Leggo My Ego...uh, I mean My Logo!

So Mike asked me to design a log for the Temple to Temple Ride. He asked me to design one for the Temple to Temple 2 years ago. Now, I have seen many bicycling event jerseys, and most of them look like the cars in Nascar events. The names of sponsors and clip art images cover every inch of them. They serve a purpose. They can be viewed from any direction, and the sponsor's name will be seen.
It is rare to find a jersey that is memorable for its design. The only thing that might set one apart from another is the name of the sponsor. The cyclists I know don't seem too concerned about this, as long as the jersey fits, and wicks moisture away.
If I am going to design something, I don't want it to look like all the other jerseys. This is not just any bike ride. Two years ago, I designed something that would catch people's attention, that would get conversations going, that people would remember as different. When Mike showed it to the other riders, Mark and other Mike, there were suggestions for adding some other clip art elements. I told Mike that if they wanted to design the jersey, they could, and I would just take my design and go home.
No ego involved at all.
But here's the deal. You know what you get when a biker designs a jersey? You get a jersey that looks like it was designed by a biker.
They decided to use my design.
And, other than the colors not being what I ordered, it turned out okay. It got conversations going with people all along the way. It was also memorable. The other Mike was on a long bike ride the other day wearing that jersey. Some other bikers saw him and said, "Hey, didn't we see you two years ago when you were biking to Utah?" They remembered the jersey.
This time I had more notice, and have been working on sketches and designs for a while. I finally got the artwork the way I wanted it, scanned it into photoshop, and Mike helped me get it all ready to send to the jersey company. Under the main logo I listed all the temples Mike will be riding to, including the ones he will ride to this fall on a second epic ride this year. We emailed it to Mark and other Mike to see it.
A little background information...Four years ago mike was preparing to ride the Triple Bypass, a 120 mike event that goes over 3 mountain passes. He had registered and picked up his packet with the event jersey in it. A few weeks before the event he was in a bike race where another rider cut him off, he swerved and hit a box of water bottles, flew off and broke his collarbone. He was not able to ride the Triple on the day of the event. But he refused to wear the jersey until he had healed, and then ridden the entire course on another day. I know he rode the whole course because I followed in the car to support him. After that he wore the jersey proudly. I did not know this was a hard and fast rule for bikers - Thou shalt not wear the event jersey until you have ridden the event course. I just thought Mike was dealing with an undetected head injury and I was humoring him.
Apparently it is a hard and fast rule for bikers.
Mike, Mark and other Mike were concerned because I had listed all of the temples on the jersey design, but only Mike was going to be riding to all of the temples. The others needed to have only the temples they were riding to listed on their jerseys. And instead of saying Temple to Temple to Temple to Temple to Temple, they wanted theirs to just say Temple to Temple since they were just going from the Logan to the Billings Temple. I'm thinking, "Wait a minute. People wear concert tour t-shirts even if they haven't been to all the cities listed on the shirt. These guys are riding the longest part of the ride. What's the big deal?.....And besides, it will mess up the design. MY design."
Like I said, no ego involved at all.
Since the love of my life is into the whole Ride the Course So You Are Worthy of the Jersey thing, I was willing to compromise. Especially since he helped me with all the photoshopping. So each rider will get the jersey they will earn. I was going to be snarky and add some fine print at the bottom. Something like "By wearing this jersey I promise that I will personally ride every inch of the way from Logan to Billings. If I don't I will forfeit this jersey and my bike because I am obviously not worthy of either." But I couldn't get it to work with the design, so I didn't. Again, no ego involved here.
By the way, I will be wearing the jersey with all the temples listed. I will either be riding the tandem to them, or driving the support vehicle, so I am earning it.
So here is the jersey logo. I hope you like it. If you don't, don't tell me. I am very protective of my ego, uh, I mean my logo.

Temple to Temple to Temple to Temple...

Mike likes bikes.
No, this is not a quote from a Dr. Suess book.
Mike loves riding his road bike, and our tandem. He loves having a long ride to look forward to. He has ridden the Lotoja (210 miles in one day) several times. He rides the Triple Bypass (126 miles, 3 mountain passes) every year. But his favorite ride to train for is whatever epic ride he is planning and arranging at the moment.
Two years ago he and 2 friends, Mike and Mark planned a week long ride from the Denver Temple to the Salt Lake Temple. I drove the support vehicle. I designed their "Temple to Temple" jerseys, and those became conversation starters wherever we stopped. Our dog Sam was a great cheering section. Mike has been looking forward to another epic ride since then. So Mike, Mike and Mark have been planning another Temple to Temple ride for July. This time they will take a week to ride from the Logan Utah Temple to the Billings Montana Temple, by way of Jackson, Grand Teton National Park, and Yellowstone National Park.
Sounds pretty straight forward.
I don't think so.
My sister will be in Utah visiting from Australia, in July, the week before the Temple to Temple. We will be there for some family events. So Mike thought, "Hey, why not ride from the Salt Lake Temple to the Logan Temple on Saturday?" Then he remembered we will be staying at my mom's house in Provo. So he thought, "Hey, why not ride from Provo Temple to the Salt Lake Temple on Friday, and stop by each of the temples in between on the way?"
Hey, why not?
So the Temple to Temple has turned into the Temple to Temple to Temple to Temple...
Then I started training to ride a century on the tandem with Mike. And I thought, "Hey, why not ride the tandem on that first day? We could support ourselves. After that I can drive the support vehicle."
So we have been planning the route to ride from the Provo Temple to the Mount Timpanogas Temple to the Draper Temple to the Oquirrh Temple to the Jordan River Temple to the Salt Lake Temple. Many of these have some significance for us.
Then Mike thought, "Hey, there are many places in between the temples that are meaningful to us. Why not plan the route so we go by some of those?"
Why not?
And why not invite any family and friends who might be in Utah to join us for any part of the ride?
So here is the basic plan:
Friday, July 15th we will leave on the tandem from the Provo Temple at 7 a.m. We will follow surface roads to the temples I mentioned above. We will be taking a less direct route between the Jordan River and Salt Lake Temples. We will go by Dad's grave to invite him along, go by parks and grandparents houses that were a big part of childhood, maybe swing by the "This is the Place"monument before coasting down to the Salt Lake Temple.
Then on Saturday Mike will leave from the Salt Lake Temple ride to the Bountiful Temple, then along the bench through our Farmington neighborhood, then through Layton past the historic house we restored, up past the Ogden Temple, then the Brigham City Temple construction site and past the place where Mike was born, through gorgeous Sardine Canyon to the Logan Temple.
You are welcome to join us, or wave at us or cheer us on. We will be posting updates. If you want more specific details, message me on facebook (Jody England Hansen) and I will put you on the email blast.
Why are we doing this ride?
There is a wonderful freedom when you are on a bike. You can go almost anywhere, and see things in more detail. It is slower than driving, but not too slow. It is quiet, and easy to talk with others. I especially like the connection that you can have with the people and creatures around you, as well as an awareness of where you are. I have so many ancestors and family who walked through or lived in these places. Riding through them is another way to experience a bond with heritage that helped make me.
Hey, why not?