June 16, 2010
Day 18
Oh my gosh, aNOTHER epic day! This time because of the wind, but I'll get to that...
As promised, Rod came through with the milk for my morning coffee. I was trying to decide if I would eat my banana for breakfast and save my power bar for a snack, or visa versa. I did have some trail mixed still left from when I left home but it was slim pickens aside from that.
'Come over and get your milk,' Rod yelled from his RV. So I went over and was greeted by his golden lab, Winchester.
'Come on in and have a seat,' he said. My mouth started watering at the sight of his potatoes frying. 'Do you want some potatoes?' He added as I sat down.
'Ummm, sure,' I said, trying to resist the temptation to leap over his shoulder to get at the pan.
'How do you like your eggs,' he said after the potatoes were done.
'Can you spare it?' I asked, drooling.
'I'm having my scrambled, is that ok? I bet you didn't know I ran a bed and breakfast,' he said with a smile.
So, he made me breakfast, and I gave him one of my Starbucks coffees. I think I got the better end of the deal.
After breakfast and a nice chat I packed up my stuff and left. About a 1/2 mile from camp I stopped to take a picture and to my horror Winchester came running up the road chasing a pickup with a trailer, his leash was clearly broken
'WINCHESTER!' I yelled. The pickup slowed and I almost caught his collar but missed. He was such a nice dog and he was running all over the road on a blind corner; I was so scared he would get hit! The truck picked up speed and took off, Winchester hot on his tail. I went running after him but he was out of sight. I called him again and finally he appeared, running back. He got close again and I wasn't going to miss twice. I caught him and there was no letting go! I dragged him and the Trucker down the road, one in each hand, and delivered him back to his rightful home. That crisis averted, I was ready to roll again.
So, back to the wind. The park ranger said they were 30-40 mph with 60 mph gusts. Coming down the mountain was ok for a while, until the road turned towards Torrey. The tailwinds were great, headwinds not so much, but the cross-winds were, well, unsettling. At one point I stopped to take off my jacket, thinking, rightly, that it was acting as a sail, but the cross-wind was so strong off the mountain I could NOT get back on my bike or I would have fallen over. I don't ever recall that happening to me before. I pushed the Trucker for half a mile until the road turned and I could re-mount.
I made it to Torrey fine, restocked my food supply, had a great latte and omelet at a great little coffee shop, and again had to make a decision-is it safe to ride? Again, didn't want to sit there all day, but even the motorcyclists were being buffeted. After posting last nights journal entry I rode around the parking lot. It didn't seem TOO bad so off I went, thinking I could always turn back after a few miles and hunker down.
It was beautiful and mostly I had tailwinds. The cross-winds were, a little sketchy but manageable and before I knew it was at Capital Reef National Park. Again, a decision Hanksville was 40 plus miles more, the park ranger warned me against it, AND two other nice couples had invited me to stay at their campsites if the campground was full. Still, I knew the prevailing winds were in my favor and I didn't want to sit all day. So I went
Oh, MAN. OK, so a few times the cross-winds were, eerrr, let's just say I had to use all then body English I had to keep from blowing off the road, but when I had tailwinds, which was 75% of the time, I flew! I was warned about the grades but even they were no problem with the wind. I had to stay on my toes because if I came around a corner, or the terrain changed even slightly the wind could blow me off my bike-once I went from 30 to 15 mph in about 5 seconds when my tailwind turned to a headwind. Still, I'm REALLY glad I went.
I met some interesting people along the way, including the woman who runs a little back water restaurant and campground in Cainsville, which really isn't a town at all. She explained the odd geology of the area and how it used to be the bottom of an ocean and, though it looks ugly, has really interesting fossil remains and other 'former ocean' things. After that the landscape looked more interesting to me.
So, I made it with plenty of daylight and I'm ready for whatever adventures tomorrow brings. Until then...
Thanks for reading! Karen (And the Trucker)
Today's ride: 69 miles (111 km)
Total: 1,312 miles (2,111 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 3 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |