John Aylward Photography

Today’s Highlights:
Today’s 64-mile ride was fun and easy, especially the bike path along the Jordan River. We all wore our red America By Bicycle jerseys today in honor of Flag Day. It was also requested that we ride the first segment of the route together, because many junctions of the trail were very confusing. That turned out to be true, and at least once we all got lost together. For me, it was really nice to parade with the others for a couple hours, because I have so often ridden in solitude on this trip. It also gave me a chance to get pictures of several of the riders.

We started our day on an unusual bike path that was in or along the SLC airport. There were a few security gates we had to enter or exit along the way. After a few miles, we left that path and rode streets through a commercial area. Then at ten miles, we hopped on the Jordan River path. That was a lot of fun with many curves as it followed the river, twisted through trees, and crossed meadows. It included elevated boardwalks over wetlands and several bridge crossings over the river. There were ducks, swans, sandpipers and other birds along the way.

Once off the Jordon River path, we had a short ride on busy streets again, taking us to our one rest stop for the day. From there, people continued in smaller groups and I left with Ken, Bud and Emma. We soon came to our last bike path for the day, a short 2-mile path in Jordan Meadows (the Draper City Trail). Although it was short, this trail was high above the valley and had very nice views north to Salt Lake City, east to the Wasatch Range and west to the Oquirrh Mountains where there is a huge open pit mining operation (mostly copper).

The final thirty miles of the ride was on a small stretch of highway and a very long stretch of four-lane strip mall thoroughfare passing every store and service imaginable. The traffic was very heavy too. There was one peaceful section through the campus of Brigham Young University. Five miles before the end of our route, we stopped for ice cream at the Creamery. It was awesome!

With a late 7:30 am start and a slow pace today (and a nice ice cream break), we completed the ride around 2:00 pm. We had a nice blue sky, comfortable temps, and sometimes a helpful tailwind. I’ve reached the point where I can say a 64-miles was simply pleasant. I guess that also means we are well conditioned now.

Day 13

Statistics: Zoom and pan the map to explore the route.

Time: 6/14/2013, 6:44:0

Duration: 06:13:20

Ascent/Descent: 1710 ft 1438 ft

Distance: 64.23 M

Today’s Highlights:
We had our first rest day of the trip after riding for eleven days in a row. My primary goal for today was to not sit on anything hard. Mission accomplished.

I slept late – until 6:00 am. The morning was leisurely. Cleaned and lubed my bike. Cleaned up some gear. Caught up on email, etc. Nothing exciting.

We are staying on the west side of the airport, far from town, and there is really nothing else around here except for four or five hotels and one Subway shop. A few people shuttled to the airport and took a bus into town for some sightseeing. This afternoon, several of us were shuttled into town to visit a couple bike shops and pick up some needed supplies. We did not stop at any other sights though. It’s unfortunate that we were not staying downtown to allow more options for things to do. Although resting was just fine with me.

We had dinner at the hotel. It was very good. We enjoyed Dave’s humor during dinner.
Dave: “I’m a little dyslexic. One time I tried to commit suicide and I jumped in back of a bus.”

Two of our riders are returning home today, as planned, after completing the first segment called Western States Tour. Andy Hiroshima will return to Sacramento, and Meaghan Fondiller to Brooklyn NY. We will miss them. They always brightened the room with a big smile and cheerful camaraderie. Unfortunately, we have one unexpected departure. Jed had a crash only 100 yards from the hotel in Wendover. He was injured enough to inhibit riding, but he leaves in good spirits. He plans to continue next year from Salt Lake.

We have one new rider, Millard, who will ride this next section, the Rocky Mountain Tour.

We will have a leisurely start tomorrow. 6:30 breakfast, 7:30 load and leave. Nice! I am looking forward to cycling through Utah.

Today’s Highlights:
We had another epic day on our cross-country journey! We covered 118 miles from the Nevada-Utah border to Salt Lake City. We are on Mountain Time now, although it doesn’t matter much since we really operate on sunshine time. The 4:15 am alarm came much too soon this morning after yesterday’s long ride. I had to fix a flat tire in my hotel room, then had a very quick breakfast, and we were once again on the bikes at sunrise. I took a few pictures leaving town with the sun just coming over the horizon.

Our ride started on the salt flat, and we passed right by the Bonneville Salt Flats State Park. It is really amazing to see that white basin stretching out to the horizon or to the mountains. It was especially pretty at sunrise with a backdrop of purple mountains and high puffy clouds. After about ten miles, I joined up with Gene, Jane and Mark to form a pace line. There was a stiff wind from the south as we headed east, and it helped quite a bit to team up. We pressed on to our first rest stop which was a long 42 miles from the start. I didn’t take many photos during that stretch since I was concentrating on the group ride. It was nice to have company.

We continued our pace line after the rest stop, but I eventually dropped out so I could take pictures and move at my own pace. Pressing on in the wind alone was worth the extra work, because the landscape changed as a small climb raised us above the salt flats, and I stopped much more often to shoot. Winding through a low mountain pass, there were nice scenes of mountains and grasslands. Once over the pass, I picked up another pace line with Gene, Jane and Dave this time, and rode with them for about ten miles before venturing on my own again.

The route dropped down into salt flats again, southwest of the Great Salt Lake. I came to a small, very salty lake, which I assume was a southern-most branch of the Great Salt Lake. It was pretty to see, but not so nice to smell! The wind was very strong here and a struggle to ride against for several miles. Luckily, it shifted to a crosswind after a while and was not quite so difficult.

Our second and final rest stop was at ninety miles. I made it there feeling pretty good, and was not concerned about riding only thirty more. The crosswind continued as I rode on I80 where it dissects the southernmost tip of the Great Salt Lake. However, seeing the mountain range directly ahead and knowing the road would turn northeast, I knew that things would improve around the bend. And they did. The last twenty miles of the ride had a nice tailwind, and I was comfortable stopping as much as I wanted to take pictures since I made good time while pedaling. At 108 miles, I reached the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake, which I was really glad to see up close. The route was on a frontage road off I80 and I was able to stop often to enjoy the view. I rolled into the hotel around 3:15 pm. It was a very long day in the saddle, but another great day to be out experiencing natural wonders.

We have now ridden for eleven days straight, covering 869 miles, climbing 30,000 feet, with almost 60 hours of saddle time! Tomorrow is our first rest day. Hooray!

Day 11

Statistics: Zoom and pan the map to explore the route.

Time: 6/12/2013, 5:02:2

Duration: 09:23:18

Ascent/Descent: 1147 ft 1323 ft

Distance: 118.32 M

Today’s Highlights:
We had another early start today, on our bikes at 6am. It was a cool 60 degrees and we had a nice tailwind to help us cruise along with ease. It was a great start to our longest ride so far – 107 miles. We spent the first seven miles on a nice frontage road, followed by one hundred miles on I80. The first forty miles gained a little elevation, and it was quite easy with the tailwind. We passed some picturesque ranches along the way, but the mountains in the background were veiled in haze today. Photo opportunities were limited without the clear blue sky we had on previous days.

We had our first rest stop at mile 40 and our second one at mile 70. Between the two, we had a significant amount of climbing, almost 2000 feet, reaching a summit at 6919 feet. Most of the landscape approaching the climb was the usual sagebrush and occasional grassy pastures. However, as soon as we hit 6000 feet, low growing pine trees appeared, creating a very distinct change in the ecosystem. As we neared the summit, large granite walls rose up from the valley. The ascent up the canyon was very scenic and accompanied by a cool breeze. It was an enjoyable climb. The summit opened up into grassy meadows with yellow flowers.

After a quick rest and snack at the summit, there was a big, fast descent down the east side. Our luck with the wind changed, and a strong hot crosswind from the south added significant work to the last thirty miles. There was construction along the way, and we traveled fifteen miles in the closed off left lane. Near the end of the work zone, I rode along side fresh pavement and fragments stuck to my tires making a real mess.

After ninety miles, we reached a valley that had a lot of patches of salt. There was some mining in the area. At 100 miles, we had one more small climb. After cresting that hill, the town of Wendover appeared below. Beyond that was an amazing site. It looked like an ocean that had dried up (well, that’s really what it was). Unfortunately, it was still very hazy and I could not get a good picture of it. Tomorrow, we will get a close look at it as we ride through it.

I think today’s 100 miles was my fastest century ever. I finished it one hour faster than my usual century time. However, it still felt like a very long day. It’s actually hard to remember much of what I cycled through. I’m glad I took pictures to help remember it even though the lighting was not favorable.

Day 10

Statistics: Zoom and pan the map to explore the route.

Time: 6/11/2013, 6:08:5

Duration: 07:17:20

Ascent/Descent: 3659 ft 4322 ft

Distance: 106.39 M