6/29 Dirty Devil CP, UT; 6/30 Torrey, UT

This will be a double post covering the last two days.

Monday 6/29 - After leaving Blanding the route joined UT 95, one of the most scenic drives in the US. After traveling through juniper and pinion tree mesa, the road dipped into Comb Wash and then went through a cut in Comb Ridge, a feature that runs north-south for more than 100 miles. That started a 12 mile 2000’ climb and subsequent descent into spectacular red rock formations, yellow slick rock, and winding narrow canyons, all typical of southern Utah. Traffic was very light although we did see five other cyclists including our Korean friend. He left Blanding at 5 AM with the intention of riding all 122 miles to the next town. We know he made Hite on the Colorado River at Lake Powell as Sally saw him at the store there. We hope he made it the rest of the way.

As for us, after 83 miles, we camped at Dirty Devil Camp Ground about five miles west of Hite with a view of Lake Powell and the rock formations. Lake Powell is down many feet so the marina at Hite is effectively out of business. We dined on a pasta/rice/chicken/peas/corn one dish meal and canned fruit. What better way to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. Right Sally?

Tuesday 6/30 –We had a good night at our campsite and were on the road by 7:15. Do you know that large rock walls that bake in the sun all day don’t lose much heat? We had a built in heater under us all night. Around the first turn in the middle of the climb up from the Colorado River who should we see but our Korean friend and he had linked up with another young cyclist we had met from South Carolina. So common sense had prevailed after all. The route started through a high red rock walled canyon that climbed out to wide open range land. It remained open until we reached Capital Reef National Park. Today was quite warm and so passage through draws with rocks close to the road on both sides was very warm. Bob’s lasting memory of the park will be the flies that, because of a tailwind, could keep up with him and were biting through the bike shorts! We ended the ride at Torrey, UT having covered 89 miles. After a much needed nice dinner we went back to the park to drive the scenic road along the rock fold making up much of the park. We are pleased to continue to find flowers and grasses even in this very dry area.

These are only a sampling of the many pictures we are taking. We will figure out how to publish a larger album when we get home if there is interest.

Lastly, thank you to all who recognized our anniversary. Needless to say, it will be a memorable one.

Blanding, UT

The ride today took us 82 miles from Dolores, CO to Blanding, UT. Another state line has been reached. The ride traversed irrigated rolling farm land toward Monticello, UT at the foot of the Abajo Mountains. This small range is what is known as a desert island oasis in the middle of a dry mesa. The altitude draws in more moisture that provides runoff water to the surrounding area. A left turn south took us the final 21 miles to Blanding. There was a short climb out of Monticello to a shoulder mesa of the mountains and the view was forever. In contrast to the mountain weather, today was fair with patchy afternoon clouds and nary a threat of rain. After arriving in Blanding, we decided to take a short drive down to Bluff, UT to satisfy our curiosity since we have heard so much about the town as it is the current home of our friend Tucker. We didn't find his trailer home, but did enjoy looking at how the town is under the edge of the bluff.

Tomorrow we head out on a stretch of road that has no services for 122 miles. So we will be camping and dining in. And there will be no blog post so we will catch you up on the journey in a couple of days or so. By-the-way, you have dedicated bloggers. Last night Bob had to go to the Dolores Library after dark and walk around the building until he found a strong enough WiFi signal to make the post with the mosquitoes buzzing. And Sally just got back from a quick ride on her bike, around Blanding, before dinner.

Dolores, CO

What a difference a day makes. After yesterday’s rain, today was sunny although cool to start in the high 40’s. The 16 mile ride up to Lizard Head Pass had to be the most scenic portion of the trip so far with great views of the surrounding mountains. We took our time to enjoy the views of mountains with snow caps, forests, green fields, sheep in pastures, flowers and small mining towns, including a 50 mile descent along the Dolores River valley to the town of Dolores for a very pleasant 66 mile day. The valley up high was narrow with high tree lined mountain sides. By Dolores there were much shorter red cliff hills as it opened up to the open spaces of western Colorado. There were a fair number of other road bikers on the road today, we assume coming from Cortez and Dolores. Cortez is the largest town in the area, about 10 miles from Dolores.

The big social event of the day was we were able to meet up with our close family friend Tucker and his friend Allison. They met us in Dolores around 1:30. We all went to the bike shop in Cortez as Bob wanted to get his bike checked over since the next shop is 400 + miles away in western Utah. (The rear hub probably has a bad bearing and the shop did not have the part so we will have to ride on it until the next stop). Tucker and Allison bought some food for a picnic in the town park. After picking up the bike, we went to the Anasazi Heritage Center for a hike to a pueblo ruin with a great view of the area, in all directions including Mesa Verde, back up towards Lizard Head Pass, west to Utah, etc. We then enjoyed pizza at the Dolores Brew Pub. Thanks to Tucker and Allison for spending part of their day with us.

We have to tell the story of one of our fellow riders. He is riding solo and unsupported, and is following the same route we are. He is from Korea and doesn’t speak much English. We first saw him wobbling up Monarch Pass as Bob passed him. We have since seen him in every stop over town as he is keeping pace, albeit at a slower pace. To our surprise he showed up at the bike store 10 miles off route. Apparently, he had a tire problem and some people picked him up off the road and took him to the store. It will be interesting to see if we continue to cross paths.

We finished last evening with a free gondola ride to the mountain above Telluride(it goes on over to Mountain Village where there are lots of big new houses) for the sunset. And then Sally went up again this morning after sending Bob on his way.

Telluride, CO

Today our good fortune with the weather ended. A tropical thing from the Pacific brought in rain, lots of rain. So I would call the 68 mile ride the most challenging of the trip. There was one major 3000 ' climb over Dallas Divide that was less than fun in a cold rain and a head wind. The downhill wasn't much better as it was hard to stay warm since the rain gear worked like all rain gear does - it didn't. But the sun did come out every now and then for the end of the ride up into the ski resort town of Telluride, three miles off the route. So all's well that ends well. Hat's off to the SAG driver, Sally, for providing much needed and timely support stops all day.

We had visited Telluride many years ago but one forgets how beautiful the valley is with the surrounding mountains. We drove to the end of the road to view Bridal Veil Falls. With snow melt and all of the recent rain, it was very spectacular. We read that in 2008 Telluride received 0.3" of rain. We got that much today in 15 minutes! Sally located and visited the local yarn store but no purchases. And instead of camping in the free city campground, which is on the verge of flooding, we are in a nice dry simple ski lodge room. A quick storm just moved through as this was being composed.

Montrose, CO

The 65 mile ride today ended in Montrose. The length of the rides for the next few days will be determined by the spacing of towns and major climbs. The idea is to get over the high points before the afternoon thundershowers build up as they do every day. The first 25 miles followed the Gunnison River and the Blue Mesa Reservoir in the Curecanti National Recreation Area. The fishing for trout is supposed to be very good. It was interesting to learn that they are doing everything possible to keep Zebra Mussels out of the lake. They have already been detected in other Colorado Lakes, near Pueblo, so they have hitch hiked all the way from the Great Lakes. The next 20 miles included two climbs that totaled about 1700 feet. Montrose is at a lower elevation of about 5700’ so a five mile climb yielded a 12 mile descent.

Since Bob was able to start riding shortly after 6:30 and the day was short, we were in Montrose by 12:30. That left the afternoon open to visit Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Black Canyon is a spectacular deep and narrow canyon cut by the Gunnison River. We enjoyed stopping at the Visitor Center and taking some short hikes along the rim, before light rain came in and interfered with picture taking. There has been a lot of rain this year so everything is green and the wild flowers are blooming.

PS Sally: I had a nice bike ride in and around Gunnison early this morning, especially around the Western campus. Also rode east for a bit with bikers who had been with the Colorado ride for several days, and then broke off to go east to Pueblo, via Monarch Pass. They were obviously supported, too. And yesterday on the top of Monarch Pass I chatted up 2 brothers, 20 somethings, and their Dad who were riding unsupported from CA to Yorktown, and then plan on a week on the beach in NC. It will be well deserved. One of these days I am going to write down everything Bob eats in one day, just so you can all see how many calories he is burning each day.

Gunnison, CO

Today we crossed the Continental Divide after the climb up and over Monarch Pass. At 11,312 feet, Monarch is the highest point that we will reach on the trip. Like yesterday, the good news about a long climb is the fast and fun descent on the other side. The route is following US Highway 50. There is moderate traffic but a decent shoulder. Most people are courteous and pass with a wide margin. The one exception, and experienced road bikers will relate, are the large bus-like RV's, usually trailing something, that like to pass by much closer with a blast of wind as they go by. The weather was clear and beautiful for reaching the summit and then the mountain clouds began to build. There was rain somewhere, but not on us.

We reached Gunnison after 80 miles. Gunnison is the home of Western State College and looks to be quite prosperous. It sits in a large basin surrounded by tall mountains. As we arrived in town we could not help but notice that there were lots of other bikers in town. It is some kind of organized in state ride that is staying in Gunnison tonight.

Howard, CO

Today we resumed the ride from where we left off in Pueblo. We had a great day and a half off. Bob's Albion College friend Steve and his wife Pat graciously hosted us overnight Sunday in their beautiful home high above Manitou Springs. They have a fantastic view back down to the foothills and the plains below. Bob and Steve calculated they haven't seen each other for about 35 years so it was fun to catch up with each other's lives. On Monday morning we hiked in Red Rock Canyon before Bob's cousin Katie and her daughter Laura arrived from Boulder. We spent time touring the Manitou Springs Historic District and had a nice lunch. And lastly we met up with our friend Sarah for dinner in Colorado Springs. All that socializing was fun but exhausting so we are glad to be back on the road today. Thanks to all for making the effort to spend time with us.

The ride confirmed the adage that hard work pays off. The first forty miles more or less climbed 4000 feet to top out at a little over 9000 feet. But then over the next 45 miles the reverse happened - there was an almost continuous descent with a stiff tailwind to boot as scattered showers popped up. The last 10 miles followed the Arkansas River to reach Howard after 90 miles. Our motel (Bandera's Bunkhouse) is on the river. It is exciting to be riding in the mountains. There is an amazing vista around each bend. There are rafters in the fast flowing river, and dude ranches have popped up. The flower picture confirms that there has been lots of rain over the last 2 months. We hope it has stopped now. Sally drove into Florence for gas, and found the huge maximum security prisons that will gladly take the prisoners from Guantanamo.

Pueblo, CO

By plan today was a half day ride of 37 miles to finish at the Pueblo City Hall. This is the end of the Trans Am series of maps for us and we will shift over to the Adventure Cycling "Western Express" route to travel on toward San Francisco. Tomorrow is a planned rest day as we will visit with friends and family in the Colorado Springs area. Sally has a little story about public safety. As she was waiting for me to finish yesterday at a road junction that would take us the two miles to Fowler where we stayed, the local sheriff stopped by to see if she was okay. Later we learned from the motel owner, Bushy(as in large older man with big white beard), that the sheriff lives at the motel and therefore we did not need to worry about our personal safety.

Today's weather is more Colorado like, clear with bright sun. So it offered great vistas of the approaching mountains that were missing in yesterday's clouds. While I rode this morning, Sally drove into Pueblo and toured their version of River Walk. It's a 7 year old, and growing area which has returned the Arkansas River to its original path through downtown Pueblo. I found beautiful gardens, fountains, sculptures and bridges. They even have a boat tour, paddle boat rides and water falls, not all at the same place.

Fowler, CO

Today’s ride of 78 miles took us from the middle of the high plains to a half day’s ride from Pueblo. Late in the ride we could see the Front Range in the distance, our first view of the Rocky Mountains. It was an unusual weather day with temperatures in the 60’s, almost no wind, clouds, and scattered showers. The nature of the landscape changed dramatically from scrubby sparsely populated range land to more inhabited ranch land as the route entered the Arkansas River valley. We noted that here the Arkansas had a lot more water than in Kansas, so someone is using it. I should mention that we have been following KS and then CO State Route 96 for days now. I don’t want to say this is a remote route, but there were times when 15 minutes would pass without a vehicle in either direction. We also discovered a sign of the economy perhaps. A rail spur paralleled Route 96 for miles. There was a stretch of 10-11 miles that was lined with empty stock cars, obviously in storage. In case you ever wanted to know, there are 56 rail cars per mile. It was something to do. Late in the day I suffered my second flat, glass not the dreaded local goat-head thorns. (Sally picked 37 thorns out of her Crocs from one trip across the RR tracks to the rest area bathroom, where we were camping.) So I am averaging one flat per 1000 miles.

A word about last night’s camping neighbors: Tim and Cindy have been cycling pretty continuously since 2002 in places like Alaska, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and the US. Their current trip will take them to the East Coast and back around to Indiana. On the way they will experience their first RAGBRAI, the bike ride across Iowa we have done. We were able to give them an introduction to the experience that is RAGBRAI. You can check out their site at http://www.downtheroad.org/. Tim will be speaking in Omaha and Ottumwa, and was interviewed on local TV as they cycled through Pueblo a couple of days ago. They have two books published, and plan more.

For the first time, sleeves were required last evening, and Sally will be in long sleeves and wool socks tomorrow morning, as we climb higher. Up to 4300 feet, now.

Eads, CO

We completed two milestones today. We crossed into the Mountain Time Zone and we entered Colorado. You will be happy to know we are not having any problems with jet lag. We also climbed almost 1500 feet and we are now at just over 4000 feet which is higher than any point we reached on the East Coast. It was a glorious day for riding, sunny, low 80's, and a favorable wind all day so we ended up riding 105 miles. After the border the nature of the land changed from farming to range land. At a well positioned convenience store, the only service for 58 miles, we talked with a farmer who said he was about to begin harvesting his wheat crop on 10,000 acres. It makes New York farms seem pretty small in comparison. It was also a meeting point for lots of cyclists as we are seeing many now. Tonight we are camping in the Eads town park and everyone is happy about that. We are blogging from the library with time running out so will close.