Day Fourteen: The Border Inn Casino to Delta, Utah

June 28, 2024

This was going to be another long day - nearly 90 miles - with no services. I was up and ready to go earlier than ever, and was riding just after 5:00. It was nice and cool.

I officially entered the Mountain Time Zone. That's one of the not so great things about riding west to east: Along with the sun in your eyes in the morning, you lose an hour every so often :)

The sky was pretty this morning. I'd looked at the weather report before leaving, and it looked like there was no chance of storms today. The day before, the weather website had a red "risk of severe weather" banner for Delta. I didn't see any evidence today for any storms that had happened yesterday, though.

I began a gradual climb, which, as usual, became steeper as I neared the top.

I reached the top and took the obligatory photo.

I was surprised by how scenic the descent was. I'd assumed the entire ride today would be flat and boring... but that long segment would come later in the day. This part was really nice.

Now, the long boring section began. John Egan had warned me about this.

I rode next to a lake for a while. It looked pretty dried up.

After that, miles and miles of boredom. I looked at each mile marker alongside the road. Probably not the best idea. Time slowed to a crawl.

I had a hunch that I should check out the lodging situation in Delta. I looked at Google Maps, and noticed that a couple of the (often inaccurate) prices listed for motels on the map were shockingly high. For this town in the middle of nowhere? It clearly wasn't near any tourist destination.

I called one of the mom-and-pop motels, whose owner, Mike, informed that he had one room left for tonight, and that nearly every room in town was usually occupied by construction workers who were employed on a multi-year project in the area. I gulped when I heard the price, but booked it anyway. I've had really bad luck on this trip so far in finding cheap motels.

Scenery on the way to Delta continued to be the ugliest of this trip so far.

Things improved a little when I reached the little farming community of Hinckley, though. There were a few trees and green irrigated fields now.

I stopped briefly in Hinckley for a cold Diet Coke, then got back on US-50, which was busier now, but with a wide shoulder.

I soon arrived at the outskirts of Delta, and was surprised to see the first corn field of the trip. I assume that will be the last one for a while.

Delta seemed like a nice enough town. I found my motel, walked across the street to buy a pizza, walked a few blocks to a grocery store for supplies, did the usual chores, then went to bed at my usual early hour, after observing the construction workers drive into the motel parking lot in their pickup trucks. I was afraid the workers would be rowdy on a Friday night, but I never heard anything, and slept soundly.

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Today's ride: 89 miles (143 km)
Total: 883 miles (1,421 km)

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Jeff ArnimI'm digging the vibes.
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5 months ago

Jeff LeeThanks! Despite my vow to never do a long bike tour again, guess what: I'm thinking about another six-week tour next year.
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1 month ago