The Route
This 61-day tour in 2010 was my longest since 1989 when I did a 6-month "practice retirement" tour.
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It's easier to visualize the route if you click the button in the upper right of the map and select "Terrain" view.
The map above is the only route map in this journal. If you want to see the map while reading the journal, click the "View Full Version" link in the upper left of the map to open a full screen map in a new tab. Then you can easily switch between the journal and the interactive map.
I had to meander to visit 11 national parks, pedaling twice as far as a direct route from Sacramento to Loveland. More than half of my route follows the Adventure Cycling Association Western Express and Great Parks South routes. But big detours were necessary to visit every national park in Nevada, Utah, and Colorado, plus the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
In addition to 11 national parks, the route takes me to several other notable parks: Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and Utah's two showcase state parks: Kodachrome Basin and Dead Horse Point. I hoped to visit Cedar Breaks National Monument but the road was still closed due to deep snow.
According to Google Maps the route is 2504 miles (4006 km), with 148,000 feet (44,850m) of climbing. My actual distance is 10% longer because of miscellaneous wandering. Starting near sea level in downtown Sacramento, the route crosses the Sierra Nevada mountains at 8574 ft Carson Pass. Then I cross Nevada's basin and range country on US50, the "loneliest road in America". In Arizona I spent several days above 8000 feet on the detour to the Grand Canyon North Rim. In central Utah the route climbs up to 9800 ft in Dixie National Forest. The notable climbs in Colorado are 10,222 ft Lizard Head pass, 11,361 ft Slumgullion pass, 11,541 ft Hoosier pass, and the highest I've ever been on a bike at 12,183 ft in Rocky Mountain National Park. The tour ended in Loveland, Colorado where I rented a car to get home to Oregon.
A PARTNER!
Bil Paul (creator of the ACA Sierra Cascades bike route) joined me for the first 7 days of the tour, from Sacramento to Austin, Nevada. I've joined Bil on 3 previous tours that he organized. It's been a long time since I've had a tour partner.
HOT SPRINGS
I soaked in four hot springs during the tour: Spencer in Nevada, plus Rico, Orvis, and Valley View in Colorado. On the drive home I soaked at Strawberry Park, Ogden, Deer Creek, and Cougar hot springs.
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