After a two week break, we have resumed our cycling journey across the US.
To summarize…
- we made it to Cedar City, UT on Sunday, May 22.
- we stashed the bikes with a lovely, generous stranger, Joe, we met via Warm Showers (more on that in a future post)
- we visited Bryce and Zion with our great friends Anne and Steve who had a CAR
- Joy went to Stockholm and London to teach Data Warehouse / Business Intelligence classes
- meanwhile, Tony flew back to San Francisco to visit family and friends
- we reunited on Sat June 4, in the Las Vegas airport. Rented a car, drove to Cedar City, reclaimed our bikes, performed basic bike maintenance, mailed Joy’s suitcase of work clothes back to Joy’s sister, Linda, in TX, and set off up the hill (hah!) towards Cedar Breaks National Monument. Complex logistics.
We are back in the saddle! We have deliberately slowed our pace and are focusing on having more fun. I’m a little embarrassed when we encounter folks who are crossing the US in 8 weeks. But that’s my Type A tendency piping up. Shut it, “A”.
The scenery and cycling in this part of Utah have been spectacular. Everyone has seen photos of the sandstone formations in Bryce and Zion, so I won’t share more of those. But I feel so privileged to have experienced the smaller beauties:
- The green meadows and bristlecone pines in the alpine zone above 10,000 feet. (As an aside, we climbed to 10,600 feet, no mean feat.)
Down Hill from Cedar Breaks - The stars! Wow. Ok, that’s a huge beauty.
- The 25 mile downhill from Cedar Breaks to Panguitch. Which was lovely, but 25 miles of downhill would be fine even with me no matter what.
- A 7-turn meander of the Sevier River. Right next to the road but mostly invisible to motorists.
- The view of Bryce Canyon from below. This was a very steep downhill which we kept slow (<30mph) in order to a) stay safe, and b) enjoy the scenery. We did stop halfway down to let our wheel rims cool. It was a good bit of braking. And hot.
- The Escalante Staircase National Monument. We rode (downhill!) through the stunning river valley into the town of Escalante.
Devil’s Garden near Escalante
The very picture of a slot canyon
Emerging from the bowels of the earthFinally, a totally awesome rest day hiking the Escalante slot canyons with our great guide Sean. Wow. Wow wow wow. Amazing scenery and wildlife. A bit active for a rest day, but different muscles and no butts on bikes.
Over the next few days we have another big climb to Boulder, UT and then over another hill to Capital Reef National Park. We are planning to continue to have fun, short cycling days so we can enjoy this wonderful region, state, country.
Itinerant Philosopher 
I’m so glad you went to see Cedar Breaks. Everyone talks about Bryce and Zion, but I found Cedar Breaks especially enchanting and totally private. I was able to sit on the edge with my feet dangling into the canyon. Of course I was in a car at a viewing spot. I’m sure you experienced more of this lovely place.
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We liked Cedar Breaks very much. The steepness of the canyon cliff walls was not captured well by our photos. But it was amazing. We went for a short hike — the altitude was killer — and also really loved the surrounding meadowlands.
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Yay for you guys.
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It looks fantastic! I’ve never been to that part of the country (yet) but that last picture of you emerging from the bowels of that canyon made me think of that movie “127 hours.” At least you weren’t alone… Glad you’re back in the saddle and sending updates again!
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