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| Nancy on top of Lizard Head Pass |
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Lizard Head Pass
Yesterday I did not ride with Dana and Lisa from Dolores to the campground near Rico, CO because I needed to move things from our RV to Fran's since yesterday was the day for Steve to head back home to Oregon. I will certainly miss him and the "luxury" of having our own RV to stay in. However, it will be fun to be in with Dana and Fran. I was sorry to miss the ride as I know from making the drive that it was spectacular and not difficult, and that it would have been great to see it from the slowness of a bike.
Today we rode over Lizard Head Pass via Telluride to Placerville. This was an amazingly easy climb to 10,222 feet. The descent was somewhat marred by the poor condition of the road and the traffic. Also, there was a bit more difficult climb of a few hundred feet shortly after we climbed Lizard Head Pass. All in all this was a very easy day. We had time in the afternoon to drive back to Telluride, spend a bit of time wandering around, and riding the gondola.
TWO BEAUTIFUL DAYS IN COLORADO
After our first day in Colorado--yuck--things made a turn for the better. On Monday-Dana and Lisa rode 40 miles up past Rico. What a fantastic beautiful ride. 40 miles of gradual climbing following the Doloros River up the entire way with a smooth road surface.
Just as we entered Rico rain came for 10 minutes-but we were able to get under cover. We heard that the rain had followed us up the road but missed us and had been up ahead but ended before we arrived.
Leaving town I heard a high pitched bark--I had been hearing it on and off all during the last few days. Finally I decided I had to stop. I looked over and saw a mound with 5 marmots sunning themselves just looking at me. I spent a few minutes just talking to the little critters. I thought at the time they were giant prarie dogs--but they were actually marmots. Now marmots and Prarie Dogs tie for my favorite critters.
We camped in a forest service camp with electricity in a beautiful location.
The next day we finished our climb over Lizard Head Pass. 10,222 feet. Easiest climb you would ever wish for. I got up to the summit ate something and then decided to ride back down and come up with Nancy. The descent was fast but the road surface was bad but it was an easy day into Placerville. We had time to enjoy two fantastic meals and also go to Telluride and ride the free Gondola.
Just as we entered Rico rain came for 10 minutes-but we were able to get under cover. We heard that the rain had followed us up the road but missed us and had been up ahead but ended before we arrived.
Leaving town I heard a high pitched bark--I had been hearing it on and off all during the last few days. Finally I decided I had to stop. I looked over and saw a mound with 5 marmots sunning themselves just looking at me. I spent a few minutes just talking to the little critters. I thought at the time they were giant prarie dogs--but they were actually marmots. Now marmots and Prarie Dogs tie for my favorite critters.
We camped in a forest service camp with electricity in a beautiful location.
The next day we finished our climb over Lizard Head Pass. 10,222 feet. Easiest climb you would ever wish for. I got up to the summit ate something and then decided to ride back down and come up with Nancy. The descent was fast but the road surface was bad but it was an easy day into Placerville. We had time to enjoy two fantastic meals and also go to Telluride and ride the free Gondola.
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| Dana on top of Lizard Head Pass |
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| Lizard Head |
Sunday, August 29, 2010
We're in Colorado!
We have about a 35 mile ride to Rico, CO tomorrow. We will climb, but hopefully not have the wind we had today. We will be "dry" camping for the next few days so will not have internet access. Also, Steve's last day with us is tomorrow, so I will be moving my stuff to Fran's RV.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Last Day in Utah
Tonight will be our last night in Utah. We cross the border into Colorado tomorrow. We have all travelled many of the roads by car that we have travelled the last several days by bike, but I think we appreciated even more by bike the beauty of this state. We have been fortunate that we were here at a time the sunflowers were in bloom. They grow wild along the highways and sometimes we've seen whole fields of them as we've ridden past. We have been through Zion, Bryce, Natural Bridges, Glen Canyon, Escalante, and today Canyonlands. We have seen Lake Powell and crossed the Colorado River. Dana and her mom Fran drove a bit south of the Utah border into Arizona to see the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Our trip has really only just begun and we have seen and felt so much of this beautiful country of ours. It has not been easy. We have endured extreme heat and climbed lots of mountains, but none of us would trade this experience for the comforts of home.
Today was somewhat of a rest day. We only rode a little over 23 miles from Blanding to Monticello, UT. Most of the ride was climbing (we climbed over 2000 feet), but it was fairly gradual, and with only 23 miles we were in Monticello before noon. Dana, Fran and I went into the southern entrance to Canyonlands. Dana and I have both hiked there before, but Fran had never been there. To us Canyonlands is one of America's most beautiful parks, and for some reason (probably it's remoteness from any freeway) is one of the least visited. Lisa decided to treat herself to a night in a motel (she has been tent camping most of the trip) and had dinner on her own (she was looking forward to a Taco Time burrito!). Dana, Fran, Steve & I fixed dinner and ate in the RV; we are getting a bit tired of eating out every night and really enjoyed a home cooked meal. We also watched old John Wayne movies.
Tomorrow we will cross the border into Colorado where we will have more mountains to climb and more spectacular scenery.
Today was somewhat of a rest day. We only rode a little over 23 miles from Blanding to Monticello, UT. Most of the ride was climbing (we climbed over 2000 feet), but it was fairly gradual, and with only 23 miles we were in Monticello before noon. Dana, Fran and I went into the southern entrance to Canyonlands. Dana and I have both hiked there before, but Fran had never been there. To us Canyonlands is one of America's most beautiful parks, and for some reason (probably it's remoteness from any freeway) is one of the least visited. Lisa decided to treat herself to a night in a motel (she has been tent camping most of the trip) and had dinner on her own (she was looking forward to a Taco Time burrito!). Dana, Fran, Steve & I fixed dinner and ate in the RV; we are getting a bit tired of eating out every night and really enjoyed a home cooked meal. We also watched old John Wayne movies.
Tomorrow we will cross the border into Colorado where we will have more mountains to climb and more spectacular scenery.
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| An Unusual Rock Formation in theMiddle of a Field of Daisies on the way to Canyonlands National Park |
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| Dana, Fran and Nancy at Canyonlands National Park |
Rest Day-Sort of??
After the last few days we all decided we needed a rest day. So we rode 22 easy miles to Monticello, Utah and then rested. An easy ride with cool temps and tail winds for a change.
Steve, Callie the Cat and Moe the Dog all really rested. Patches stood guard. Dana, Fran and Nancy drove up to Canyonlands. My favorite National Park. If you have not been there it has all the National Parks of Utah rolled up into one.
On the subject of favorites here is what I have discovered. Shoes--Bontrager RXL. Shorts--Sugoi RS.
I was also thinking about all the critters we have seen. Deer, Bison, Utah Prarie Dogs (I live for Prarie Dogs) Yellow Bellied Marmot, Prong horned Antelope.
Tomorrow into Colorado. I have never ridden in Colorado so looking forward to that new adventure.
Steve, Callie the Cat and Moe the Dog all really rested. Patches stood guard. Dana, Fran and Nancy drove up to Canyonlands. My favorite National Park. If you have not been there it has all the National Parks of Utah rolled up into one.
On the subject of favorites here is what I have discovered. Shoes--Bontrager RXL. Shorts--Sugoi RS.
I was also thinking about all the critters we have seen. Deer, Bison, Utah Prarie Dogs (I live for Prarie Dogs) Yellow Bellied Marmot, Prong horned Antelope.
Tomorrow into Colorado. I have never ridden in Colorado so looking forward to that new adventure.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Riding Through Utah
Because I have not had internet access the last few days I've kept a daily journal which I am uploading:
August 25, 2010 – Capitol Reef National Park
What a great ride today. Lisa left before us because she wanted to do the ride past the Mormon settlement deeper into the park. Steve and I drove it last night and I had driven and hiked it last summer; Dana had also done it fairly recently. It is a spectacular ride/drive and should not be missed, but neither Dana nor I wanted to ride it this morning. Dana and I left Torrey a little after 8 AM and rode the highway through the park. What a beautiful ride. We had a tail wind most of the way. We did stop at the Visitor’s Center after a GREAT decent, then continued on. My bike worked perfectly!
We took another break about 20 miles west of Hanksville. We were stopped along side the road and the manager of the Rodeway Inn across the highway invited us to sit on a bench under a big tree in front of the motel. As we were sitting there we saw Steve drive by (he had no way of knowing we were on the “wrong” side of the road); that was no problem as we only had 20 miles left to Hanksville. We talked with the lady from Rodeway a bit, filled our water bottles with ice from Rodeway’s ice machine, then headed towards Hanksville. We got into Hanksville a little after noon. The ride was a beautiful and easy 47 miles.
When we went to dinner the cover of the menu stated we were close to “Goblin Valley National Park”. Having never heard of it we were curious and asked our waitress where it was. She said it was about 30 minutes north of Hanksville, so Dana, Steve and I decided to drive up there and check it out. What was billed on the menu as a “national park” turned out to be a state park, but what a state park! There was a whole valley of rock structures that looked like goblins. Apparently this valley is so unique that there is nothing else like it anywhere. It was truly a worthwhile drive through and to beautiful and unusual landscape.
August 26, 2010 – A Spectacular Ride Through Glen Canyon
Today was another beautiful ride! We headed south out of Hanksville through red rock canyons and eventually were in Glen Canyon. By early afternoon we could see Lake Powell, then crossed the Dirty Devil River and then the Colorado River. Because of the heat (about 104 F.) I decided not to ride the last 8 miles to our campsite. We had to “dry” camp as there are no services between Hanksville and Blanding, UT. We ended up parked next to White Canyon, where we met two hikers from Moab who had hiked down into the Canyon and swam in the river with wetsuits. They were a nice young couple and we ended up talking with them for a while.
August 27, 2010 – White Canyon to Blanding
A tough ride today. We climbed for 35 - 40 miles with a strong headwind or crosswind the entire way. We were riding through red canyon country again, which made for a beautiful ride, but the winds made the climb really tough. Finally, after 40 miles we reached the summit which was a little over 7100 feet and had a great 10 mile descent. Then the climbing began again, only this time it was steeper and hotter since it was now afternoon. When I was about 9 miles out of town Dana came and got me with the car telling me I did not want to ride the rest of the way in. She said it was HORRIBLE. I was feeling good but decided to take her word for it and got in the car. Was I ever glad! There was a wickedly steep long climb that would not have been fun in the afternoon sun!
August 25, 2010 – Capitol Reef National Park
What a great ride today. Lisa left before us because she wanted to do the ride past the Mormon settlement deeper into the park. Steve and I drove it last night and I had driven and hiked it last summer; Dana had also done it fairly recently. It is a spectacular ride/drive and should not be missed, but neither Dana nor I wanted to ride it this morning. Dana and I left Torrey a little after 8 AM and rode the highway through the park. What a beautiful ride. We had a tail wind most of the way. We did stop at the Visitor’s Center after a GREAT decent, then continued on. My bike worked perfectly!
We took another break about 20 miles west of Hanksville. We were stopped along side the road and the manager of the Rodeway Inn across the highway invited us to sit on a bench under a big tree in front of the motel. As we were sitting there we saw Steve drive by (he had no way of knowing we were on the “wrong” side of the road); that was no problem as we only had 20 miles left to Hanksville. We talked with the lady from Rodeway a bit, filled our water bottles with ice from Rodeway’s ice machine, then headed towards Hanksville. We got into Hanksville a little after noon. The ride was a beautiful and easy 47 miles.
When we went to dinner the cover of the menu stated we were close to “Goblin Valley National Park”. Having never heard of it we were curious and asked our waitress where it was. She said it was about 30 minutes north of Hanksville, so Dana, Steve and I decided to drive up there and check it out. What was billed on the menu as a “national park” turned out to be a state park, but what a state park! There was a whole valley of rock structures that looked like goblins. Apparently this valley is so unique that there is nothing else like it anywhere. It was truly a worthwhile drive through and to beautiful and unusual landscape.
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| Goblin Valley State Park |
August 26, 2010 – A Spectacular Ride Through Glen Canyon
Today was another beautiful ride! We headed south out of Hanksville through red rock canyons and eventually were in Glen Canyon. By early afternoon we could see Lake Powell, then crossed the Dirty Devil River and then the Colorado River. Because of the heat (about 104 F.) I decided not to ride the last 8 miles to our campsite. We had to “dry” camp as there are no services between Hanksville and Blanding, UT. We ended up parked next to White Canyon, where we met two hikers from Moab who had hiked down into the Canyon and swam in the river with wetsuits. They were a nice young couple and we ended up talking with them for a while.
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| Lake Powell |
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| Colorado River |
A tough ride today. We climbed for 35 - 40 miles with a strong headwind or crosswind the entire way. We were riding through red canyon country again, which made for a beautiful ride, but the winds made the climb really tough. Finally, after 40 miles we reached the summit which was a little over 7100 feet and had a great 10 mile descent. Then the climbing began again, only this time it was steeper and hotter since it was now afternoon. When I was about 9 miles out of town Dana came and got me with the car telling me I did not want to ride the rest of the way in. She said it was HORRIBLE. I was feeling good but decided to take her word for it and got in the car. Was I ever glad! There was a wickedly steep long climb that would not have been fun in the afternoon sun!
Beautiful Day
On Wednesday 25th we rode thru Capitol Reef National Park on our way to Hanksville. What an absolutely wonderful day. If you know Capitol Reef--imagine riding your bike thru the canyons. As you leave the canyons you enter the moon--imagine riding your bike on the moon and then Mars. Truly wonderful. We arrived in Hanksville after an easy 47 miles.
Not a lot happening in Hanksville so Nancy, Steve and Dana drove up to Goblins State Park. WOW!!! I won't tell you about it--but if you ever get a chance to go do so. A gem that few people know about.
Thursday was the ride across the Colorado River. Uphill from Hanksville then a drop to cross the Colorado as it enter Lake Powell then a ride back up to the Plateau. We camped on the side of the road. 50 yards from our camping spot was the Black hole of the White Canyon. At the point where we camped the canyon drops straight down 500 yards--so beautiful. This was the hottest day of the trip and we had no electricity so we all sat out in the shade until the stars came out then turned in.
Today's ride was so tough. 35 miles of non-stop climbing-then 10 miles of descent and then 3 real hard climbs to end the day.
Here are the daily summaries for the last few days:
August 21st: Cedar City to Panguitch Lake, temps-55-80, 47 miles, 5137 feet of climbing.
22nd: to Bryce, 57-80 degrees, 41 miles, 1660 feet.
23rd: to Escalante, 55-85 degrees, 47 miles 1817 feet.
24th: to Torrey, 60-87 degrees, 64 miles, 6220 feet.
25th: to Hanksville, 57-93 degrees, 47 miles, 718 feet.
26th to White Canyon, 57-102 degrees, 57 miles, 3248 feet.
27th: to Blanding, 73-98 degrees, 66 miles 4760 feet.
One last day in Utah as we will only ride 26 miles tomorrow and then into Colorado.
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| Dana in Capitol Reef National Park |
Not a lot happening in Hanksville so Nancy, Steve and Dana drove up to Goblins State Park. WOW!!! I won't tell you about it--but if you ever get a chance to go do so. A gem that few people know about.
Thursday was the ride across the Colorado River. Uphill from Hanksville then a drop to cross the Colorado as it enter Lake Powell then a ride back up to the Plateau. We camped on the side of the road. 50 yards from our camping spot was the Black hole of the White Canyon. At the point where we camped the canyon drops straight down 500 yards--so beautiful. This was the hottest day of the trip and we had no electricity so we all sat out in the shade until the stars came out then turned in.
Today's ride was so tough. 35 miles of non-stop climbing-then 10 miles of descent and then 3 real hard climbs to end the day.
Here are the daily summaries for the last few days:
August 21st: Cedar City to Panguitch Lake, temps-55-80, 47 miles, 5137 feet of climbing.
22nd: to Bryce, 57-80 degrees, 41 miles, 1660 feet.
23rd: to Escalante, 55-85 degrees, 47 miles 1817 feet.
24th: to Torrey, 60-87 degrees, 64 miles, 6220 feet.
25th: to Hanksville, 57-93 degrees, 47 miles, 718 feet.
26th to White Canyon, 57-102 degrees, 57 miles, 3248 feet.
27th: to Blanding, 73-98 degrees, 66 miles 4760 feet.
One last day in Utah as we will only ride 26 miles tomorrow and then into Colorado.
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