Day 15: Brigham City to Logan

May 22, 2022

Today is a short day but it has a 1500 foot climb. My first mountain climb in several days. On the road at 10:15. I don't want to look straight at the sun while pedaling east through the canyon.

The morning was cold and sunny with light wind. On the way out of Brigham City I stopped to take a photo of the temple with morning sun shining on the front of the temple. Still awestruck at how the new temple manages to look so old.

Brigham City Temple with morning sun on the front.

Then I turned left onto US 89 and started climbing in a canyon. Today I cross the northernmost Wasatch range.

Starting the canyon climb on US 89 with a never-visible creek below on the right.

US 89 climbs 1500 feet but the grade is only 3%. It's a 4-lane controlled access freeway, with a wide paved shoulder. I expected traffic to be light on Sunday, but traffic was incredibly heavy. It must be even worse on weekdays.

I took the Mantua exit to see a quaint little town and escape the busy highway for a couple miles.

House in the mountain village of Mantua. Extensive heater wiring on the roof to melt ice.

Mantua is 1000 feet higher than Logan in a forested valley surrounded by mountains. Nice place.

The sky was mostly clear in the morning but clouds started building rapidly at about noon. The high temperature was 63F at about noon. Then the temperature dropped all afternoon.

I had a flat tire very near the summit. 2nd flat of the tour. The wind was so strong that it was cold while stopped to repair the flat.

The unmarked summit is 5924 feet (1806 m) elevation.

Relatively forested in the sheltered canyon.

The final part of the descent has panoramic views of the Cache Valley below and the Bear River range in the distance. It would look even better if the sun was shining.

Cache Valley below. Bear River Range in the distance.

Logan is a big town. Population 52,000. It's a major college town, home of Utah State University which has a huge agriculture school. The Cache Valley is Utah's "breadbasket", a major producer of grain, fruit, and dairy thanks to an abundant water supply from the Bear river. In recent years Logan has been the fastest-growing metro area in the nation but there's still a lot of interesting history on display.

Logan Tabernacle was built from 1865-1891. Another historic tabernacle that I didn't know about in advance. It's in the midst of a major renovation. I've lost count of how many temples and tabernacles I've seen with scaffolding.

Logan Temple is the 2nd oldest existing LDS temple, dedicated in 1884. Only the St. George Temple is older. It's an impressively tall and bulky pile of carefully fitted stones.

Logan Temple has far more and larger windows than the newer temples. The temple was built from 1877 to 1884, long before Logan had electric lights. I can hardly comprehend building such a large and grand structure with hand tools during the pioneer era when most people were preoccupied with not starving.

Logan Temple was built from 1877 to 1884.

I spotted a bike rack on my way out of Logan Temple. The only bike rack I noticed while pedaling to 12 temples.

I arrived at the Best Western Plus motel at 3:50 PM. It was cold and windy. It rained lightly from 5-7 PM, the only rain of the tour. I was glad to be off the road. Dinner was at Burger King next door. I didn't want to go any farther in the rain, and most of the "real" restaurants are closed on Sunday.

Fortunately the rain ended before my magic hour walk. The walk was still very cold. Temperature in the 40's, very windy.

Pioneer sculpture on the grounds of Logan Tabernacle.

The Tabernacle is tricky to photograph without showing the scaffolding or the construction fence.

Logan Tabernacle above the construction fence.

The gate was closed at Logan Temple, so my night photos were taken from outside the fence. That's not a problem because the temple is so big that you need to be far away to get a good perspective.

The green areas near the top of the stonework appears to be epoxy holding together crumbling stones. I imagine that Logan Temple is next on the restoration list after Manti temple restoration is completed.

My last evening photo was at the historic Cache County courthouse across from my motel. The sky was nearly dark. The very end of the magic hour.

Historic Cache County courthouse and a war memorial with eternal flame.

It was a good day despite the cold cloudy weather. A scenic mountain climb. Another peak Mormon town with an amazing historic temple. Another evening of magic hour photos.

Distance: 28 mi. (45 km)
Average Speed: 8.3 mph (13.3 km/h)
Ascent/Descent: +1788/-1663 ft. (+545/-507 m)
Miles 517-543 on the route map

Today's ride: 28 miles (45 km)
Total: 611 miles (983 km)

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