For Memorial Day weekend, a few members of the unrivaled crew and I got our hands on some drift trikes. With minimal trike-on-road experience, we decided the best thing to do was to hit up Emigration Canyon. Go big or go home, right? We tossed the trikes in the back of a pickup and headed to the canyon across town.
Upon our ascent, an atypical amount of cyclists and motorists became apparent. We were going to have some company on the way down, and unfortunately our low-slung tricycles would not be easily visible. Not to be deterred, we continued upwards and soon reached Little Mountain Summit. After enjoying the view (albeit briefly), we grabbed our trikes. It was drift-o’clock and we weren’t about wasting time.
Faced with the seven and a half mile stretch of winding road, we buckled our helmets and pushed off. The first section was the steepest, featuring long descending grades with a few sharper switchbacks. This was a great spot for some trikers to realize that their brakes… had broke. A quick pit stop was made to assess the damage, and it was decided that ‘brakes only slow you down,’ so we journeyed on.
The drifting didn’t come easy; if we got a little too sideways, we were already going backwards. And with long “adult-sized” legs, it was difficult to get a lot of steering angle. But with almost no rear grip, stepping the rear out was a breeze, and if nothing else, a fun way to scrub off some speed.
Blasting through the rest of the run was smooth sailing. We hit the odd flat section or slight uphill that required some serious pedaling to keep speed up, but it was manageable. As traffic picked up towards the bottom, we became obstacles for the cyclists and drivers. We stuck to the shoulder when possible, encumbered by the gravel and rocks that littered it. The lower we made it, the mellower our course. My only close call was when I was passed by a cyclist who was simultaneously passed by a car, all at the same time my shoulder was ending. Nothing like going three-wide on the home straight!
Eventually we reached the canyon’s end which signaled the finish to our run. I really had a lot of fun—it was a great way to kick off the weekend. Speaking of… when are we doing this again, guys..?