Day 27: On the road again

July 7, 2013

Sorry for the delay since my last entry. Nothing's wrong, just busy...

It was time to set off for Zion National Park. I still couldn't take a comfortable deep breath, at least at the start, but I'm pretty slow and lazy anyway, so what does it matter? And as the day went on I started to improve anyway. And when I say improve, I'm taking about my Tea Injury, not the fact that I am slow, which I will likely never change.

I started at sunrise to beat the heat but I got lucky on that account too. It turned out to be a cloudy morning. Though that came with a price too, as it began to thunder and lighting as I approached Hurricane. Rain I don't mind. Thunder is fine. But lighting? Seeing as I was riding through the desert, with no trees or even a tall saguaro cactus, sitting on a steel Trucker....no thanks.

So I stopped for a few minute in Hurricane to see what would happen, and what happened is a torrential downpour, for 15 minutes. And what else is there to do when something like that happens? Well, eat of course. I stopped for breakfast, and by the time the last mouthful was swallowed, the rain had stopped and the sun was beginning to peek through. After that it got sunny, and hot, but the road from Hurricane to Zion did not have nearly as much climbing as I was expecting, and all was good.

The road from the west to Zion National Park

There were some pretty ranches and orchards along the way too...

Springdale was the town right before Zion. It started with a nice bike path, but the path ended way too soon.

Just as the heat started to really set in I made it to the park. I went to the campground and asked the host about hiker biker sites.

"We have what we call Over Flow sites, that bikers usually use, but they are all without shade," she said.

Once again, I felt like, as a cyclist, I was on the losing end. Why, when it was expected to be 110 degrees in the sun, were the hiker biker sites the only ones in the campground with absolutely no shade?

But it wasn't her fault, and she was nice about it. There were other campsites available in the campground and I found a nice shady one. Though that was because I got there early. The campground filled an hour after I arrived.

Still, I was happy to have a site, and later I went to the visitor's center to plan my, well, visit. Because that's what you do at the visitor's center.

I have a couple of cool hikes planned. But you'll find out all about it...

Until then...

I went for a little dip int river when I arrived. There were places near the campground that were a little deeper. The water was crystal clear and cool. Perfect!

These deer were a little too daring for my liking

Today's ride: 48 miles (77 km)
Total: 1,294 miles (2,082 km)

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