June 14, 2019
Saint George - Enterprise, Utah
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elevation gain 3,894. Descent 1,316.
Here we go. We've had a rest day and a couple of big downhill days. Now it's time to pay the piper. The breakfast here at the Clarion was better than average. They had french toast sticks, biscuits and gravy, eggs, bacon, sausage, frozen fresh fruit, and the usual carb items. Oren and I met when breakfast opened at 6 AM. We are out the door now in five minutes.
The clerk agreed to hold our old wheel for John's wife to pick up as she drives through tomorrow. That all worked out quite well.
It is 70 degrees with a 6 mph north wind out there. We are heading north . . . it's a climbing day all day. I've already told Oren to take off if I get too slow. There is a bakery at the town of Veyo that has been talked up in quite a few journals. Perhaps we will stop. We did call and check last night that the restaurant in Enterprise is open. After our experience in Hildale trying to find an open restaurant, we aren't too trusting of what google says.
Tailwinds to you all today.
Here it is 1:30 PM and I've made it to town. I've put my feet up the wall. I'm sure you know that cure for draining lactic acid after a hard ride? I'm eating last night's Mexican food leftovers. It wasn't very tasty last night, but there's nothing like a hard ride to make mediocre food delicious!
The same CG journals that raved about the Veyo bakery also mentioned the difficult grades on the bike path heading out of town. Both journals said they ended up abandoning the bike path for the more kindly graded highway with a generous shoulder. We decided to start with the highway. There's plenty of climbing today without making it more difficult. It certainly was a nice looking bike path - freshly paved with a center line and everything. We saw one bicycle rider riding it and a number of runners. It appeared to go all the way to Snow Canyon.
I was surprised at the amount of traffic heading out of town and the four lane highway. Where was everyone going? Enterprise is a tiny town. We were happy to find it had *a* restaurant. The four lane highway was nice and smooth and had an ~8 foot shoulder without a rumble strip. It was also clean. I don't think I've noted before that we've ridden on quite a few highways that have shoulders, but they are so dirty I'm reluctant to use the shoulder for fear of picking up something that would give me a flat. This shoulder was wide and clean. Drivers scooted over into the opposite lane. It was busy, but good.
We were climbing gently from the get go. I was hoping that trend would continue. My legs really aren't into 10% grades! I know we have a few of those coming up later in the trip. But not today, I hope.
Oren quickly pulled away from me. He did not stop in one hour. I took a couple of photos and fell even further behind. I didn't try to catch up. When Oren did stop, I told him I was taking the slow but sure plan and to ride his own ride. Scenery to start was lots of red rocks which quickly changed to cedar and juniper as we climbed. It started to look a lot like Colorado, with mountains in the background and meadows with trees closer to the road.
Where was all of this traffic going? We went through several small developments of retirement homes (?) and traffic slowed down. The road also narrowed, but it didn't matter.
Veyo is at mile 20. I could see Oren's blinking light from way down the highway. He had stopped at the convenience store, not the bakery. There wasn't a single car at the bakery. They were closed! That has happened to us often this trip. Oren said he'd been there about 15 minutes, he was eating his usual chocolate milk with a prepackaged danish.
I walked inside. Restrooms were to the rear. I pushed open the door to the ladies room and there was a man using the bathroom. It was a one seater . . . the door definitely said ladies. I used the men's room instead. Tit for tat.
This was a real country store with a post office inside complete with clerk. They had a home version of Redbox with DVD rentals. A deli, grocery area, general supplies. I was happy to find a V-8 and to top off my water bottle with ice and water.
Oren waited for me to finish my drink. We read the sign on the bakery - it said open 11-4. We were too early. But look, the OPEN sign seemed to be red now and a guy just went in. But it wasn't 11 . . . we did not walk across the street to try our luck. Maybe Jacinto went?
My phone had said north wind, but it hadn't seemed to be much of a factor so far. The grade was reasonable. I switched back and forth between the middle ring and the granny, but never stayed in the granny for too long. The mile markers had started at 0 in Saint George, so they were conveniently counting up to our end point of 41. I knew that mile 35 was the top of the climb at 6,100 feet. Yep, a real climbing day.
My legs were doing just fine. All was good. Until, suddenly at mm 27, just like someone switched a switch, a strong headwind came up. What the heck? I have to climb against a headwind? That's too much to ask. I went into full self pity mode. Woe is me. I started looking at pick up trucks with great interest, speculating if my bike would fit in the back. Mile 27-28 was mentally no good. Mile 29 wasn't much better. I stopped at all of those mile markers. I was hoping when I got up in the canyon a bit more the twisting road would slow the wind down. I think I stopped at every mile marker through 31. I even ate a couple of Perpetuum tablets. I don't know if they jump started my legs or if the grade got better, but then I felt more energy. The road leveled off a little and I could see the elevation number was almost to the magical 6,100.
Mile 35 came and went and I didn't see the summit sign, but that was ok because I could tell it was just around the bend. Thank goodness! I was sure whiny there for a few miles. It's a good thing I was riding alone so no one had to listen to me.
At the top I switched my music to a playlist of rock and roll songs from my Mother's memorial. I started the downhill to Lynyrd Skynyrd's Simple Man. It was a quick five miles to town. Bertha was on the job and told me to turn left. There was Oren waiting outside of the motel. Rachel was ready to go home, but Oren had asked her to wait and check me in. $76. for a roomy, but simple room. We have a microwave and fridge. No ice. The TV is computer monitor size. Wait until Jacinto sees that. I haven't showered yet, so can't comment on the shower. The towels are extra thick, worth commenting on thick.
It was 80 degrees when I got in. We had intermittent cloud cover all day, which I appreciated.
Tomorrow is only 1,900 feet of climbing to Cedar City. Then we have a day off. Look at us, having a day off again already. The reason is the following day is an absolute killer up to Brian's Head - we will need fresh legs for that.
OK - time for a shower.
Jacinto got in a couple of hours later. He took the bike path, of course. Who would want to miss out on extra climbing? He said that one section was so steep that his front wheel came off the ground and he had to sit down in a hurry and lean forward to avoid going over backward. He had a strong tailwind all day and didn't stop anywhere. Not even the gas station or the bakery.
I took a giant nap, at least an hour. Maybe more. When I woke up, my thighs were complaining. I think I had better do some more stretching.
We went across the street to Verla's for dinner. It was horrible. Don't eat at Verla's. the cook must be worried about serving undercooked food. Oren's hamburger steak and my pork chops were so overdone they were like shoe leather. Jacinto ordered salmon, which I think is a mistake in a little town like this. He says we must not have been hungry enough, his was just fine. Jacinto had slathered so much Tabasco sauce on his, I don't think he could tell what it tasted like.
Tomorrow should be an easier day. We can sleep in and leave later. We could even eat breakfast out. Forget that. I'm not going to Verla's again. I'll have oatmeal in the room. We've been spoiled with really good food the entire trip. Last night my Mexican food was mediocre, but edible. This was horrible.
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Today's ride: 41 miles (66 km)
Total: 592 miles (953 km)
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