Day 10 & 11 (June 1 & 2)

June 1st was the day of many firsts. For Jere and I it was the furthest either of us have ever ridden in one day, 126 miles (Tim has ridden 141 miles). For all three of us, it was the longest time in the saddle, 8 hrs (total time from start to finish over 11 hrs), and highest elevation ridden at, 10,560'. The day started pleasant enough, a 2 two hour climb from Cedar City to the top of the mountain. We stopped at the false summit (about 9,500') to rest with our support vehicle. We became enthralled with a helicopter logging operation and forget to emphasize to our support crew that a turn in the route was just ahead. After the pit stop, the support vehicle took off as we made a short decent. As we made our right hand turn to climb to the real summit, we watched helplessly as the support vehicle motored straight ahead to a rendezvous point that never would be. There was no cell phone coverage to contact the boys, so we only hoped they would eventually wonder why we never appeared and would come looking for us. As we climbed to the summit, in our summer weight gear, the temperature started dropping and the sky darkened. Just short of the summit we encountered a park area with restrooms. When we noticed cars descending from the top with slush buildup on their windshields, we quickly made preparations to bivouac in the rest rooms to wait out the storm else die of hypothermia. Suddenly, Jere heard the roar of his new Chrysler minivan's engine gunning up the mountain towards us, it was the support team to the rescue! We quickly rummaged through our bags and dug out our winter gear. After donning the winter gear, off we went, not happy, but determined. A little later we changed from our wet, winter gear in the bathroom of a sub shop and forged ahead. By the time we got to our destination, in Escalante, Ut, we also set another first, the most biking clothes worn in one day. We were rewarded for the misery suffered on the mountain by the stunning scenery at every turn in the road. Words can not describe the grander and beauty. The slide show is just a sampling of what we saw. (It has come to my attention that some people do not realize our GPS download data can be viewed too, scroll down below the Postings to view).

Today, Day 11 we were slow and plodding. Collectively we were beat from yesterday's ride. Jere was dejected because he never had an average speed as low as we were going. After stopping for a late lunch, (we actually ate 3 lunches and still bonked before ending for the day) we realized why our speed was so low, we had been doing a gradual climb all morning. We actually had a reason for being slow and plodding. In the middle of the day's ride, we climbed to the second highest elevation any of us have ridden at, 9,500'. The rest of the day was a long gradual decent to our destination for the day, Hanksville, Ut. Again, the scenery was spectacular. Unfortunately, my posterior could not relish the view, so it stayed miserable all day. We again had to don our rain gear in the desert, but avoided a total soaking. Tomorrow, Day 12 will be another long day, generally climbing all day, with little civilization between here and our destination 122 miles away in Blanding, Ut.