Dear Utah, we didn't expect you to be so diverse. We just expected red, dry and hot desserts, but you gave us mountains, rivers, green meadows, canyons, lakes and so much more.
When we met the first time, you met our expectations. Very long, dry and hot stages without any water supply, lots of sunshine and incredible heat. It was a difficult start, but after a while we realized that you are more than this. We cycled through your stunning red canyons, impressive barren moon landscapes, enjoyed your green woods and your refreshing lakes and creeks. Sometimes we had our problems with your steep climbs you provided us, like the 51 km uphill part yesterday, but you always rewarded us with beautiful overlooks and a nice downhill. We slept under your starry sky, far away from civilization and your bright fullmoon was our torch in the night. You always woke us up with a beautiful sunrise and nice cool temperatures to give us a pleasant start in the day.
We enjoyed your delicious bakeries and restaurants like the 'lickity split' in Blanding or the 'bear paw' at the Panguitch Lake which gave us power to discover more of you. And on your roads we met lots of other likeminded cyclists like Leslie, a nice scottish gentleman from San Francisco, who accompanied us for a few days. We had a great time together cycling, talking, drinking beer and playing hawaiian mow-mow.
Now we can enjoy two more days with you. We hope these last days are going to be as interesting as the days before and that your brother Nevada will be nice to us as well.
Yours, Lukas and Marian
Total mileage so far: 5060 km (3162 miles)
Hints for cyclist:
- The 'lickity split' bakery in Blanding, UT
- The 'bear paw' restaurant at Panguitch Lake, UT
- 'Kiva Koffeehouse' between Boulder and Escalante, UT
- Escalante Creek, the lowest point on route between Boulder and Escalante, a nice creek for a refreshing break before a huge climb!
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| A normal nice ride in Utah |
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| Leslie and us on the Colorado/Utah border |
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| A foretaste... |
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| Incredible ride after crossing the colorado river |
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| White rocks... |
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| ...and red rocks |
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| Little oasis in the canyons |
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| The two sides of Utah: green meadows on high altitude and the hot dry dessert in the valley |
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| A tunnel in the dixie national forest |
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| Summit of the boulder mountain... |
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| ...with a stunning overlook at cedar breaks national monument |
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| Our morning view after sleeping a night under the stars |
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| Having a nice evening with Leslie and other cyclists in the middle of nowhere |
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| The lovely team of the 'lickity split' bakery in Blanding |
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| Moonlandscape... |
