We woke up this morning to a beautiful clear sky as the sun came up through the trees and a relatively dry tent with only a few drip points. You can imagine how relieved I was that I didn't have to deal with the whole wet tent episode and an even more cranky Steve!
It turned out to be a good day and Steve was back on his game. We hung out at the campground chatting with Stacy waiting for all our stuff to dry out. The oatmeal I had bought us in Blanding for breakfast as part of our supplies seemed to perk Steve up for the ride ahead and we got on the road about 10am.
We had a relatively easy day ahead of us with a predominantly downhill ride into Hite, except for those kicker killer inclines of 8-10%. Hite was the closest place where we could restock some items and get some more water although there was a bit of controversy over the gas station / convenience store opening hours, our maps saying it was only open 11am-2pm this time of year but Steve had called ahead to check a few days ago and they said it would be open to 9am-6pm.
We decided to ride with extra water just in case, our usual 4 water bottles on the bike (total of approx 2.5 litres), our 3 litre Camelbaks filled to the brim and Steve had rigged up an extra 2 water bottle holders to his front forks so he could carry 2 extra 1 litre bottles of water as well. There's nothing worse than being stuck out in the hot sun and getting de-hydrated. Steve went through his Camelbak pretty quickly and decided that was why he was so off yesterday ..... Didn't drink enough water the night before and throughout the day of the ride either.
Today's ride was just magical. Around every bend a new Mesa, butte or canyon came into view, tall vertical red rock cliffs rising above us. We felt like dwarfs in comparison. The area is intensely grand with unique geological formations everywhere. We almost had the road to ourselves, able to ride two abreast and chat along the way until we had to move aside for a passing car or RV/campervan. This really is a remote and deserted part of America.
 |
| Cheese Box Butte |
 |
| Riding up a 10% gradient incline |
Towards the end of the ride we entered Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and all of sudden we were surrounded by enormous colourful canyons that seemed to engulf us from every direction.
 |
| Glen Canyon Recreation Area |
 |
| Riding through Glen Canyon |
 |
| Hite residential area |
We got to Hite at 2pm. Hite is a dead town, another reminder of the exploration, gold and uranium mining days. Butch Cassidy and his gang used to hang out here. There are only 6 residents who live here (Melissa, who manages the gas station and her adorable new puppy Mika, and a family of 2 adults with 3 babies that work for the National Parks service). The Gas Station was open until 6pm. It was so good to have an early finish to our day so we could spend some time relaxing after the ride. Camping and wet tents are so not conducive to early starts, but we have decided for the rest of this odyssey with this hopefully warmer weather, we will try to start early to avoid some of the heat of the day and give us some down time at the end of the ride.
After not having proper meals for a couple days, we hoed into the microwaveable burritos and wings, chocolate milk and Pepsi.
Tonight we're camping under shelter at the back of the Hite Visitors Centre (which is no longer in operation, the government no longer seeing it viable to have a ranger stationed there) with restrooms and water at our disposal. It is so quiet and peaceful here, with a warm wind blowing and a tonne of bright stars shining above us in the dark sky.
 |
| View from our shelter |
 |
| Glen Canyons view from Hite |
CRANKING ODYSSEY STATS
Total Odyssey miles: 2,621
Overall Fastest Speed: Steve (46 miles per hour) Mandy (36.7 miles per hour)
Bludge Days: 4
Bonks: Steve (1) - Day 46
Dog chases: 3
Dummy Spits: Steve (7) Day 10 - because it rained; Day 16 - because the rocks in the river were slippery; Day 29 - because it takes me so long to get ready in the morning; Day 36 - because I was blogging and Steve was dieing of starvation; Day 44 - because the clothes dryer didn't dry his clothes; Day 45 - because by the time I got organised he didn't get to eat a crappy dinner until 8pm; Day 47 - because his bike shoes were smelly and wet from sitting in the pool of water around our tent yesterday afternoon
Mandy (3.5) 0.5 Day 14 - those freakin' wreckless Idaho drivers!; Day 26 - because my bike computer had a meltdown; Day 28 - because Steve wouldn't help hold my bike up in the wind after watching it nearly fall over 3 times whilst I tried to put my clothes away in the panniers because it looked like rain ahead; Day 44 - because Steve's bushies flew back and hit me in the face (twice)
Flats: Katie (4); Steve (1)
Wrong turns: 8
Beer of the day: Corona Extra (3.2%)
Lesson of the day: Beer makes everything better!
No. of days with no shower: 17
No. of days in a hotel: 13
Starting weight: Steve (90kg) Mandy (51.5kg)
Day 30 Rawlins weigh in: Steve (183 pds / 83kg). Mandy (110 pds / 50kg)
Posted with Blogsy
No comments:
Post a Comment