July 9, 2022
Moab - Green River, UT
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It felt like I didn't sleep a wink last night. Perhaps it was the 5 PM nap. Or maybe it was eating ice cream at 8 PM (Crystal's Cakes and Cones - good ice cream). Or, it might have been anticipating getting up early to get on the road. Oren and I were both at breakfast at 6 AM, and were rolling at 6:25.
The sun wasn't up over the ridge yet, and traffic was light going through town. We got on the bike path where the 650 foot climb started. I was thankful we were still in the shade for the slow climb. We did not see a single other bicycle rider. If I were going to ride in Moab, I would sure be doing it at this hour. We saw two joggers. That was it.
At mile 11, we were dumped onto Highway 191. That is exactly where the new pavement ended. How ironic. The shoulder width varied from four feet to nothing, and back again. There was an ill placed rumble strip that often took away what little shoulder we had. We mostly balanced to the right of the white line. Traffic was lighter than the day we came into Moab. I'm sure that's because of the early hour today. We still had many semi trailers pass us. One was a triple. There were many doubles, and one wide load. I got off the road when I saw the pilot car for the wide load. I didn't know how wide it really was.
I've never been so happy to get on the interstate. We had a better ride going out of town than coming in. But that doesn't mean it was fun. We had a cross wind on 191, which switched to a tailwind on the interstate. We also had a downhill. I was coasting much of the time, or riding at 22-24 mph. This is the way to get to town!
There was a sign, advertising all of the food available. Subway was one of the choices. That sounds good, we haven't had Subway since Gunnison. When we exited the interstate, a sign said how many miles to each food spot. Green River is a long, skinny town. We are staying at the east end. Most of the food is three miles away on the west end. I do not want Subway enough to bicycle six extra miles. We ended up at the gas station. It had Domino's or Chester's Chicken. Oren and I both bought chicken. Oren had two cold drinks. I filled up my water bottle twice. We weren't in a hurry to move on, but finally my sweat soaked clothes started to feel clammy. I suggested we try our luck at the motel.
We originally had a reservation at Motel 6. It was very cheap - $51. total. Oren questioned the reservation more than once. The reviews were good - I looked again. Hmm. Now there are several people saying that a sign in the lobby says a five star review will allow people to enter a drawing for an Apple Watch. Many reviews mentioned cleanliness. We decided to err on the side of caution, and changed our reservations to Comfort Inn. That was a good move. Especially because we are in town before noon and were allowed to check right into our rooms. Our room is clean, and has an easy chair.
Breakfast is at 6 AM tomorrow. I'm sure Oren and I will be there as it opens. We have a 58 mile day tomorrow. It will be hot again.
I wasn't expecting much of the day today - no great scenery. The Colorado Plateau was pretty in the distance, but we spent most of our time looking for and dodging tire chunks on the shoulder. We had two choices to get off of busy roads. One was a dirt road that ridewithgps suggested. It would have cut four miles from the total day, but we thought the effort of riding the dirt wouldn't be worth saving only four miles. We are a little cautious now, after that rough rock road to Sapinero. Our other chance to get off was to get on old Highway 6. We rode that in 2019. The road hasn't been maintained in many, many years. We picked our way through the potholes. Who knows what the condition would be three years later. I originally intended to get off on old highway 6, but the tailwind and downhill was so nice on the interstate, that I stayed where I was.
Jacinto is still out there. He doesn't care that about heat. The high today is forecast to be 107. The clerk at the motel said it's just another day here. But, it's a dry heat!
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2 years ago
2 years ago
Today's ride: 53 miles (85 km)
Total: 1,302 miles (2,095 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 8 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 2 |
2 years ago
We did ride old Highway 6 (but skipped it today - the tailwind was too enticing). We also rode into Green River the back way - that was in very bad shape in 2019, including a dirt section. We are dirt weary, after that rock section going to Sapinero. I think we are all getting on the interstate - after riding horrible 191 for two days, the novelty of the wide shoulder on the interstate is appealing.
2 years ago