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 Colorado high country I decided not to put up the tent last night. I woke up a couple of times in the night and marveled at the milky way and stars plus wished on some shooting stars.
Despite my new sleeping pad being so much more comfortable than my last, it is a bit slippery. Combined with the super slick new bivy I was sliding all over until I put the pad inside the bivy. I have heard that laying beads of silicone on the pad should help.
Waking just before dawn I started breakfast and watched the sun rise while drinking hot chocolate. The temperatures were not bad. It was not below freezing. I started riding at 08:30. Continue reading Day 34: West of Elk Springs to Craig, CO (October 2)
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 Welcome sign for Utah After a great breakfast cooked up by Pat, and some talk, I headed to the grocery store before hitting the road. The grocery store had small gala apples. I love that size despite it being a rarity in the USA to find apples that small. I bought four. I also bought orange Gatorade mix. First time I have seen any flavor other than lemon-lime in the one pound containers. I think that is a clever ploy by the stores to steer you to the more lucrative premixed drink.
Riding out of Vernal on the eastern end of town are all the oil field services companies. Considering these fields are not huge you can see what big business oil is. There was tons and tons of equipment and supplies. Acres of tanks and pipes and generators and prefab buildings. Pretty impressive. Continue reading Day 33: Vernal, UT to west of Elk Springs, CO (October 1)
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 Eric heading to Seattle Despite eating a huge dinner, I woke up hungry. It was somewhat windy too but from the west so that was ok. But it made me feel like staying in my sleeping bag until the sun came up. It seemed the new sleeping pad worked. I felt I slept most of the night. That is a welcome change. I ended up heading out at 09:30. Nobody else in the RV park was moving. I wore my arms and legs plus a wind breaker. About half an hour in I had to pull over to take them all off.
Shortly after that I saw another cyclist.
It was Eric from Beijing. He had started in New Jersey and was going to Seattle. What prompted him? The adventure and challenge. I asked him about the route ahead for me in Colorado. He said there are stretches with nothing but only about 50 miles at a time. He got stuck in a blizzard on Berthoud Pass at 11,000+ feet and had to be driven off. I hope my crossing goes better. (The weather from Vernal to Steamboat Springs now looks good.) Continue reading Day 32: Duchesne to Vernal, UT (September 30)
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 My campsite at Camper World After a good couple days of rest, being with friends, and taking care of things I left Salt Lake today with a ride out to Heber, UT that saved me a day or more considering the passes involved. Since I am a bit behind schedule that is good.
Despite my elevation profile for the ride from Heber to Vernal looking like it was mostly downhill after Daniel’s Pass, it didn’t really feel that way. Overall it might have been but there were some definite hills today. On the plus side, I seemed to be able to go up them without stopping and in a gear or two above the granny gear. Continue reading Day 31: Salt Lake City to Camper World (4 miles west of Duchesne, UT) (September 29)
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I spent my rest days in Salt Lake City mostly resting. In addition to sleeping, relaxing, and talking with my friends, I also cleaned my bicycle, cleaned and oiled the chain, and readjusted the rear derailleur. I had never really spent the time to adjust a derailleur, but after hanging my bicycle up with some parachute cord to the underside of my friend’s deck so the wheels could easily spin, it was not too difficult. I have been cleaning my chain regularly, and carry around a little can of 3-in-1 oil. I know it is not the best oil for cycling since it is relatively light, but it seems to work OK, and there was nothing else where I bought it.
I had ordered new front panniers that were the same make as my rear panniers (Ortlieb) and in the same color to make sure everything matches. After all, I gotta look good. Although some might argue that since I chose the bright yellow I wouldn’t look too good. I wear obnoxious, fluorescent green shirts and jackets. Certainly not going to win any fashion contests with them, but I like to think that because I wear them people can see me more easily. The sooner a motorist can see me the better, I think. The same thinking went into my color choice of panniers. REI offered red/black, black, and yellow/black. All have reflective patches to be seen from the front or rear of the bike, but red and black are really dark so they don’t help to be seen from the side. The yellow is not obnoxious, but at least it is lighter and more visible than black or red. Continue reading Day 28 to Day 30: Rest days in Salt Lake City, UT (September 26 to 28)
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 A farm on the shores of Lake Utah I originally thought I’d start out at the crack of dawn. That idea was tossed aside when I got up at 05:00 and really wanted to sleep some more. I just hoped the weather would be more of the same — temperatures in the 70s.
Waking again at 07:30, and feeling much more rested, I ate breakfast — raisin bran, s’mores granola bars, triscuits, and yogurt, then started pedaling. There was a short uphill then a 9 mile downhill. Always good to start off with a downhill. Continue reading Day 27: Eureka to Salt Lake City, UT (September 25)
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 Union Pacific train I did not want to get out of bed this morning and maybe it would have been better to sleep in. Today was the worst time to distance and difficulty. The route from Delta was almost all flat with some mild hills for the last 15 miles but nothing hard. On the flat I struggled to even do 10 mph and there was no wind. My legs did not have anything in them.
Continue reading Day 26: Delta to Eureka, UT (September 24)
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 Sunrise in Kings Canyon After a night under the stars, I woke to the sun rising over the mountains. Because I didn’t have much water left — only about two liters of water and half a liter of Gatorade — I had a small breakfast. I decided I’d eat and drink at the same time while riding. Food was not an issue but water was. Continue reading Day 25: King’s Canyon to Delta, UT (September 23)
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 The sun is about to set I am lying looking up at a dark clear sky where the milky way stretches from one side to the other.
A slow start to the day…I had eaten almost all my food requiring a trip to the Baker grocery store. I hoped they’d have something left after the last time I went there. They do not open until 10:00 and it was seven miles of down hill to get there. After getting some groceries, the plan was to head over eight miles to the Border Inn/Cafe/Slots/Gas station to get some lunch and a motel room. I have not slept well since Ely due to mattress woes. But all the rooms were booked for the long weekend. Still don’t know what the holiday is and when I left at 15:00 only about three of twenty rooms had cars outside. Seemed fishy. Plus, who’d want to stay there? Continue reading Day 24: Great Basin National Park, NV to King’s Canyon, UT (September 22)
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