pain, suffering, and patio party part II

Although the artist, the cousin, and the robot, and I have all tried at different times this past season to climb Butterfield Canyon, for one reason, disaster, misfortune, or another, none of us had succeeded in our efforts. I only went along on one of the attempts, but we turned around about three miles up the canyon because we didn't have enough time to go any further. The others weren't so lucky. Tire blow outs, torrential downpours, and other prohibitive conditions thwarted each effort. So today we determined to climb Butterfield Canyon. I had read up a little on it a year or two ago when i was commuting to Tooele to see if it was a viable option to riding around the point by Saltair, but nothing i read prepared me for what i encountered, and last time i rode the first three miles i didn't think much of it. I didn't realize that we had turned around right before the grade kicks up to 16-17%. I had heard that there were some steep sections, but i didn't realize how steep, how long.
Today i was tired (stayed up too late) and not feeling well (turns out that your body reacts pretty adversely to deep-fried food when it's not a regular part of your diet. I made some fried stuffed jalapeños last night, and they weren't treating me too well this morning). At any rate, the combination kicked my ass. After grinding up the 16-17% grade for a half mile i was ready to stop and turn around. Had there been even 100 ft. more of that grade i would have been done, but fortunately i made it to the switchback where it eases up a little.
"Ease up a little" is all relative, however, because the last three miles of the canyon are still a consistent 8-12% grade. I swore a lot, but stayed on the bike to the top, exhausted, beat, and hoping that i feel a lot better next weekend for Lotoja.

The Canyon crew was coming up just as we started down. Here a couple of them on the very last kicker before the top.

Finished out the day with Patio Party part duex. Judith's Quinceañera x2 (she turns 30) is coming up and i was nominated padron del salon. I accepted as long as some people agreed to come and help finish up the patio so the guests weren't tripping over stacked flagstones. We didn't quite finish, but we did get a lot done. After a few good hours of work we pulled peppers and tomatos from the garden and made chile rellenos. It's only been two years since i started the patio, but i'll get it done soon enough.

Thanks again everyone for your help!