Surprise! The Blog Lives On

I would first like to say, Surprise!! I bet you didn't think you would continue to be graced with my wonderful blogging even after the trip is over!  This is for all you loyal parents, friends and family who followed us every mile of the way without fail and would like to stay in the habit for a bit longer even after we have completed our journey.  As you can tell my posts stopped with the end of Utah, and I will just have no closure until the remainder of the trip is recorded and the trip will for once and for all be complete (this may, and in fact probably is, only a sad attempt to keep the trip going on if only in my head for as long as possible).  So as I lie in my new dorm room in my comfy, yet modestly sized, comfy bed in frigged air conditioning unable to sleep due to my room-mate's dale like snoring I, if only in my mind, return to our first nights in the deserts of Nevada, and recollect.

Nevada, to put it simply, was given a bad wrap by all who spoke of it.  Riders we met going east explained the splendor of Utah and the disappointment that was Nevada.  It was said to be a baron wasteland, with mountains to climb every day and relentless heat.  So as I have many times along the way, I made Nevada out in my head, for lack of any better comparison, hell.  And in retrospect, well it honestly was a bit of a disappointment especially following what turned out to be the most beautiful and enjoyable experience in Utah. However, Nevada was not hell, therefor I was at least in some capacity pleasantly surprised with my experience there. I will only write one entry regarding Nevada because every day we rode through Nevada was essentially the same.  Nevada is said to be the most mountainous state in America, and having bicycled across the face of it, I can say that statement does not surprise me.  Every single day in Nevada went something like this. Baron shrub and dust landscape with no plants above waste level with the exception of the once a day tree sighting; mountains with a single and straight road to the ascent which you can see from at least an hour of riding time away; climbs that were not impossible but not negligible by any means followed by long descents into the biggest valleys you have ever seen, possibly because you can litterally see the entire valley from one summit to the other and in miles in either direction; repeat this at least 3 or 4 times a day and that was our day.  The climbs were tough, the winds were tougher, but all together manageable especially with the sight of California on the horizon I think anything was possible with that kind of motivation.

Some cities in Nevada were the smallest we had encountered, Middlegate Nevada (city/ gas station/ hotel/ restaurant/ bar, all in one building), population 18 17; and some cities were pleasantly surprising such as Eureka Nevada home to the Karaoke bar that the team took over, or Fallon and their excellent Chinese food and our midnight road takeover on our way home, or Carson City where I helped demolish a 16" ice cream cake with only 4 other calorie warriors.  Nevada was Nevada, definitely not the best state but definitely not the worst (Misery, I-I mean Missouri).  Nevada was means to an end, and it was the end that made the means meaningful and significant because every ounce of pain and discomfort in Nevada made California that much sweeter. And sweet it would be.

Best Town Award Goes to... Milford

A little later into Utah, past the 110 degree days in the desert we were blessed by our schedule with a 50 mile day.  Fifty miles, what would have once been daunting to me and the group as a whole, had become a cake walk, a rolling rest day if you will, but that was only the first great thing about this day.  According to the ever so often referenced elevation profile on our maps that help us plan for climbs and descents, we would have only one  climb in this 50 mile day. As we left the KOA in a group consisting of at least 2/3's of the group, we crushed across the plains with a 20+ mph average and before we knew it, literally, we were at our first stop of the day, the summit of our "Climb;" we had been going so fast and been so focused that we had completed the climb without even knowing we were doing it.  From here, according to the elevation profile, it was all down hill; except this time when I say all down hill, it was actually all down hill! So for the remaining 25 miles the cruised to our destination, Milford, Utah.

When we arrived in Milford we consulted our director Don, the knower of all things, for advice as to where to eat lunch, he replied with swift assertion Penny's Diner.  So without hesitation taking heed to our rumbling stomachs we headed to Penny's Diner. From the outside Penny's was your ordinary diner like many we had visited along the route thus far, but our experience there would prove to be very out of the ordinary.  I ordered the "Monster Burger" which was the largest most caloric thing they had on the menu, which was very ordinary for me and very delicious.  After we ate we sat there talking to Don and discussing the very nice hotel that was right next door to Penny's.  We were discussing how much we would love to stay in this hotel for the night and get a break from the heat, but we could only afford to do so if it only cost us $40 a night.  There was no way that this particular hotel would cost $40 a night but that was our price, we could do no higher, but our hopes were needless to say quite low, and we were fully prepared to pitch our tents at the town park.  We had continued to talk about our air-conditioned hotel room fantasy when a lady came over to our table and interupted us. "I am the hotel manager for the hotel next door" she said, "And I just wanted to let you know that I am offering you all rooms tonight for $40 a night."  Our table erupted in laughter as the woman looked at us bewildered and kindof insulted when Mark Letenzi explained to her, "I'm sorry miss, we were JUST talking about how we could only afford to stay there if it was $40 a night," to this she grinned and said "Well we would love to host you because we love what you are doing." She wasn't done yet though, "Also we own Penny's Diner and we are offering your whole team free breakfast tomorrow morning."  We were bewildered and gleeful beyond belief as we were set up in our hotel rooms.
Before the night was over we were offered even more hospitality, we rode our bikes to the town park to recieve a full pizza dinner provided by the local Lyon's Club. After which we followed with a giant sundae from Penny's to complete our massive caloric intake for the day.

Our stay in Milford Utah was unmatched by any other, remarkable and something I will never forget. Again and again ever since Virginia and Kentucky I am reminded that even in the strangest and most desolate places there are people in America that will open the hearts and doors to you and welcome you with open arms knowing next to nothing about you.  There are people that are passionate about giving to others and welcoming strangers.  This is the kind of way I hope to live my life.

Hello Utah!

We rode through the remaining miles of Colorado with the Rocky Mountains shadowing our backs and came unexpectedly on the state line of Utah. Utah is perhaps the only state along the route for which I had literally no preconceived expectations of; this is not to say that Utah is the only state that I have never been to, but rather it was the only state for which I had no idea what to expect, no stereo-types or Hollywood induced images. I entered Utah not knowing what to expect and I had an experience that I was not expecting.

According to the time-line I am obviously back tracking and due to the tendency for experiences along the ride to blend together it is hard to recall certain parts of Utah, however there is one day I remember distinctly.

It is strange how with state lines come unusually fast changes in scenery, as if the geography of the land is somehow linked to the unique culture of the specific state lines.  As we left Colorado we left greenery and plush mountain land-scapes in exchange for epic canyon scenery. Along with the new state scenery we we also greeted with our first long long stretches without services (gas stations, bathrooms, food ect...). This Particular day we had our longest stretch thus far without services, 78 miles.  Along the way there was the Natural Bridges National Monument of Utah which is a natural phenomenon which, like most natural phenomenons, has been exploited for tourist pleasure, where a river that was once there and is no longer, has carved out the rocks to form natural bridges over the river bed below. The team thought it would be a good idea to turn a long hot day into an even longer hot day by taking a detour and seeing a piece of Utah history.  However, once we took the four mile detour, down hill to the visitors center we realized that in order to actually see the bridges you would have to travel a total of 18 miles off of route; this, on a bicycle, was not an option. So with an 8 mile detour with my riding partner Ben Dymond, we returned to the route having seen no bridges, or anything interesting for that matter, to continue on our way into the middle of nowhere. We continued on and continued on through some of the most amazing and truely awe-inspiring scenery and some of the hardest riding conditions of the trip, did I mention the high that day was 109?  Riding a bicycle through 109 degree heat, is a daunting and rightfully so task, especially through a desert where there is no water for miles.  When riding down hill, instead of a refreshing breeze in your face you get blasted with wind that is so hot it can only be compared to pointing a blow-dryer into your face and turning it to the infamous "80's Hair" extra-high setting. After what turned into close to 90 miles, with our added detours, and a flat tire from burning rubber, we finally arrived at lake Powell to the first gas station for miles and miles, where we drank massive amounts of chocolate milk, and we able to take a dip in the lake.  As it turns out, even the deserts of America have something to offer to the wandering traveler.  The desert, even the most desolate places in the world, have a beauty of their own that is unmatched, and even in the desert there are always little heavens that make it all worth while.