Velowander

Day 75 (Wed 09/20) Cycling Utah (compare with Colorado)

Utah is like nothing I have ever seen. I would say that southern Utah has the greatest diversity of landscapes of any US state or anywhere else I have travelled. Mere mountains created by vulcanism and plate techtonics are nothing like this. You just can't understand how some of the things you are seeing are even possible as natural formations (they seem like they should fall down).

However, Utah has been the most challenging part of the tour. In some areas, there can be up to 75 miles between services and there is often nothing, not houses or ranches, in between towns. Grades are up to 14%, much higher than the about 6% going up to the Colorado and overall high point Monarch pass (11,312') in Colorado. There has been a crazy storm blowing through here, and the headwinds are intense, more difficult than in Kansas and we're climbing at the same time. For some reason, lots of tourists are visiting in September so accomodation (regular motel rooms) is tighter than elsewhere on our tour. Lastly, there is no GSM cell coverage so you can't call anybody if you get into trouble.

Despite the challenges, I'm not sorry for a second that I came here. Ever since riding the event tour "Cycle Washington" in 2002 and hearing the cyclists talking about the Cycle Utah ride, I have wondered what it would be like to cycle here.

Labels: Bike Touring

posted by David @ 6:44 PM