Baker,NV > Milford, UT
Miles Ridden – 83.5
Mileage to date – 732.6
We got an early start this morning due to the weather forecast and the length of the ride. We gave Ethan most of our gear and he loaded in his SUV. The plan was for him to meet us about 42 miles out with some cold drinks. We still carried lots of water, snacks and gear to make repairs. We were riding at 6:20 and it was really delightful temperature and scenery wise.
In an attempt to break my phone I shot these of Heather and Jaime as we were riding out of town-
We hit the Utah border and a new time zone in 5 miles or so –
The folks in Utah seem to be more concerned about folks safety than Nevada is. I never saw a sign like this in Nevada despite some huge distances without services –
There was a bit of headwind today early for maybe 5 miles or so but but it subsided. The riding was quite nice. We turned off of US 50 early and spent most of that day on Utah route 21 which is even lonelier than US 50. I think there were stretches of 15 or 20 minutes with no cars in either direction. Truly a remote and beautiful area.
As promised Ethan met us at 42 miles. He found an abandoned homestead with a shade tree and he came bearing cold Gatorade! Here is where we met Ethan –
Ethan met us again at about 62 miles out right before the final climb for the day. We did 3 passes today for about 4200 feet of climbing. The last 16 miles where downhill again. We could see Milford from 12 miles away! It was in the mid 90’s when we arrived at 3:00 Mountain time. We lost 1 hour when we crossed time zones. We stopped at our hotel and Ethan showed up with ice cold cokes for all of us!
The other day I was wondering when we were going to get some tailwinds and then I thought to myself “maybe we did get tailwinds and I did not notice”. Tailwinds especially if mild can be easy to overlook because often your 1st impulse is to think “I feel great, I am strong and I am such an awesome cyclist”! Tailwinds are a little like good fortune in life. Often we overlook that as well or take it for granted. I feel incredibly fortunate to have the fitness and the means to undertake this great adventure with my brother a John. I am equally blessed that my wife Cindy was so supportive of this. John, my sisters, and I were so fortunate to have 2 wonderful parents. Cindy and I are blessed with 2 great kids. The list of good fortune for me is long. I think the key is always not to focus on what you don’t have but rather focus on what you have. Peace.
Tomorrow is the last day of my adventure with John. I have very mixed feelings. I have had a total blast and seen some beautiful sights. My body is telling me it is time to take a break. Tomorrow will be 54 miles to Cedar City. Cindy will meet me there. She is bringing some gear for John and we plan to go see Bryce Canyon and Capital Reef National Parks.
Scenes from today –
The money shot. We have seen this ore something similar dozens of time and it never gets old –
We have enjoyed every day of the ride and don’t want to see them end. Thank you so much for the blog.