June 4, 2010
Day 37: Canyonlands to Moab
The tent was 68F at 6AM, very warm. Up at 6:30, on the road at 7:50, and it was already very warm. There s a good morning view at the Green River overlook, but somehow the camera didn't capture it well.
The ride north along the plateau isn't super spectacular, but it was nice to have the sun behind me. One gentle climb followed by a long descent to US 191.
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Then another 11 miles mostly downhill on busy US 191 to Moab. The Colorado river is 2 miles before Moab. The highway bridge was under construction, messing up the usual access to the bicycle bridge. But the bicycle bridge is great. The 1/4 mile long bridge didn't exist when I biked here in 1992.
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In the 1950's this mine made Moab the "Uranium capital of the world". Now it's a huge Department of Energy cleanup operation to reduce ground water contamination. Each week up to ten 34-car train loads of tailings are hauled away to a sealed disposal site. Nuclear power is NOT clean energy! Fuel production and spent fuel disposal both pose significant environmental challenges.
I rolled into Moab (population 5121, elevation 4026 ft.) just before noon. My first stop was at Pizza Hut for a high-calorie lunch. Then I got a motel room for 2 nights at the Virginian Motel. $69 per night. I knew a town like this wouldn't be cheap. I spent some time cooling down in the room but also took care of many chores. Shower, haircut, laundry, groceries. I also stopped at an optometrist to borrow a tiny Phillips screwdriver to disassemble my cyclocomputer. I was able to blow some fine red dust out of the switches, but the switches weren't any more reliable afterwards.
Moab is bigger and busier than it was when I was here in 1992. At least twice as many motels, restaurants, and stores. It's definitely prospering, with a relatively tasteful version of industrial tourism (good landscaping, no high rises). A touring cyclist doesn't attract attention because it's a somewhat wild place specializing in all kinds of adventure tourism. Mountain biking, rafting, canyoneering, jeep tours, etc. Despite using the biblical name for an area east of the Jordan river, Moab is definitely NOT a Mormon town. Culturally it's more like Colorado than Utah.
Today was a short easy ride, mostly downhill. But it was hot, high of 100F. I need air conditioning and an escape from the insects. And I need to rest for tomorrow's strenuous day trip to Arches National Park. The weather forecast says it will be even hotter than today.
Distance: 46 mi. (73.6 km)
Climbing: 1090 ft. (330 m)
Today's ride: 46 miles (74 km)
Total: 1,691 miles (2,721 km)
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