Kayenta, AZ - Mexican Hat, UT - The cat named Chevy won't stop this tour, and neither can COVID

June 16, 2020

Kayenta, AZ - Mexican Hat, UT

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1,194 elevation gain

Jacinto and I agreed to ride together today. I told him if the wind blows me off my bike, I'd like him there to pick me up. Talk last night was about the uncertainty of the wind. It 'should' be a strong tailwind. We sure didn't want a repeat of the crawl into town yesterday. Frankly, we wouldn't have been able to ride if the wind had been from the north. It was far too strong.

The wind blew all night and was 20 mph when we got up in the morning. Jacinto agreed to move up his departure by an hour, but he still needs plenty of time for a relaxed send off. He got up at 6, and we left at 8:20. Jacinto said he thought we might have to walk our bikes to the corner, the wind was so strong. We managed to ride. "Holy shit" was his official comment once we were out in the open.

We took off with a strong tailwind. I was averaging 20-22 mph. Then we hit road construction. Oh, boy. We got lucky there. It was a half mile of fresh pavement, with one lane open only. We scooted right through with the wind assisted power.

We rode this section the other direction last year with Oren. I looked around, trying to figure out which direction the road went and did I recognize any rock formations from this side.

We hadn't gone far done the road when Jacinto pulled up beside me to suggest we skip Mexican Hat and continue to Bluff. Oh - that's a side piece. Taking a guestbook suggestion from Ben of skipping the rest day in tiny Mexican Hat. That was very good call - our motel room this year isn't near as nice as the room we had at the same place last year. Old places tend to be remodeled a room or two at a time. Last year our room had the most amazing bathroom with a five star shower. This year I could hardly lift my arms in the tiny shower. It has three colors of tile. The bathroom cabinet has gotten wet and is peeling at the corners . . . We came back because of our good experience last time. This year was completely different. But Matt left the door open for us to get in early. I appreciate that greatly. But, this isn't a room I'd care to spend an extra day in. Especially because we can't get the wi-fi to work. Perhaps after 3 PM when the office is open, I can get it straightened out.

I got sidetracked there. I tweaked Ben's suggestion. We are going to skip our day off and break the next riding day into two. That will be much easier for me. We did have a 51 mile day with 3,900 feet of climbing. Now we will spend one night in Bluff and the next in Blanding. Wind is still a factor for the next couple of days.

Back to the day. I easily stayed ahead of Jacinto on the flats/downhills. I would expect that a tailwind would aide him more than me as his bike has a larger rear profile. We had only a couple of slight climbs today, but Jacinto pulled away from me then. Jacinto is famous for riding the entire day without a single stop of any kind. I told him before we started this trip that his homework was to take three photos a day. He has not done good with that at all. I was surprised when he pulled up next to me and asked if we could stop at the state line and take a photo. Jacinto didn't think we would ever get out of Arizona.

We did stop for a photo. Did Jacinto stop in Monument Valley for a photo? No! I couldn't believe he wasn't stopping. Finally, finally he did stop. Thank goodness. How can you go through Monument Valley without stopping at every pullout.

For anyone riding this way, the view of MV is much, much better heading into Kayenta. I kept looking in my rearview mirror to get one more glimpse. Riding away, there was a long climb. There were a couple of vehicles parked at the top of the climb with people out in the middle of the road taking photos. I'm sure they thought I was moving far too slowly, I was photo bombing their pictures.

On the slow climb I had an old Prius pass me. The passenger stuck their arm out and made a muscle and yelled, Yay, go, go, go!" That was rewarding. They didn't yell at Jacinto.

I passed a teenager standing on top of a motorhome, striking poses. I thought that either brave or foolish in this wind. As I got closer I saw they were using a drone to photo the model. As I went further, there was a young woman sitting on the ground getting a drone ready. None of these people spoke to me at all as a slowly passed. I was 40-50 feet down the road when I heard a buzzing noise at my shoulder. It startled me. It was the drone! Flying within ten feet of me in all directions as I went down the road. I don't even own a gun, but if I'd had one, I would have shot it! What an invasion of privacy. It didn't just pass me and continue on, it followed me. In our little town, we haven't had any exposure to drones. From this one incidence, I'm anti drone!

Jacinto said "What drone?" He hadn't seen a thing . . .

We had a seven mile/1,000 foot drop down to the San Juan Inn. We passed an 8% sign and a 10% sign. We went up those grades last year! I kept my brakes on slightly. We had a cross wind that tended to blow us around, especially when big vehicles would pass.

Our lodging is at the bottom of the hill, right next to the river. There's seating and tables overlooking the river. It also looks like they have a zip line, although I don't see any advertising.

I pulled right up to the restaurant, I'd already decided on my order. Generously, I decided to order a big salad and a meal and I'd share them with Jacinto. He knew nothing about my plans . . . unfortunately, the sign on the door says closed until 3 PM. The store? Closed until 3 PM. The office? You've got it . . . closed until 3 PM. But Matt left the door open for us. We were in. I had rejected two day old meatloaf at the motel this morning. Jacinto carried it. Now I was happy to finish the meatloaf off. We shall see if I end up regretting that decision.

at 2:50 we were standing outside of the restaurant, hoping for food. Matt drove up and said he'd turn the grill right on. Prices were high $14. for a hamburger and fries. We went in the store. Last year it had been bursting at the seams, stocked with an amazing variety of real food. This year the shelves were bare. I picked out a can of chili and a frozen meal. Matt's wife (I didn't get her name) pointed out that we didn't have a microwave in our room. Oh. That would be a problem. She added that Matt would cook anything on the menu for motel guests, the posted menu on the window was only for non guests. We went to see the menu. We ended up with a chef salad and a chili covered burger without a bun. $24. I gobbled the food so quickly I ended up with a stomach ache. Or was that the meatloaf kicking in? I didn't feel well all afternoon.

Jacinto and I have had The same conversation several times. I agree with him, I just don't see the solution. He thinks I don't eat enough in the morning.I eat oatmeal with craisins and almonds for breakfast. I try to supplement that with a banana, yogurt, V-8, something with more calories. Then I drink a Spiz meal replacement and snack on bars and an apple while riding. If it is a regular day, that suffices. But on a long day, I suffer towards the end. Jacinto eats a large meal of leftovers before riding. He never eats anything at all during the day. He only drinks water. I've tried to eat 'real' food early in the morning. It's just too early. My stomach refuses. I agree that more calories would help. It's a conundrum. Thus, I am starving and slamming down food.

By the time we ate our lunch, it was 4 PM. We weren't hungry for dinner. Especially me. Matt opened again at 7 AM for breakfast. Who knows how long it would take to get our food. We decided to order dinner, which could become breakfast for Jacinto and I would carry mine to eat during the day.

Jacinto ordered a green chili covered burrito. I ordered two chicken breasts covered with green chili. Matt said the second piece of chicken would be $2. Somehow the total was $32. We didn't get an itemized bill, just the total. I am SO, SO happy not to be spending another day here.

The bed was like sleeping in pudding. Lumpy pudding. The sheets were double sized (so marked with a marker), but the bed was a queen. It was overall a horrible overnight. I can't believe how much my experience changed from last year.

I did have an interesting conversation with a couple from Phoenix while I was waiting for the food. They were on a week vacation escaping the heat. They had driven over from Kayenta to eat because the only thing open in Kayenta was fast food. Ah, to have a car and drive 45 miles for a restaurant meal!

I complain (loudly, I admit). But Matt's restaurant was the only one in Mexican Hat that was open. We were lucky to get what we did. Although I could have eaten that can of chili . . . cold . . .

Jacinto holds tightly to his bike in the fierce wind. Note his new, full size pool noodle.

This is a hogan B&B. The structures aren't what I think of when I think hogan, but that's what the sign said. This was near the intersection of Gould's Trading Post. There was another B&B a short distance down the road.

Jacinto was very happy to get out of Arizona, he said we had been there far too long. Now we are familiar with all of the little towns in the southeastern part of the state.

Traffic has been very light this tour. I had no problem posing in the middle of the road. Everyone has to get their own version of Forrest Gump.

The view was better from this side in the direct sun.

Monument Valley went by far too quickly, heading north. South is much, much better.

This is the last hill down to the San Juan Inn. We also passed an 8% sign. I remember distinctly riding up, away from the motel last year.

Today's ride: 45 miles (72 km)
Total: 781 miles (1,257 km)

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