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.