Utah Day 4: Bryce Canyon to Zion Natl Park - 87mi

Just about as cold last night, right around freezing... luckily it's time to drop a few thousand feet of elevation to the warmer desert climate in Zion. Said my goodbyes to Ken & Rilla, although I hope to run into them again at Zion where they'll arrive a day after me. Meeting them and making a great friendship in only a few days around the campsites has really been a highlight of my trip thus far. These guys are those all-too-rare folks you feel like you've known for years after just a few hours.

I had to hit the road early hoping to make the long journey to Zion in one day. Headwinds again, like every riding day so far. Although Zion is a whopping 4000ft lower than Bryce, several grinding climbs separate the two Natl Parks. Between the distance and strong wind it was a grueling day indeed, but the long gentle descents were appreciated!

Red Canyon, just west of Bryce, has a fantastic bike path along almost the entire stretch of road out to HW89:

What satisfaction to finally make it Zion and roll past features like this towards campgrounds in the valley:

Checkerboard Mesa

Hitched a ride in the bed of a pickup through Zion Tunnel (too narrow for bikes amongst cars) and popped out to this view on the west side of the tunnel. The road to the bottom of the canyon is a series of hairpin switchbacks that drops about 1300ft in only a couple miles, and you feel like these massive walls are growing up around you as you float down between them.

my first glimpse into Zion Canyon

I scored a "walk-in" site at the (otherwise full) campgrounds, and it is the perfect setup for bike touring. Nestled away from cars but close to water & bathrooms, it even has a large bear-box to store food & gear.

my cozy home for the next 3 nights, Watchman Campground

Utah Day 3: exploring Bryce Canyon

Took today to explore Bryce and will share Ken & Rilla's campsite again tonight. Very cold night here- overheard an RV dweller say her thermometer read 32'F at sunrise. My thrift store sweater helped although not quite enough... but a hot breakfast & coffee sure was a treat:

Hiked the Queens/Navajo Loop trails in the main amphitheater in the morning, winding beneath and amongst the novel Hoodoo formations:

In the nick of time, I hopped the free afternoon tourbus up to the southern terminus of the Bryce Road at Rainbow Point and saved myself a 17mi, 1900 vertical ft climb. I was by far less than half the average age of my fellow bus passengers, and the only one with a bike in the cargo bay.

The views were spectacular and the ride back down to camp was terrific fun:

Utah Day 2: Calf Creek to Bryce Canyon - 69mi

Made a few bike adjustments last night before a cold sleep. My compact 30'F sleeping bag and bivvy sack combo weren't really sufficient for the higher elevations and cooler temps than I'd encountered this time last year in the southeastern Utah desert. Ken & Rilla invited me to share their next campsite at Bryce, and so long as I made the distance I'd have a nice place to sleep... an offer I can't refuse, but a big day ahead with several big climbs.

I left camp an hour before Ken, but he caught me topping out the first climb. We started from the flats below in the background (Escalante River valley.)

must be nice climbing sans ~60 lbs of gear!

Dropped down into the valley to find it flooded with these gorgeous yellow flowers. Table Cliff Plateau in the background:

5mi before the town of Escalante (5800ft), my first mechanical. Threads on the front tire failed (due to the pannier weight I suppose. Touring on old Kenda 25c road slicks? Maybe not the best idea.) Surprised to find NO tires in town, so installed my one spare at a small outfitter who loaned me his floor pump. While in town, I also picked up a $3 cashmere(!) sweater from the thrift store for the cold nights. And a delicious Americano coffee. Minor delays, then onward into more relentless headwinds.

 Summiting over Table Cliffs before a nice, well deserved descent back down to Henrieville at 6000ft

After the buying some groceries in the tiny town of Tropic, a big final 2000ft climb up the Paunsaugunt Plateau to the 7900ft entrance of Bryce, just as the sun was sinking low. I was exhausted and elated and darn happy with my efforts. Found Ken & Rilla and set up camp just before the the sun set.

Put in almost 6000 vertical ft of climbing today. Into wind. Second day. Achilles tendons hurt. I'm tired.

Utah Day 1: Bicknell to Calf Creek - 58mi

Got a bit of a delayed departure from Denver by way of goofing off and taking care of some last minute stuff. But I still should have plenty of time for my loose itinerary of biking solo, unsupported, from Torrey, UT (just west of Capitol Reef Natl Park) south to Bryce Canyon, then to Zion, and back around to my rendezvous point. Should be roughly 450mi, and take 8-10 days. I'm carrying all my gear, which weighs in at around 60lbs including the panniers.   

Drove out last night, met a nice couple who invited me to park my car on their property in Bicknell (just west of Torrey/Capitol Reef) and shoved off this morning into 30mph headwinds for a 3300ft climb up and over the 9,600ft summit of Boulder Mountain. 10-12% grades at points of that grueling climb. What a way to bust out of the gates.

leaving my car behind for the next 9 days

"Pedal Faster" road tag taunting me up a 10% grade

Boulder Mountain summit - 9600ft

After the summit, the winds were so strong on the southern face that I still had to pedal hard while going downhill. Seems like I can't win today, but it's great to be chugging along on two wheels. The road drops 3000ft down to the town of Boulder before jamming right back up the hogback ridge separating it from the Escalante River valley. Once up top, it's a marvelous view into the Escalante Staircase and a sweet, steep ridgeline descent down to the valley floor.

descending into Escalante River valley

I met this great Wisconsin couple a few different times along on the road today. Ken rides his Lemond road bike between campgrounds and Rilla drives ahead with all their camping gear- this year's journey takes them all the way from Fruita, CO to the Grand Canyon! Ken passed me up the Boulder Mt climb, then again up to the Escalante ridge (he'd stopped for lunch in town, lucky guy.) I found them again at the top of the ridge, where they gave me a freshly picked pear and graciously invited me to share their campsite that night. These here are some really wonderful folks.

Calf Creek Campground w/ Ken & Rilla

Utah bike tour preparations

Getting my trusty Bianchi cross bike set up for this year's Utah tour. Going with full panniers this time after using a B.o.b. trailer on last year's tour. Planning to start near Capitol Reef Natl Park, head through Escalante Staircase, Bryce Canyon, Zion, and back around. 8-10 solo days on the road, can't wait!

Learned a lot during last year's Utah tour so I'm setting up the bike with easier gearing, as well as ditching the clunky trailer. Now I've got a 32-12T cassette, and swapped on my mountain bike triple cranks (44-32-22T) so I can lumber up the steep inclines at a snail's pace, but still make it up. Also a handlebar bag this time around. For panniers I went with the Ortlieb roll-tops in the rear for their full waterproofness, and some larger Axiom's in the front for their many zipper pockets & compartments.

prepping the tour bike

And enjoying some fantastic meals from the garden before I hit the road!

September -- garden harvest taking off

It's been a good growing season, and the bounty is starting to pour in. April's hard work is paying off!

sunflowers bigga than yar head!

our Mitchell Community Garden

just one day's loot

homegrown dinner: stuffed summer squash, kale, beets & beans, fresh salsa.

Road trip!

The weekend started with free tickets to the Beatles tribute band at Red Rocks on Saturday night before camping under the stars at Kenosha Pass.

good morning along the Colorado Trail

Followed by a quick swing through the original South Park

Next stop, Florissant Fossil Beds Natl Monument:

petrified trees

We stumbled into a Veterans' Biker Rally in Cripple Creek

And capped it off with a visit to the vintage arcade in Manitou Springs

August 14-15, 2010 -- backpacking to Woodland Lake

Backpacked about 6 miles up into Indian Peaks Wilderness to camp a night at Woodland Lake, 11,00ft.

This has been a bountiful year for wild mushrooms, and we harvested a few edible boletus (porcini) mushrooms to try to cook up at home.

sunrise from the campsite

Lance sighting in Denver

I happened to catch Lance at the Capitol announcing 'his' Quizno's Pro Challenge stage race, slated for Colorado in summer 2011. Love him or not, I'm super stoked to see some real deal pro road teams racing in our mountains.

I swear that's him at the podium

And then the masses lined up to 'ride' with Lance... but I had to go back to work. Easily a thousand bikers found time for a Wednesday morning group ride, by way of twitter.

July 10-11, 2010 -- backpacking near the Big Thompson River

A mellow 3.5mi hike in along the north fork of the Big Thompson River, through Dunraven Glades area northwest of Loveland. Really nice trek, the weather held and we enjoyed a beautifully silent night in the woods. April's first ever overnight backpack trip... and she loved it.

cozy campsite on Natl Forest land

After hiking out Sunday, we popped into Rocky Mt Natl Park for an afternoon hike up to The Loch, a beautiful lake at 10,200ft. Some blustery storms were swirling and spitting, but luckily no lightning or heavy rain.

The Loch

Homebrew project

My buddy Ian is helping me learn to brew my own beer. 3 weeks later, we'll have about 5 gallons. $40 for ingredients, and a heck of a fun afternoon that devolved to playing RockBand at midnight. Can't make beer without drinking some beer, right?

the yeast colony is setting up shop

a couple of work pics

A few curious sights encountered during work lately...

Denver cops rollin' a Vette !?!

there are likely better ways to walk your dog

the city gave me a bike lane on my street. Yay!

Community garden work day

The growing season is getting rolling so we brought everyone out for the second group work day. April & I are the 'garden leaders' this year, so we're stepping it up to keep everyone motivated & involved. It's working. This is our third year at Mitchell Garden, and previously a majority of gardeners lost interest or gave up midway through the growing season. An abandoned garden is a sad sight, and we're hoping to reverse the trend of ambition turning to apathy.

Frisco BBQ Fest !!!

I'd heard of the annual Frisco BBQ Fest before, so this year on a whim we jumped in the car after work on Friday and went to see for ourselves. Simply amazing, if you like a good BBQ. We sure do, and were fat & happy. Festival folks take to makin Q with a serious fierceness, and most of it was absolutely delicious.

You can buy small tasting size servings for a buck or two to try what each booth has to offer. Some were out of this world, others not terribly impressive, but all very tasty regardless.

This booth was Biggins' BBQ.   whooda quessed?

Not a bad way to enjoy a warm Friday sunset. I'll be back next year!