths through Park City, eventually returning to the starting point.

Catching Up with Friends

Lindsey spent Saturday catching up with a couple of friends. They had brunch at Marmalade Brunch House in Salt Lake City. Not only is the food top notch, but the plating presentation is so pretty and the atmosphere is perfect for a girls day. There was a lot to chat about, including Anna's continued recovery from surgery on her foot and Stephanie's trip to visit Utah's "Mighty 5" National Parks: Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, Zion, and Capitol Reef.

After brunch, they went to the Salt Lake City Main Library to check out the newly renovated rooftop terrace. It is impressive with the park-like atmosphere, 360-degree views of the city, and the mountain view. Inside the library is also quite stunning. The entry is grand with an atrium of glass, a few small shops, and, of course, a large selection of books. They spent some time strolling around each level, exploring the library.

Next, they walked to the nearby State and Church Marketplace where Stephanie bought some books and decor for the bookshelves she's building. On the same block is Doki Doki, a Japanese dessert shop. Lindsey suggested the taiyaki waffles, a fish-shaped filled dessert she's had before and loved. Everyone tried different flavors and enjoyed this treat. They also got to see someone else order the fluffy pancakes, a definite must-do for next time. It was a super fun day filled with lots of laughs, and all agreed that they hadn't laughed so hard in a long time!

Sunday drive through the mountains 🛣️ ⛰️

On Sunday, we jumped in the Jeep and headed for the mountains. The seasonal mountain passes have finally opened so it was time for us to enjoy these amazing roads.

Driving over Guardsman Pass 🏔️🎿

We started our journey by heading up Big Cottonwood Canyon to cross over Guardsman Pass towards Park City, UT. This route is a local favorite of ours. We made a quick pit stop at Brighton Resort before ascending Guardsman Pass. There is still quite a lot of snow at the upper elevations but it is melting fast!

Walking through Park City 🚶 📸

After a couple of hours in the Jeep, it was time to take a break and stretch our legs. We stopped in downtown Park City, UT to enjoy the local shops and people watch. We rarely buy anything in Park City because everything is so expensive. However, it is still fun to window shop and enjoy the small, mountain town charm.

Lunch at Buon Appetito 🍝 😋

We started to get hungry from our walk around Park City, UT. So, we decided to head to a seafood/Mexican restaurant in Heber City, UT. However, when we arrived, the restaurant had changed names and wasn't open. Fortunately, there was a local Italian restaurant just down the road; Buon Appetito.

The service was a little slow but the food was amazing! Keith ordered the Spaghetti and Meatballs (of course 😆) and Lindsey ordered the Pasta Primavera. We shared a large Caesar Salad as a starter. The salad and the pasta dishes were elegantly displayed and the taste was just as good as the presentation.

Driving and hiking Cascade Springs 🛣️ 🥾

To wrap up the day, we headed back up into the mountains once again. This time, we drove Cascade Springs Road up to the Alpine Loop Road in American Fork Canyon. Lindsey has not been up this road since it has been paved so this was a totally new experience for her. Keith had recently climbed this road on his bike so he was overly familiar with the route.

The valley views from this road are incredible! It seems as though you can see forever. Lindsey was also amazed that Keith was able to ride his bike up this 12-mile (19-kilometer) climb. She told him, "now you are one of the crazy people riding your bike up mountains like this." 🤣

Along the way, we chose to make a quick stop to hike the Cascade Springs Interpretive Trail. We have talked about hiking this short trail many times but never actually did it. Today was finally the day and this small trail did not disappoint. The springs are huge and much more incredible to see than either of us could have imagined.

Upcoming posts and videos 👷‍ 👷‍♀️️

Lindsey has wrapped up her work on the post series from our three-week adventure along the Camino De Santiago, Portuguese Route! Be sure to check those posts out. We also have several prior trips that we haven't yet shared, so be sure to subscribe to our blog if you haven't done so already.

Soon, we will be taking a break from our weekly newsletters and posts. We will be traveling for several weeks for Keith's attempt at the 2025 Tour Divide race. Lindsey's mom will also be flying out to accompany Lindsey on a portion of her road trip back from Banff, AB. We will have LOTS to write about once the race is over so subscribe to our blog so that you don't miss out.

We hope that you are enjoying our newsletters. Spring is officially here, and summer is just around the corner! Do you have any summer vacation plans coming up? Let us know in the comments section below.👇 💬