Day 4: Headwinds SUCK!

After scraping about an inch of ice and snow off my front wheel and spokes, I was up, packed, fed, and on the road by 8:10AM (shortly after the snowplow came through, thankfully--Utah certainly keeps its roads well cleared in the winter). (more details soon...tired of typing tonight)

Day 3: Red sky in the morn, cyclists be warned!

What an amazing sunrise! Awe-inspiring, truely. Soon after the first hint of light peeked above the eastern horizon, I crawled reluctantly from my bag, pulled on my dual-purpose down jacket/pillow, and sleepily meandered about a hundred paces to the south...turns out my just-off-the-roadside camp spot was also at the edge of a canyon rim! The rock strata and tenacious sage and rabbitbrush were dusted with snow from the night before and they glistened in the first golden-orange-pink-red light of the dawn. The sun-salutations were invigorating in the crisp morning air. Waking up my body while my mind and soul were dazzled by the sun's display--I could get used to this red rock country.

The cycling today was a long slog. The last of hwy 9 was beautiful--wide open country, barely any traffic. Just me, my thoughts, and the soft hum of my kevlar-lined tires on the road as we crossed the Utah desert. After Mt. Carmel Junction where I headed north on the area's main truck artery, hwy 89, the cyclist's life became somewhat less idylic. Most traffic was very kind and passed me with a wide berth, often pulling into the onoming traffic lanes to give me room. Notice that I say "most." There were a few folks I thought of some choice unkind words for...

It seemed the ride up 89 would stretch into eternity. Oh, and did I mention it had snowed the night before and probably was not much above freezing all day? The roadsides were mostly 4-12" deep in snow and as I climbed into the mountains, opportunities for "sneak-a-camping" were slim. Passed a closed KOA Kampground with a kreepy feel...rested at a rest stop, smelled a Jeffery pine up close (my favorite smell in the world!), and hopped back on my bike. Rode a total of 38.7 miles that day, just shy of the town of Hatch. Safe places to sleep were not exactly abundant and as the winds kicked up and darkness began to fall, I finally just found a juniper tree about 20' from the road and laid down in its shadow.

I pitched my tarp taco style tied to the fence at my feet and my bike at my head, but woke up shortly there-after with the wind blowing into the open side! Sneaky wind, changing directions on me like that...So I sat up and untied my guy-lines and tried to find rocks within arm's reach big enough to weigh down my tarp corners into a make-shift bivy/burrito. With some creative ground-pad supplements at my feet (ie my extra fleece and raingear) and my down jacket wrapped around my hips, I managed to adjust and get warm and comfortable (with snow falling and several semi-trucks passing throughout the night) just about at dawn when my bladder forced me to get up anyway. To be continued on Day 4.

Day 2: The first climb

May I say that Zion National Park is right up there with the most amazing geology and sheer desert beauty I have ever seen? Well there it is, I said it, and it is true to my heart. The grueling climb up to the Zion tunnel is, well...ridiculous, to be quite honest. Perhaps it is because I am a newbie to this whole cycle touring scene, but that climb kicked my butt. Saw two guys riding in the back of a truck with their cycles and was a bit jealous...then was passed by another cycling behind me who turned out to be the third in their party. They had begun in St. George that morning and were shooting for Mt. Carmel Junction (see Day 4 for me) that night. phew, what a pace! He slowed down to my climbing speed and we chatted the rest of the way up the hill. It was cool. The instant comeraderie found on roadsides among cyclists warmed my heart in spite of the chilly March weather.

I had had to spend about 1.5 hours overhauling my rear hub and adjusting my derailer that morning, then the wait at the tunnel entrance for a truck that would take me, my bike, my new climbing buddy, and his bike through the cycle-prohibited tunnel...plus a few stops to crouch and study wildflowers and meditate on Zion's intense beauty all added up to me stopping 3.5 miles the far side of Zion. I covered a whopping 16.5 miles at an average speed of 5.7 mph. whoo-who. Found me a side rode, hid my bike, unpacked my tarp and sleeping bag and crashed out amongst rustling critters and juniper/pinion trees. Rest is so much sweeter after a hard day's ride.

Day 1: First day of Spring! On the road

The only map I have for southern UT is AAA's Nevada/Utah...not exactly ideal scale-wise. I figured I'd use my compass to navigate across the towns, but St. George is a bit hillier than I expected and I didn't want to gain any more elevation than I absolutely had to (especially not at the beginning of my first day). I stopped at an RV park not too far from the greyhound/McDonald's and got some convoluted verbal directions to get back to the highway...I then found a paper map posted for park visitors and navigated myself out of town.

Biking along Hwy 9 was beautiful (once I crossed the mire of St. George's mini-mall comercialism). Admiring UT's red bedrock rising above the sage covered plains, dusted white on top with snow. I played tag with the rain clouds--cycling ahead of the rain for a while, having it blow up behind me, rain a while, then blow over and let up for a bit...fortunately the winds were at my back the whole way, so cycling through was a pleasure. I made several stops to adjust my clothing. Layering took some finesse to stay warm and dry in the rain, but not get so hot that I started to perspire from the effort of pedaling. On the way into Hurricane I saw a real road runner cross the road! For sure the highlight of my day.

I spent about an hour and a half on bike maintenance in Hurricane--my breaks were dragging and I wasn't about to climb into Zion fighting unnecessary resistance. Rockville is a super cute little town with a ton of bed and breakfasts; horse and cattle property was everywhere. I thought about stopping at one of the B&B's and asking to pitch my tarp in their back-yard, or maybe do a work-exchange for a room to sleep in, but I was too shy and decided to cycle on into Zion. Springdale was also a pretty cool town--they had an organic orchard and produce market, but it was getting dark as I was biking through, so I couldn't see much else. Rolled into Zion about 7:30PM after the gate rangers stopped taking entrance fees (hehehe), snagged a campsite, paid the iron ranger $16, cooked some soup, and went to bed. Some sprinkles over night, but nothing major. I slept well after the 47 mile ride and 1150' elevation gain.

Getting to UT (aka fun with Greyhound)

Due to my cousin's wedding on March 18th (which was beautiful and lots of fun!) and the beginning of my Aspen instructor course March 29th at 9AM, I chose to go Greyhound from Long Beach, CA, to St. George, UT, for the first leg of my journey. Packing my Xtracycle Free Radical into a bicycle box to put under the bus was a bit of a challenge, but I worked it out (almost forgot to put the wheels in the box! duh...). My brother and mom drove me to the bus station at 7:40PM for the 7:50 departure. I figured since I already had my ticket and just needed to check my bags and board the bus, that would be sufficient time...as we drove into the station, there was a bus getting ready for departure, but I have seen that before. I assumed it was not my bus and went into the office to check in as it was driving away. She checked me in and handed me my baggage claim checks and then paused for a minute...that WAS my bus. She had figured since everyone present 30 minutes prior to boarding was already on the bus, he could go ahead and leave 10 minutes early...harumpf. Fortunately(?), the bus to St. George goes through Las Vegas and there was another bus departing at 9PM. She reisued my ticket waiving the $10 itinerary change fee, and my mom and bro and I went out to dinner. We enjoyed the additional visiting time and returned to the station in plenty of time for me to board the next bus.

The ride itself was a usual greyhound trip--fortunately not too eventful. Schlepping my bicycle box along with my backpacking pack full of clothes and gear for the trip and my small carry on backpack through the LA bus terminal was not much fun, but I'm a habitually heavy traveler and a frequent greyhound rider, so it was not abnormally difficult for me. I had my own seat from the LBC to San Bernadino where the bus filled completely till Barstow, where I got my own seat again till Vegas. I walked the Frontier Experience downtown at 3:30AM while the bus was serviced in Vegas, lost $2 in nickel slots (oh well), and reboarded at 4:30AM for the final leg of the bus trip. Since I was the only one getting off in St. George, the driver put me in the handicapped seat up front (I didn't like that so much...I usually sit about half-way back on the bus. nice and anonymous-like). I felt very singled out, but the feeling passed and the last few hours of my over-night bus journey were quite pleasant. The sunrise over Nevada's desert was beautiful, guilding the eastern sky in golden-fringed clouds.

The greyhound station in St. George is the McDonald's...so I dragged my box and gear across the parking lot and assembeled my bike right there. That took me about 2 hours and 3 people came over and talked to me during the process. That was pretty cool. One guy had done some cycle-touring himself and had actually heard of the Xtracycle--I was very impressed. One other guy told me about a girl that had been chopped to bits while hitchhiking a few years back and that I should be careful of weirdos, and all three wished me luck and safe travels. I changed from greyhound traveling clothes to cycling clothes, filled my water bottles, and called my mom and Jim, the very cool assistant field director at Aspen, to check in before hitting the road at around 11AM.

The trip across UT

So following my suitably successful and very educational trial cycling trip to San Diego (almost), I refined my gear, condensed my trip goals, and solidified my plans to cycle from St. George to Loa, UT, on the way to work as a Wilderness Field Instructor with the Aspen Achievement Academy for troubled teens. I'm writing this retrospectively from my journal--south-central UT is not exactly a hotbed of public internet connections...hopefully it doesn't ruin the suspense of following my journey to know I have arrived safely. ;) Read on for the daily account!