:: shift7 ::

:: north/south adventure ::

utah: day 11, mon 8 sep
rendezvous beach - interstate 84 (salt lake city)

stats:
64.8 @ 19.3 = 3:21:42, max 42.5, trip total: 843
[designated driver = 15, road obstruction = 13]

eats:
2 powered raspberry filled doughnuts, banana, energy drink, burrito, oreos, carne asada, cheese enchilada, negra modelo

sleep:
Jason and Heather and Molé's house, $0

thoughts:
the last day for gregg and scott. so this is goodbye. sad. such a beautiful day. crisp. sunny. not cold, not hot. at least at the beginning...

was it the sprinklers at the campsite or a light rain? either way it was wet but it was little to keep me from sleeping. it was like mist on my face - which would usually keep you up. not a problem. woke up this morning and everything was almost all dry already- the climate just absorbs it up so quickly that it has no chance to stay wet.

we packed up the van and back-tracked about 10 miles to get back on the route- the campsite was the only one available and we had to go a bit further off the route-- but it was an amazing location on the beach. so we fueled up and it seemed like i was driving the van-- oh well.

a climb started the day to get out of the bear lake valley. it looked slow, with many switch backs on a relatively quiet road. you can see the leaves on the trees (maybe aspens) starting to turn colors and the blue lake is like a florescent blue-green with the yellow grasses and bright green irrigated fields. its a mix of colors and the sun shifted in and out of whispy clouds. pretty awesome morning. great day to ride- good to see their last day will be a memorable one (and not because it was bad).

after the first 15 or so miles and a couple hours of riding- easily the hardest part of the day, i switched out and got to biking. it was an awesome canyon that we were coming through and into the northern part of the salt lake city basin. winding in and out along logan river made for a fast ride- in the 20's the entire time.
going down the canyon clip

you could tell it was scotts last day. he was pushing hard, the wind was blowing like crazy up the canyons we came down, and we were eating it up, pushing right through it like a machine. it was an awesome feeling. it made it difficult to stop and take photos with all that momentum. that and the fact that with the camera i have its hard to capture the 360 degrees of rock, flowing river, cows looking at you, fences that show the character of the land, trees growing from rock, sun streaking around the cliffs and glistening on the river, the wind blowing in your face.
the canyon 2 with scott clip
i hope tim has enough energy to keep the pace when he comes out on friday. (if that sounds like incentive and jabbing- it is. it'll be a blast).

after coming into logan (the town at the foot of the canyon overlooking the basin) it was time for lunch, everyone wanted a "cooked" meal. the last cooked meal was breakfast - yesterday. so taco time (a taco bell type place- some argue its better, some think its worse). but you get the idea, its fast food mexican and it seemed like fine dining to 5 guys in spandex with road grime all over them.

as we came into town we saw the information center with outside panels describing the history and features around the area. it just so happens that one of the panels was the "heart of the rockies tour" with a highlighted route and map. you may not be able to make out the photo i took of it but it is the exact route we came down from yellowstone park.

then it was time to head off down the basin, cruising along with the wind at our backs- something that as a bicyclist you come to find as a rarity. it was a good way to digest lunch - not having to push too hard and speed down into farmlands. then the road became a bit more desolate. then it became a small two lane road. then there was a road restriction sign. we've become accustomed to this so it really didn't phase me too much- plus we have the van just in case right? it mentioned something about 13 miles of unimproved road. straight ahead- forge into the unknown, and after about a half mile the road became gravel. that stopped us quickly- the thin tires just sinking into the road. it was beautiful though- amazing and out of the way. something you would normally never see, which for me made it all that more exciting. the good news was we were all together and we had the van. i guess there really wasn't any bad news. we loaded up the van and set off down the gravel road. we didn't turn around and choose another route because there wasn't any other route unless we went back about 20 miles to logan.

you get the feeling the road was narrowing when the branches start scratching the van, when the cows are in the road, when you can't look straight out the window because the vans bouncing around on the rocks, when you crossed cattle grates. you guessed it- the road got progressively worse, at a very consistent rate. it was the type of place you would take an ATV which is exactly what the sign posted had said. the sign had an icon of a pickup truck and an ATV- i joked that i didn't see a minivan icon, but it was no joke as we found out. we bottom out a couple times holding our breath to make sure we didn't loose an axle. but the view was to kill for with tracks just heading off into the fields.
the road not traveled clip

after that it was downhill into the salt lake city suburbs. fast and surprisingly down another canyon- it was just as exhilarating. a bit tighter with more traffic but a visual feast as well. that's when we really got to town- or the big city i should say. at this point it was like riding down route 50 in arlington. well, almost, there was the great mountain range in the background.

and that finished off the day, finished the trip for gregg and scott, and got us to a spot were we met jason and heather - they graciously hosted 5 smelly guys. brought us into their home, let us abuse them and play with their wonderful dog- Molé. and then go to a great mexican restaurant (the red iguana)- authentic and tasty. it reminded me of la lomita with a nicer decor. we topped it off with a trip around town to look at the sites. there's so much more to say but it was like being a tourist and enjoying good company- it was different. it was civilized.

i may have mentioned this already- but its worth to say again... thank you all for your support, you know who you are, the emails, the calls, the music, and most of all the love. it drives me. and i apologize for not emailing back in a timely fashion (or at all) but i have excellent excuses--
and ivan, anytime you see broken links keep 'em coming. funny enough those two movies are ones that i uploaded twice and after midnight in west yellowstone and decided it was time to sleep but thought they had made it. (to give you an idea of the great connection it took about 35minutes per movie on a long distance call and then they timed out the server!) they're up now!