Day 23: North Rim to Lee's Ferry

May 21, 2010

The weather forecast calls for southwest winds gusting up to 50 mph. I'm going northeast, and I will lose 4800 feet of elevation. The longest day of the tour may become one of the easiest days...

Up at 6, on the road at 7:45 after a chat with Matt. Going north was easy with a brisk tailwind, even the climbs. It was cold in the shade.

Backtracking across the Kaibab plateau, with warmer weather and noticeably less snow than two days ago.

I stopped for another very slow lunch at Jacob Lake. At Jacob Lake I turn east on US 89A, through pine forest.

Through the ponderosa pine zone once again.

Then to the north edge of the Kaibab plateau. The road drops 600 feet in switchbacks with a spectacular view of the valley and Vermilion Cliffs.

At the bottom of the valley US 89A turns east following the valley to the Colorado river with the Vermilion Cliffs on my left. The cliffs rise as much as 3000 feet. Vermilion Cliffs National Monument is one of the newest National Monuments, created by executive order of Bill Clinton on November 9, 2000.

The road was nearly flat, downstream with a raging tailwind. Several times I was going 30 mph and could still feel wind pushing on my back. At that speed I could quickly get through areas of blowing sand.

I stopped for ice cream at the Marble Canyon store. The temperature was at least 90F. Marble Canyon isn't really a town, but it has a store and two motels. I saw but didn't talk to two westbound bike tourists struggling into the wind.

Marble Canyon is where US 89A crosses the Colorado river with spectacular red rock in all directions above, and yellow rock in the canyon below. There are two bridges. The old bridge was completed in 1929 and is now a pedestrian walkway with a very grand "pork barrel memorial" visitor center on the west side. The adjacent new bridge completed in 1995 has nearly identical visual appearance at the request of the Navajo Nation which owns the east side of the canyon. The sun was low enough that the river and much of the canyon were in the shade. The canyon should look better in the morning.

The old Navajo bridge at Marble Canyon. 834 feet long, 467 feet above the river, completed in 1929. Lower right is the shadow of the new bridge.

I turned onto Lee's Ferry road, down to the Colorado river along the base of the Vermilion Cliffs. Once again the sun angle was bad, so I'll take pictures in the morning. I rode a little past the campground to a riverside park to see the Colorado river up close before sun dips behind the Vermilion Cliffs. I never did ride the last 1.5 miles to the boat launch. I wish I did.

I shared a campsite with one of the two cyclists I saw in Marble Canyon. Tim from Mesa, Arizona. 67 years old, riding from home to Oregon with a new knee.

Tim, a 67 year old touring cyclist from Mesa Arizona.

The campground is well above the river with a 360-degree view of tall red cliffs. Our site has a river view. The campground has flush toilets, no shower.

The warmest and windiest night of the tour was here at Lee's Ferry.

Today I made a radical change in scenery and climate. But one thing is constant - the Colorado river. I never saw the Colorado river at the North Rim but I could certainly look into the Grand Canyon and feel its presence. Now I'm finally close to the elusive river, at the bottom of the canyon.

Lee's Ferry (3300 feet elevation) is famous for being hot and windy. At 10 PM, long after dark, it was 86F in my tent. The wind was so strong that dust blew into my tent. I tried closing the rain fly to block the dust, but then it got miserably hot. So I opted for airflow with blowing dust. Warmest night of the trip, by far.

Distance: 93.5 mi. (150 km)

Climbing: 3376 ft. (1023 m)

Average Speed: 14.4 mph (23.4 km/h)

Maximum Speed: 39.5 mph (63 km/h)

Today's ride: 94 miles (151 km)
Total: 1,093 miles (1,759 km)

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