Dear Friends,
Sorry for the delay! We have been enjoying ourselves way too much. I hope you caught some of our video in Utah, so much has happened since then. Utah was truly spectacular. The array of rock formations with vibrant colors of red, pink, and orange has been truly breathtaking. Utah was also hot as all hell (temp). Had it not been for the stunning mesas and rust colored plateaus, we may have dared to liken it to the barren terrain of Nevada. Our route in Utah took us through amazing National Parks. We cycled through Cedar Breaks National Park, where we got Junior Park Ranger status thanks to a friendly Ranger we met named Janice. I (Noah) sort of have a crush on Park Rangers! They are just so versatile.....Anyways, We then made our way through Bryce Canyon National Park where we continued to see amazing scenery and meet more Park Rangers. I think our favorite National Park was Capital Reef. We got to pick fresh Mulberries from the many orchards in the park, and John got about 20ft from a family of deer! It was at this point where Utah got very hot and very mentally and physically challenging. We biked in about 120 degree heat down near Lake Powell, which is an offshoot of the Colorado River and had to spend about 5 hours out of the sun just to keep on riding! Luckily, we met up with a new cyclist named Gunner! Gunner lives in California and has been jammin with us for a couple of days. Due to the fact that Southwest Utah is so desolate and barren, there is not a lot of places to get water and camp out. We learned that the heat takes a dramatic toll not only on your body as your water intake must be drastically increased, but also on our minds. The oppressive heat does some funky things to your psyche when you ride in it for eighth hours a day. Due to lack of campgrounds, and long mileage between towns, John, Gunner, and I had to camp out on the side of the road in Utah! It was quite the experience. The thing that was great about it is that we got to ride for the first time in the evening! The sun created amazing silhouettes on the mountains and the sunset was truly memorable. When we reached our "stealth" campsite John ran into a baby rattle snake under Gunner's tent. I clearly stayed in the tent and let them deal with it. I'm afraid of snacks and from LA. Lets be serious! After that little scare, the stars came out and it seemed as though we could see every one! We had a little dinner and made sure we didn't run out of water. Sleeping on the side of the road is something we don't recommend, but it had to be done!
Now, as i write we are in "colorful Colorado" Baby!
We are currently over 1,200 miles from our original starting destination in San Francisco and today marks the completion of our third week on the road. Today we did just over 82 miles from Blanding, UT into Delores, CO. You have no idea how truly lovely it is to see trees, lakes, and river beds with water actually flowing through them. We start our day tomorrow with a forty mile ascent to 10,220 ft. Just a day in the life of a touring cyclist. We love and miss you all. Your words of wisdom and comments of support are always nice for John and I to read after a long day of riding, so thank you all.
Johnny and Noah---aka SAUL
P.S. I am still trying to find a good Jewish Deli, but no luck so far. As a result, Mexican food will have to do!
4 comments:
Way to go guys. I can't believe you "stealth-camped" in that Hite-to-Blanding section. That must have been awesome. I was in too much of a hurry to make it out of there alive but I don't remember seeing even any shade. That section rivals Fallon-to-Austin on the "desolation index".
Ok, so if it's Monday, and you're in Dolores, I'll bet you made it to Telluride on Tuesday night. I hope you went there. That is one funky, ritzy, upscale, hippie, all of the above, little town. You might be able to camp in the park at the end of town but you should know that this week is the annual "Blue Grass Festival" in Telluride and they may not have any room.
It's Tuesday night for me and I'm in Gunnison. On the ride from Montrose to Gunnison, I noticed a lot of really nice looking campgrounds outside of Montrose towards Gunnison. I don't remember how far outside of Montrose they are, but you might want to check them out. Or, you can stay at the Black Canyon Motel (very nice) in Montrose and have dinner at the "all you can eat" Chinese buffet across the street from the Super-8. Not bad, but not quite up to what you'd expect at the food court on Bush Street in San Francisco. Note that the climbs out of Montrose are tougher than the elevation profile makes them appear. Also, early in the morning, there was an in-your-face headwind for the first 15 miles.
Even though I'm maybe 2 days ahead of you, I know I'll be seeing you soon.
Mike
im so proud of you guys! I wanna hear some more about ur dilusional-dehydrated stories.
And would it kill ya to post some pictures. I need to see ur cute little faces!!
Love and luck to you boys..
hey Noah, my house is open to you and your buddy if you ride through Kansas. My mom will make y'all some good food, you can go swimming, and sleep in a bed for a change. 940-390-6246
love,
Curry
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