67.84 mi / 6:20:00 time / 10.7 mph avg. / 38.0 mph max. / 5509 ft. climbing
Staying at Bryce Canyon Lodge

I slept well, was up before dawn, and on the road by 7am. I knew that the ride today would consist of a couple of big climbs, but I hadn’t noticed that there was a third climb of 1200 ft. right at the beginning. 12% grades early in the morning will wake you up in a hurry!

I made it to the town of Escalante around 9am, and found some WiFi at a park, so I sent an email to Dennis updating him on my status. I was down to $25, which would be enough to get me into Bryce Canyon National Park, but not enough to get a campsite, even if there were any available. So I was hoping that our assumptions had been right and that Swati had a room booked at the Lodge for tonight, and that I would be able to use it. Luckily, Dennis received my email immediately, and we exchanged a few quick messages (I had no phone coverage). I learned that Swati was calling the Lodge to tell them to let me in, since I would likely be arriving before them. That was a great relief to me, and it meant that I wouldn’t have to hurry in order to try to figure out some other plan when I arrived at Bryce.

I did still have to hurry to beat the winds though. The morning was calm (hence the early start), but I knew they would be picking up into my face throughout the day. And with an 1800 ft. climb (to a pass at 7600 ft) followed by a 2000 ft. climb (ending the day at Bryce at 8000 ft), I wanted to avoid the wind as much as possible. Heck, I always want to avoid the wind as much as possible!

Yesterday the climb was so challenging that it grabbed all of my attention, and I didn’t really have a chance to miss Dennis. But today, I definitely missed him. It would have been nice to have him along not only to trade wind-blocking duties, but also to break up the monotony of the more gradual climbs of the day. And just to have someone to share the experience with.

In the valley between the two peaks, there are three towns in an 8 mile stretch, which is an unprecedented level of density out here. The first, Henrieville, didn’t even have a store (though it had plenty of schoolkids), while Cannonville and Tropic got progressively larger and more tourist-oriented as their distance from the National Park decreased.

I made it to Bryce around 4pm, where the accomodating staff at the Lodge trusted me enough to give me a key to Swati’s room even though I had no official ID. After a shower, I wandered down to the General Store to get some food, but took the long route to the rim of the canyon to see the views of the famous hoodoos. The approach to the rim felt like the approach to a lake, where you ascend a slight rise and can only see the sky above, until you get right to the shore. But instead of water below, an amazing array of pink, orange, and white stone pinnacles came into view. I saw hints of this new type of formation on the way up the hill, but looking down into the maze of spires and fins was quite unlike anything I’ve seen so far.

At the General Store, I got a bag of bagels, a sandwich, a coke, and two beers, and hoped that they would come to less than $11, which is how much money I had left. Total: $11.51. Wait, I have some change…counting it up, I got to exactly $11.50, then took a penny from the take-a-penny bin to complete my transaction. Phew! I was now down to exactly no money, but at least I had some more food! I went back to the lodge and ate it on the beautiful log balcony of our room, including all six bagels (1500 calories!) I did manage to restrain myself and save a beer for Dennis whenever he showed up.

Up here the weather conditions are some of the most unusual I’ve experienced. The sky is so clear and the sun so bright that even at 5pm you can feel it blazing on your skin. But move behind just a tiny bit of shade, and the 8000 ft. elevation can chill you in an instant. So finding a balance between the two can be a slight challenge, but it’s so beautiful up here that it’s well worth it.

Near sunset I took one more stroll out to the rim trail, where there was a small crowd gathered (shocker!) at Sunset Point. It sure is nice to know that I’ll be off the bike for a day and a half and can spend some time lazily wandering around.

Around 10pm, there was a knock at the door, and Dennis, Swati and her mom had arrived safely (after a near miss with a deer!) It was great to see them, though we were all a bit tired from our long days. We did a bit of catching up, some preliminary planning for tomorrow, and then hit the sack. But I took one last run (it was cold now!) out to the rim, to see it under the nearly-blinding moonlight. A strange mix of haunting and peaceful, and on the walk back, I saw a shooting star! A good omen, I hope…

This entry was posted on Friday, May 8th, 2009 at 12:04 pm and is filed under 2009 Bike Tour, bike. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.