Trip to George Final Thoughts

I wanted to share some thoughts about the ride and what I learned.  

What did I learn:

• First of all, it was harder than I thought it was going to be.  The wind really wiped me out after the first couple of days.  Be prepared for discomfort.  This isn't really any different than any other backpacking or hard hiking experience.  It is a good idea to wake up early and get some miles in before the wind picks up.  It is more calm in the morning (at least in Utah)
• Be prepared for a mental challenge.  It is not too different from a century ride except that you know you have to wake up and do it again the next day.  I got myself psyched out on the third night worrying and obsessing about the road and weather conditions ahead.
• I carried way too much stuff.  I would guess my bike weighed 20 pounds more than Spencer's.  I should have scrutinized what I brought more like a backpacking trip.

What went/worked well:

• I felt better when I was wearing high visibility clothes.  I can't say that the cars gave us better space, but it gave me some piece of mind.
• I tried some sun screen recomended by Grant Petersen at Rivendell bikes.  It worked really well.  http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/goo5.htm
• My tires performed well.  They rolled great even under load.  Another Riv recomendation.  http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/t001.htm
• I used a mirror attached to my sun glasses that worked great and I highly recomend for bike touring.  The Bike Peddler, Take a Look mirror.  https://www.rei.com/product/752285/bike-peddler-take-a-look-mirror
• Google Maps for bicycles.  Google suggested some great detours for us to get away from traffic.  It provided some of the best roads of the trip.

What didn't go/work well:

• I brought too much stuff.  Things I brought that I didn't need:
• Bluetooth speaker.  The wind is too loud, especially a head wind.  The solitude is why you go on a bike tour.  Leave your speaker home.
• Big bike lock.  I did use my big bike lock at Zion, but I didn't really need it.  I have a lighter duty cable that is 6' that would have worked fine.
• I brought a bunch of tools that were over kill and three tubes.  As luck would have it, only Spencer had a flat, I never did.  We were out before goat head season.
• Niterider 750 headlight wouldn't charge.  I brought a pretty stout headlight that turned out to be a dud.  I would recommend a headlight, but I'm just venting.

This was a great trip for Spencer and I.  It was my first major bike tour and I really enjoyed seeing the state and having some quiet time.

Trip to George Day 5

Saturday, May 28 - Zion N.P. to St. George

50.9 miles - 2,131 feet of climbing

This was supposed to be an easy day gliding down 2,000 feet of elevation change from the park to St. George.  Needless to say there were a few large rollers in the way.

We packed up camp and said good bye to Jes and his girl friend and we were off.

We grabbed a great breakfast at Wildcat Willie's just outside of the park in Springdale, home of the Bumbleberry shake and Bumbleberry Pie.  

We cruised into Hurricane and grabbed a D.C. at McDonald's.  We started at McDonald's, we had to end at McDonald's. 

After conquering the brutal grade between Hurricane and St. George, Spencer was bound and determined to try a "short cut".  Are you kidding me??!!??

At the tail end of this Odysey and he expects me to climb a 12 percent grade to the city dump and then take this dirt road down to the river (giving up all of our elevation earned from the previous hour of climbing).   All to get to a bike trail and that he and I had scouted out a few months ago, but never found the connector.  Well fortunately he was right!  We followed the Virgin river to the confluence of the Santa Clara and then up to home!

Trip to George Day 4

Friday, May 27 - Panguitch to Zion N.P.

83.1 miles - 3,716ft climbing

Today was a great Day!  We got a great breakfast at Ray's and were headed out.  We had some more climbing to do before our decent into Mount Carmel Junction.  The summit of the climb was at 7,700 feet, over 1,000 feet above Panguitch.  We were able to pound the climb thanks to a generous tail wind.  The weather was overcast and cool.  We actually ran into a spot of rain and hail near the summit.  

We skipped the stop at the summit and began our decent.  We enjoyed a brief stop at a great little rest stop at Shingle Creek.  

We then kept going down the hill until we came to a great German bakery in Orderville where we stopped and enjoyed wonderful brat's and a pastry.

Once we descended to Mount Carmel Junction, we began the slog West up into Zion N.P.  This was the toughest climb of the trip.  We suddenly had a crazy head wind and a super steep grade to contend with.  I was in granny-1 and granny-2 forever getting up the hill.  We then had some windy rollers into the park.  


Once there our excitement to see the park was like a jolt of energy.  I spotted three big horn sheep watching all the excitement from his perch high above.

Zion has a tunnel that is over 1 mile long that bikes are not allowed to enter, so we had to find a ride in the back of a truck.  It took us almost an hour to catch a truck with room.  It was a beautiful brand new Toyota Tundra in metalic orange.

Once through the tunnel we descended the switchbacks down to the main canyon.  Once there we headed up canyon to the lodge to get dinner and hang out for a bit.  

We then headed to the campgrounds which were of course full.  

We trolled around until we found a very generous couple from Houston that graciously allowed us to share their camp-spot.  They were in the first come first served area that has over 100 spots.  They had to get in line at 7am (they were about 30th in line) in order to get a spot.  Crazy!!!  They were touring Utah, so we gave them some ideas for things to do and places to see.

This was a crazy hard and long day.  But The Park paid us back with some great scenery and perfect weather.

Trip to George Day 3

Thursday, May 26, 2016 - Joseph to Panguitch

64.3 Miles - 2443 ft climbing

Today was beautiful.  Thank you to Pam and Larry Gay for graciously let us staying their home.  We left Joseph about 9am. The wind was still to a tail wind today.  We picked up the bike trail this morning.

We were able to follow this trail on an old railroad siding for about 20 miles that took us to Big Rock Candy Mountain.

We had an early lunch in Marysville.  We thought we were getting away from the dog house until we stopped here for a delicious Chicago dog.

Spencer got the first flat of the trip as we were trying to outrun the storm. It's a good thing to.  There was another bike tourer about a mile ahead of us that we were trying to catch.  Good for me, the flat ended the chase.

We pulled into Panguitch about 4pm.

I am feeling super tired.  The first two days were pretty brutal and today had a lot of climbing.

 

Trip to George Day 2

Wednesday, May 25 - Manti to Joseph

65.8 miles - 944 ft climbing

A big thank you to Terry and Mardeen Stevens for treating us to their warm hospitality and delicious enchiladas for dinner and a wonderful breakfast!

Got an action shot by the temple then we hit the road.

We had a tough section of road from Manti to Gunnison.  We were riding in the lane when no cars were coming then riding between the rumble strip and edge of the pavement when cars past.  On one of our maneuvers, there was a snake sun bathing on the shoulder and Spencer didn't see it since he was following. He thought it going to strike at him. He swears it was a rattle snake, I'm not so sure, but it makes for a great story!

We had a great stop in Axtel.

We then got onto back roads that were wonderful.  The wind really started picking up mid day.

Then we stopped in Salina for our first Diet Coke of the day at Mollies pantry.

We had great roads into Richfield where we had a big meal at Sagebrush Grill.

Then we picked up a bike trail in Central Valley and hurried into Joseph ahead of the storm.  We actually were able to follow this bike path for a while the next day.

We made it Joseph!  

Trip to George Day 1

Tuesday, May 24 - American Fork to Manti

88.1 miles - 2,777 ft climbing

So we started the day by taking the 6:53am train from American Fork to Provo. 

Then we rode to Springville and hit the McDonalds before the long ride.  We found the nicest public restroom in bikedom at the park in Benjamin.

We continued South through Santquin where the wind picked up and never relinted for the rest of the day.

This section was nice.

The worst section of road was from Moroni to Ephraim.  I give it a D- for bike friendly.  It is also where the wind was worst, so we rode it at 5 mph against a 20 mph wind.  We were so disapointed in the roads in San Pete county, that we called all bad shoulders from this point forward "San Pete Shoulders".

We finally made it to Manti after 9 hours of saddle time, 11 hours total elapsed time.

Other pictures.

  

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