I registered on couch surfers . com last week and placed an advert and a request for help with accommodation when in Cedar City.
I got In touch with super friendly and helpful Luzzy and Lena who were kind enough to offer me a bed in their spare room.
They also looked after my bike while I drove to GC and Zion which was really kind of them.
When I returned from my road trip they were hosting three more cycle tourists so they had a full house.
The other three were also riding to the East Coast, 2 to New York and 1 to Maine.
We all agreed to hit the road together this morning, leaving at 6am!!!
That was a little earlier than I was used to, but for the opportunity to ride with other people, it was worth getting up early for.
As we prepared to leave one of the other cyclists, Rachael looked unwell and was sick a few times. I think this is what happens when a vegan eats spam but thats another story.
Rachael and her companion suggested Chris and I ride ahead and they would hopefully catch up a bit later once she was feeling better.
So the two of us set off seeing as we had already made the effort to get up and ready, which wasn't easy at 5.30am.
The riding was basically split into 2 halves. 30 miles uphill and then 30 miles downhill.
It was a long day - About 9.5 hours from door to door and we covered 61.5 miles. The climb was long and slow and lasted nearly 6 hours. I went to the highest altitude i have ridden to at about 10,600 ft.
Our route was to take us very close to Cedar Breaks National Monument. Unfortunately the road to this attraction/park was still closed because of the winter weather. We checked the latest road advisory and it said it had not been plowed and was still shut.
We were prepared to take a detour which was a massive shame. At approx 9,700 ft we arrived at the entrance to the 'closed road' and should have carried on past it.
The snow was not that bad on the road we were travelling and the weather was looking pretty respectable at this point.
We also knew that the 'closed road' only climbed another 1000 ft max so couldn't see how conditions would change that much.
Anyway after deliberating for about 10 seconds we decided that there was no way this road could still be impassable so we climbed around the barrier and proceeded to Cedar Breaks National Monument with quiet confidence in our plan.
It was a master stroke and our hunch was correct.
We had the whole national park to ourselves, no cars or tourists. The music was on and the road was fine, mostly.
Ok, there were a few patches where deep snow covered the road but it was pretty easy to get over or around.
We has great viewing points with fantastic outlooks and no hustle or bustle for a good spot.
Cedar Breaks is another breathtaking natural formation on a big scale. Had I not been to GC the previous day I would have been gormlessly open mouthed again just as Chris was today. ;)
As we were coming close to the end of the so called 'closed road' the weather was closing in.
It started to sleet, literally as we approached the back of the 'road closed' sign, about 8 miles from the start of our digression.
We paused victoriously for a picture and then re joined the open, public roads. As we did this the sleet turned to heavy snow and the temperature quickly plummeted to about -2C.
This was the beginning of the descent down the mountain and it was tough going. My glasses were misting on the inside from my warm breath (diverted by my face cover) and they were getting covered in snow on the outside. Visibility was only about 30 metres anyway.
It was a pretty hairy ride until we got down to about 7000 ft where the snow disappeared, temperatures slowly climbed and the feeling came back into my fingers.
After this it was a pretty gentle ride into Panguitch, home got the night.
Tomorrow the plan is to head to Escalante. More miles to cover but less severe climbing so hopefully a slightly easier day.
I got In touch with super friendly and helpful Luzzy and Lena who were kind enough to offer me a bed in their spare room.
They also looked after my bike while I drove to GC and Zion which was really kind of them.
When I returned from my road trip they were hosting three more cycle tourists so they had a full house.
The other three were also riding to the East Coast, 2 to New York and 1 to Maine.
We all agreed to hit the road together this morning, leaving at 6am!!!
That was a little earlier than I was used to, but for the opportunity to ride with other people, it was worth getting up early for.
As we prepared to leave one of the other cyclists, Rachael looked unwell and was sick a few times. I think this is what happens when a vegan eats spam but thats another story.
Rachael and her companion suggested Chris and I ride ahead and they would hopefully catch up a bit later once she was feeling better.
So the two of us set off seeing as we had already made the effort to get up and ready, which wasn't easy at 5.30am.
The riding was basically split into 2 halves. 30 miles uphill and then 30 miles downhill.
It was a long day - About 9.5 hours from door to door and we covered 61.5 miles. The climb was long and slow and lasted nearly 6 hours. I went to the highest altitude i have ridden to at about 10,600 ft.
Our route was to take us very close to Cedar Breaks National Monument. Unfortunately the road to this attraction/park was still closed because of the winter weather. We checked the latest road advisory and it said it had not been plowed and was still shut.
We were prepared to take a detour which was a massive shame. At approx 9,700 ft we arrived at the entrance to the 'closed road' and should have carried on past it.
The snow was not that bad on the road we were travelling and the weather was looking pretty respectable at this point.
We also knew that the 'closed road' only climbed another 1000 ft max so couldn't see how conditions would change that much.
Anyway after deliberating for about 10 seconds we decided that there was no way this road could still be impassable so we climbed around the barrier and proceeded to Cedar Breaks National Monument with quiet confidence in our plan.
It was a master stroke and our hunch was correct.
We had the whole national park to ourselves, no cars or tourists. The music was on and the road was fine, mostly.
Ok, there were a few patches where deep snow covered the road but it was pretty easy to get over or around.
We has great viewing points with fantastic outlooks and no hustle or bustle for a good spot.
Cedar Breaks is another breathtaking natural formation on a big scale. Had I not been to GC the previous day I would have been gormlessly open mouthed again just as Chris was today. ;)
As we were coming close to the end of the so called 'closed road' the weather was closing in.
It started to sleet, literally as we approached the back of the 'road closed' sign, about 8 miles from the start of our digression.
We paused victoriously for a picture and then re joined the open, public roads. As we did this the sleet turned to heavy snow and the temperature quickly plummeted to about -2C.
This was the beginning of the descent down the mountain and it was tough going. My glasses were misting on the inside from my warm breath (diverted by my face cover) and they were getting covered in snow on the outside. Visibility was only about 30 metres anyway.
It was a pretty hairy ride until we got down to about 7000 ft where the snow disappeared, temperatures slowly climbed and the feeling came back into my fingers.
After this it was a pretty gentle ride into Panguitch, home got the night.
Tomorrow the plan is to head to Escalante. More miles to cover but less severe climbing so hopefully a slightly easier day.
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