Headache, Cough, Congestion

Sunday 22 April 2012 ~ Happy Birthday Mom!

*Will update with words at a later date, pictures took FOREVER to load...need to wake up early for the 81 miles to Hanksville, UT tomorrow (Wed 25 April 2012).

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A Day of Rest 

Sunday was spent at the St. Jude's Episcopal Church in Cedar City. In the morning, most of the group attended the service, and it was quite an interactive time. Reverend Susan recruited pretty much all of us to take part in the service, having us read different parts of the bulletin and even having Jess and Lisa read out of a picture book in front of the entire congregation (pictures below).

A group went to Zion National Park in the afternoon and had an amazing time hiking and taking in the breathtaking views. I was starting to get sick so I stayed back. And anyway, I'll be back in Utah in the near future to visit Mark and Reena; I can always go visit the national parks at that time.

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Monday 23 April 2012 ~ Cedar City to Tropic, Utah

Today was the epic climb of the trip: ascending above 10,000 feet. Unfortunately, I was sick. Being stubborn though, I rolled out with the rest of the group, determined to at least reach the summit. Commentary will continue with the pictures below.

Mark and Rob, and me as the photographer. The 3 Musketeers.

Impromptu stop at a nice park (we needed toilet facilities).

Apparently we stopped at the birthplace of Southern Utah. 

Lots of stretching.

And the climb begins...it's difficult for me to capture the grade of the slope, although we were told at many points along the climb that we were ascending at 13.5% grades. I'm happy to almost be at the top, three fingers out for three beef jerky packets consumed. The little tree growing on the rock ledge...impressive.

Summit scenery.

10,420 feet (and again, the DOT elected to place the sign before the actual summit).

Cedar Breaks National Monument

O-H-I-O!

Surveying the land before me :)

The Rattler at Rest Stop 2.

Rob & Erin, soaking up the sun after a chilly descent. Abramoff. One of my two water bottles.

I racked up after Rest Stop 2, satisfied to have conquered the climb and completed 67 of the 95 miles for the day. We passed through Bryce Canyon and were treated to some magnificent red stone formations. The overnight accommodations were provided by Kodachrome Basin State Park. Regrettably, I was too sick and tired to take pictures of the amazing landscape at the park. Visit the link above to see where we stayed :)

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Tuesday 24 April 2012 ~ Tropic to Boulder, Utah

I made a pre-emptive decision to not ride today as I wanted to recover as quickly as possible and hopefully stay healthy for the remainder of the trip. 

Rest Stop 1

Chris and Mark, frontriders. 

Various members of the team pulling into the Kiva Koffeehouse.

Rosenfeld and I continued onto Boulder and contact the home-stay coordinator. Boulder, Utah is a town of about 200 and it had quite some character to it. The people there are well-wired, as well as generous and hospitable. Our group of 19 were split up into groups of 2-4 and spread out among the families that volunteered to host us. We all received hearty home-cooked meals, laundry facilities, and a real bed to sleep on. Thank you residents of Boulder, UT!

Tomorrow will be Boulder to Hanksville, about 81 miles but mostly descending after an initial 10-mile climb. I plan to ride, as the following day I will be on crew again.