Rangely, CO - Vernal, UT - The cat named Chevy won't stop this tour, and neither can COVID

June 29, 2020

Rangely, CO - Vernal, UT

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1,831 elevation gain

Short story - I was giddy with relief when I successfully made it to town. I wouldn't be surprised if the motel clerk thought I had taken a mind altering substance . . . .

Long version - I did sleep last night, I think only because I hadn't slept well the night before. I didn't wake up until 4 AM. My alarm was set for 4:45. I went back to bed until 4:30, then got up. Jacinto was awake also. He didn't admit that he hadn't slept. We had tall cottonwood trees outside of our room. We watched the upper branches bend and sway all evening long. We could hear the wind whistling through the branches all night. Holy moly!

I had mentally lined up a selection of alternate transportation. A brother of a friend lives in town. Maybe he could give us a ride? Or we could call Marcela to drive up from home? Or we could thumb a ride? We could fight our way to Dinosaur (17 miles), stay there, and reroute. . . . or, we could do as we've done so many other times, and just deal with it.

I choked my oatmeal down. My stomach was rolling big blurps, like a pot boiling. I anticipated a hard day and wanted to eat more, but I know myself. I calm down once I get on the road.

I had looked at the weather forecast 99 times on multiple sites. Jacinto said I couldn't do a thing about it, why torture myself. He was correct. I kept looking anyway. From what I could see, the further we got from Rangely, the more the wind died down. I just needed the perseverance to get to Dinosaur and make the turn. Later in the day the wind was supposed to shift to a straight west wind, I didn't want to hit that. I would leave early.

Jacinto helped me get my bike out the double doors. He had offered to ride together if I would wait until 7 AM, but we had more climbing today and I wanted to get on the road and settle my nerves. Off I went. It was another case of appreciating each mile as it was achieved.

Today is Monday. I didn't see much traffic going into town. Jacinto and I agreed that today would be a good day to be riding on a busy road so the traffic could pull us along. No. No helpful traffic today. My average speed was 8 mph for quite a while. My anticipation was such that I was happy with that speed. I could get to town eventually at 8 mph.

Mile 10 was a big celebration! Hurray, 20% of the trip is done. Even if the wind gets worse, I have 10 miles done. I kept talking to myself like that the entire day. It wasn't until I reached Jenson at mile 38 and started the climb away that I admitted to myself the wind had died down for the most part. It was going to be ok.

The day was overcast from the start. Occasionally I would see the sun peeking through here or there, but not often. In front of me was a wall of black rain clouds. That's just what we need - wind and rain. Jacinto had said he'd rather ride in the rain than wind. I'm not much for riding in the rain. Canada fixed me of that. We had day after day of cold rain. It wears on the soul. I always thought I'd like to bicycle through Canada to Alaska. Tok, AK is literally on my phone's weather app and has been for years. Not that I think Tok is an exciting place, but it's the first town over the border from the Yukon Territory. Geographically, it's a big deal. My friend Pete made that ride. It was rain day after day. I'm not sure I have the mental fortitude. Some people have the best time if they suffer a little. That's Jacinto - he's the most happy if he's exercised so much that he can hardly walk across the room. I like to exercise enough to make my dinner taste good. Oren says he likes to work out hard enough to need a nap . . . .

In the end, today was a good day. I had sprinkles of rain off and on. Twice I thought it was really going to rain on me. I went so far as to get out a plastic bag to cover my phone. The road was quite wet in front of me and the bike got dirty from cars kicking up spray. All things considered, it wasn't a bad day.

Today had far less green than yesterday. There were still some interesting rock formations, but mostly it was a bare dirt kind of day. I'm happy that bare dirt wasn't blowing around and in my eyes!

When I made the turn at Dinosaur onto Highway 40, I expected more traffic. It didn't increase substantially. Jensen was at mile 38 and was a green oasis. From there traffic did pick up and we lost our good shoulder. The road had about a two foot shoulder, but the rumble strip was right in the middle, forcing us to the driving lane. I was very conscious of each passing vehicle. It seemed that there were plenty. There were buildings all along this stretch as we approached town. I saw a Subway in Naples. Subway! Too exciting. When did I get a Subway last? I wasn't too hungry. I had eaten an apple at the bridge because there was supposed to be a big climb coming up. I decided to stop at the Subway because I'd be hungry way before our regular dinner time of 5 PM. The sign on the door said take out only. No partitions or masks. I was so happy to be there and be close to the motel. I made it! I beat the wind again. I hope I didn't just jinx myself.

I strapped the salad container on the back of my rack and took off. Four miles to the motel. I looked carefully at the lodging choices and restaurants as I rode through town. There's an EconoLodge right next to our Best Western. Originally this was supposed to be a layover town. I think that's why we went with the nice motel. We used that extra day in Rifle. No layover here. We keep moving. I am definitely enjoying the nicer rooms we've been staying in. I think I'll look into getting a Best Western credit card. Pete likes to stay at BW specifically because they always have a washer and dryer. I have my clothes outside in the sunshine by the door.

It started raining just as I pulled up in front of the motel. I opted for a double queen room over a king as I could get right in. 11 AM and I'm to town - I'm totally happy with that. The wind can start blowing later and I don't care. The rain gave up, it is 63 degrees right now. That's unseasonably chilly for this area in late June. No complaints here! The sun has peeked out, which is good for my clothes drying.

I had just gotten out of the shower when Jacinto arrived. He only had a few sprinkles and definitely didn't like the rumble strip placement either. We are both happy to be here.

Our next two nights are in little tiny places with one place to stay and I hope a place to eat. I'm going to check that out right now.

Later - We are still freezing and we are in the room. I have on a jacket and my legs under the blanket. There is definitely a cold front in the area. I looked at the weather for Bear River Lodge. It says snow and rain today with snow likely tonight! Highway 150 goes there, over Wolf Creek Pass at 10,700 feet. That ride wouldn't be fun under those conditions.

In the lobby of the motel. I might have snorted as I walked by, prepared to battle the wind.

Seen at the children's playground in Dinosaur.

Today's theme seemed to be old buildings.

I want to say this had a sod roof - but it looks more like lots of gravel on top as opposed to grass, or even dirt.

I wonder how many photos are taken of this sign each year?

Jacinto did an excellent job with scenery photos today.

These are the blue mountains. We stayed at the Blue Mountain Inn last night.

Today's ride: 51 miles (82 km)
Total: 1,254 miles (2,018 km)

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