Author: Rich

From Priest Gulch Campground CO to Telluride CO Miles 43.3 Total Ascent 2,978 ft (ascent from www.bikeroutetoaster.com) Early in the morning, I awoke with a jolt, sitting upright in my tent.  Very close by, I heard what sounded like a party ratchet noisemaker going off.  Chipmunks! To add to the already great attributes of this campsite were the stars last night – the best yet!  Brilliant clear starry sky with dark background – does it get any better? It was cold last night, too!  I slept comfortably, but with wool socks on, with sleeping bag fully zipped and head tucked

From Dove Creek CO to Priest Gulch Campground CO Miles 61.0 Total Ascent 2,354 ft (ascent from www.bikeroutetoaster.com) Up at 6:15AM for coffee, and we got the bikes out of the laundry room with no difficulties.  We rolled a few hundred yards west to an unnamed café for breakfast, and talked to a real friendly plumber from Ontario for a while. Off down the road, the riding was easy and smooth, with a series of rolling hills with gentle grades.  My poor odometer once again started reading 0.0 mph, so once again I stopped to try fixes.  Deciding that the

From Blanding UT to Dove Creek CO Miles 47.9 Total Ascent 2,090 ft (ascent from www.bikeroutetoaster.com) My brother’s birthday today – he would have been 56. For some reason, I decided this morning that bicycle touring has many similarities with scuba diving. You need to be in the right place, at the right time, healthy, with the right gear, and you better have some training under your belt before getting there.  And even then, you’ve often got to put in some effort and roll with some punches in order to then also experience the joys. Fattboyz again for breakfast, because

From Natural Bridges National Monument UT to Blanding UT Miles 41.8 Total Ascent 2,516 ft (ascent from www.bikeroutetoaster.com) Jack got up really early, like around 5:15AM.  I think he figured we’d repeat yesterday’s plan of getting up real early to beat the heat of the day.  Maybe I hadn’t read that memo yet, because I caught myself on a snoring snort about 6:15AM, waking myself up. We were packed and rolling by 7AM.  This had been probably the prettiest and most comfortable campsite of the trip so far, and the quietest too.  Our not-really-that-bad snores were probably the loudest thing

From Hanksville UT to Hite UT Miles 56.8 Total Ascent 1,946 ft (ascent from www.bikeroutetoaster.com) Up by 5:30AM as planned, we gobbled strawberry pop-tarts and coffee for breakfast.  I was a little slow moving this morning while Jack patiently waited.  We headed SSE on SR95 out of Hanksville, directly into a 10 mph headwind and mild ascent.  Time to get in gear, so to speak. The pre-dawn temperatures were cool and the terrain wide open.  Isolated thundershowers were evident in the distance, and when the sun finally peeked out, our shadows were very long in the orange glow.  A wonderful

Rest day in Hanksville UT Miles 1.0 Total Ascent 0 ft (ascent from www.bikeroutetoaster.com) Can you say VEGETATE? We enjoyed a prolonged and meager continental breakfast at the nextdoor Stan’s Burger Shak.  We did enjoy reading the many wall hanging with cheesy and clever witticisms, e.g.: “I have flabby thighs – it’s a good thing my stomach covers them.” After breakfast, in the adjacent convenience market, Jack and I slowly explored every item on every shelf.  I especially got stuck on all the clever little camping items you can buy, like little pooper scooper shovels and fire starting kits.  I

From Torrey UT to Hanksville UT Miles 49.6 Total Ascent 531 ft (ascent from www.bikeroutetoaster.com) Comfy quiet rest last night, followed by the usual free but ho-hum continental breakfast, including waffles, coffee, raisin bran, and OJ.  Still, an improvement over the trail mix breakfast of yesterday. At first we climbed east on SR24, which then turned into some quick descents, with speedy segments of 8% 2 or 3 times.  We encountered an area of chip seal and more downhills, which our Surlys with 35mm tires handled quite well. At the western edge of Capitol Reef National Park, Jack pulled up

From Calf’s Creek Campground UT to Torrey UT Miles 49.8 Total Ascent 5,511 ft (ascent from www.bikeroutetoaster.com) My trusty Thermarest mattress has started leaking, but it’s a very slow leak, requiring only a few puffs throughout a full evening.  At least the soft red dirt was comfortable all by itself.  The stars were stupendous, and I left the tent fly open all night, peering up into the night sky at all hours. At 7AM, I noticed that Jack was already up and out of the tent.  Immediately I could see that he was looking much better, an immediate relief.   We