The climb out of cedar city utah was pretty tough. It was 4000 feet over 16 miles, including a cool ride through a dark canyon. The view at the top overlooking Zion National Park was excellent. There were many people parked at the scenic overlook that asked about our group, and they were nice enough to take group pictures.
The rest of the day was just plain fun. We descended past snowbanks to much warmer temperatures and a nice tailwind. We ended our day cruising through the Red Canyon portion of Bryce National Park. There was an optional loop that some decided to ride at the end through another part of the park. I opted not to do the loop due to some pain developing in the saddle region. We went back later in the vans which was super sweet. The rock formations were breathtaking. They were so large and clearly shaped by the elements.
I took some pictures but they really cannot capture the beauty of this area, especially at sunset.
Just when I thought the scenery could not get any more spectacular, we headed toward Boulder, Utah. We had fairly flat terrain until a steep climb up to an overlook of Powell Plateau.
We then cruised down to a river through a gorgeous red rock canyon. Along the way we met two German people that were cycling from Miami to San Francisco. They were 2 and a half months and 4000 miles in. They carried all of their gear and their bikes weighed quite a bit as you can imagine. They warned us that the climb out of the canyon would be steep and it was. We took the picture below at the top. We had a home stay in Boulder and were very thankful for the large dinner that our family provided.
I was on support the following day from Boulder to Hanksville Utah. We passed through Capitol Reef National Park where we had the misfortune of receiving two tickets. The first was for spray painting arrows on the road to indicate our route, and the second was for having an organized event in the park. I guess that a group having lunch counts as an organized event. Everyone contributed a few dollars to cover the fines. Oh well, we will use chalk from now on.
The next day started off well. We left Hanksville after talking with a group of elementary school students about making healthy choices in terms of eating and physical activity. The ride started down hill to an overlook of Lake Powell.
After lunch, the wind kicked up and the route was pretty much all uphill. The sun also warmed things up a bit and we were all feeling pretty dry. In the end, it ended up being just over 100 miles for the day. Cory, who was on support, then suggested that we do a hike to one of the natural bridges in the area. I reluctantly decided to join the others but was glad that I did. In the picture below, you can see the bridge on the left.
The area where we were that night is also known for being one of the darkest areas at night which is perfect for stargazing. I slept outside once again and had the stars to put me to sleep, not that I needed any help.
So much more to blog about. We will be cruising into Telluride tomorrow so I should have more time to update and communicate with the rest of the world.
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