June 18, 2019
Bonking for 51 Miles
Hite to Hanksville
Last night I was so tired that I could barely eat two tortillas with peanut butter for dinner. Following my previous night’s junk food dinner this did not bode well for today.
Breakfast was two tortillas with peanut butter. This didn’t bode well either.
After taking a picture of the moon in the west, I loaded up The Mule and began to climb back out to the main road at 6:30. Two-mile climbs are a bad way to start any day.
The climb was followed by a steep descent to the Colorado River then a long slog back out of the canyon. This involved some walking as my legs were dead from yesterday’s adventure.
Even though the climb was a bit of a drag, the scenery was hard to beat. Glen Canyon is truly awesome. After seeing it, the next 40 miles paled in comparison.
I kept rolling along a gradual uphill following the road along a river. This was punctuated with a few climbs around mesas and buttes.
My body had nothing to offer. Pop Tarts didn’t help. Water didn’t help. A Fuji apple helped but it’s beneficial effects faded as the sugar wore off.
Ride. Stop. Drink. Calculate the miles remaining. Repeat.
When you’re this bonked you spend most of the ride looking at the ground in front of you. What a waste of spectacular geology.
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I arrived in Hanksville hoping to find people dressed up as Woody from Toy Story (“Reach for the Sky!”). My luck was bad except for the very first shop, a hamburger joint named Stan’s. Double cheeseburger, fries, and a large vanilla shake.
What a gut bomb. Did it ever taste good, too.
I ended up grabbing a cabin at an RV park. It’s expensive but has a shower, TV, WiFi, and quiet.
After making some phone calls (l’d been out of cell phone range for two days) I fell asleep writing yesterday’s post.
When I woke up the wind was blowing and rain was falling. This is pretty much the norm for a summer afternoon in Utah, it seems.
Total miles: 52
Tour miles: 1,941.5
Top speed: 37.1 mph
Today's ride: 51 miles (82 km)
Total: 1,948 miles (3,135 km)
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We went Moab/Green River/ Hanksville, and missed all of that great scenery. I think we stayed at the same cabins you did.
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