Greetings, everyone! I have safely navigated the winding passages through the Rocky Mountains and am now in the rain shadow of the looming Sierra Nevada. Utah (from the Ute word meaning “people of the mountain”) is a treacherous but brilliantly gorgeous landscape. I have peddled through almost-Martian landscapes with larger-than-life basin and range, cliffs, and snow-capped mountains. We spent the night at Starvation State Park, which was home to the Starvation Reservoir. It was surrounded by these incredible eroded blocks with several mountain ranges dotting the horizon. It was an incredbile place to relax and watch the sunset after a hard day on the road.
Yesterday started out great, as every ride generally does, but by noon (our headwind start time) we were 30 miles out from our destination and the headwinds were brutal. By the last eight or so miles, we were riding against (what has been reported to me as) forty mile an hour winds directly in our faces! I remember pedaling a decline and topping out at around eleven. When we made the turn to head into camp, we hit the tail wind and coasted at twenty home. That’s what you get for embarking against the prevailing winds! You’ll never win!
Moving back a few days, to the Rockies. As we left Denver, I could see them looming in the distance–waiting. I was nervous, excited, and a litttle light-headed from the altitude (maybe the nerves). Our first big climb was up Lookout Mountain…and it wasn’t so bad. After the Allegheny Mountains (western PA), the low grade switchbacks in the Rockies were not so tough after all. The climbs were certainly longer, and that first day out was certainly a challenge. We slowly ascended all day, stopped for lunch, realized we had no money (oops!), and continued to climb fueled by water and all the cliff bars and trail mix we had.
I made it quietly to the top of Beechoud (?) Pass, the continental divide at 11,300 ft above sea level. I didn’t see the sign they had up there or else I would have stopped to take a photo! They need to put those things in more obvious places. What an incredible feat of super-human dexterity and genius! The descent was cold, fast, exhilarating, and right into a hail storm (yes, again). Luckily the van was nearby and I was swept up (freezing, mind you) and we went back to collect all of the other stranded riders. Some were visibly shaken from the storm. We saw a black bear on the way to the hostel, and everything was okay. I was kind of bummed I had to miss out on the remaining 8 miles with a slight downhill to our destination, but what can you do.
(I have to go now to see the town rodeo, so I will continue this when I can…)
