It was Friday the 13th, and I woke up bright and early at 7:00 a.m. to let Jordan catch some Z’s. Then, at 8:45 AM, I gently nudged him awake since breakfast was closing at 9:30 a.m. We had a yummy breakfast and were out the door of the hotel by 10:00 AM.
Even though we had to adjust our plans after six days of unfavorable weather, it turned out to be a much better plan! The 200-mile drive from Dennehotso, AZ, to Flagstaff, AZ, would have been a snooze-fest, and Flagstaff’s weather wasn’t exactly ideal. So, we decided to explore more National Parks and enjoy some fantastic rides. On day 7, we visited Zion National Park and Dixie National Forest (including Bryce Canyon). On the 8th day (yesterday), he rode the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and Canyonlands National Park. The last three days, including today, were stunning rides, despite the extremely hot weather.
Today, we drove to Arches National Park, which is about an hour away. Jordan had planned to ride the whole park and then head home. But at 11:30 a.m., it was already over 80 degrees when he started the ride. Arches was packed with visitors, and the access road was super narrow. There were other bicyclists, and most people were super respectful of him.
 |  |
Since we didn’t fill up with gas earlier, I figured I needed to before heading deep into the park. So, I had to cut my picture-taking short and head to Moab for fuel. When I got back, I headed to the end of the park, where I thought I’d see Jordan. About a mile from the end, he was riding strong. I had planned to go to the arches for photos, but when I arrived, it was so crowded that I decided to head back. I found Jordan, and the heat was 90 degrees, so he went shirtless for a while. He said people seemed to be kinder when he was shirtless. Could it be that he was more noticeable with his very white skin against all the red rock?
He was riding out of the park faster than I could drive, even with traffic (and I took about 20 photos). It was more downhill and, at the end, very steep. He reached the park entrance before I did and headed south toward Moab. He was prepared to call it a day at the major rest stop just north of Moab, AZ. It was where State Route 128 (SR-128), the Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway, connected to the trail leading into Arches National Forest.
He was chilling at the rest area, waiting for me, and I totally spaced on the turn. He was a little bummed about my forgetfulness and decided to cruise along the Colorado River on SR-128, hoping I’d find him. So, the long and short of it is, I spotted him, and he was eager to keep riding. If we kept going, he’d be over 50 miles west of Flagstaff, having already covered 100 miles!
I was so happy we took that route by accident. It was super scenic, except for the last 10 miles. Around 80 miles in, Jordan needed water for the second time. Even though he said he was cramping and didn’t want to stop, he just tossed his water bottle on the road, and I jogged over and gave him a new one.
We finally reached the end of CR-128, which connected to I-70, and had no choice but to load up the bike. He’d been riding nonstop for under 6 hours, and I knew he needed a break. We zoomed over to Fruita, CO, where he finished the last 15 miles in the McInnis Canyon National Conservation Area. It was just 5 miles into that ride when he got his second flat tire! The last thing he wanted to do was stop on his quest for 100 miles in less than 7 hours. But he powered through and completed the ride in 6 hours and 28 minutes, with some of the route taking him through the mountains.
As you can see in the image, he was totally wiped out! I was so proud of him. We had our share of challenges, but he conquered so many mountain passes I can’t even remember, with hail, sleet, rain, snow, and heat all happening in just a few days. Looking at the rough data, he climbed over 42,000 feet in total over 701 miles—that’s just under 8 miles up! Now, I know there were definitely some challenging moments, but they were just as hard as you need to ride the brakes, and that can cause some severe hand cramps. He totally crushed his minimum goal by over 50 miles!
We decided that with the new route, we could drive back and get to Golden before midnight. We had initially planned to drive all day Saturday from the west side of Flagstaff. So, the change in plans meant we had much better rides, and now we have a whole day to unpack before we both fly out Sunday morning.
I’m planning to tidy up the posts and sprinkle in some extra details over the next few weeks. I’m also considering adding two more posts: one featuring the top 20 photos of Jordan and another showcasing my own top 20 photos. We’ll see how much time I can squeeze in, as I’ve got a whopping 700 images to process now!
But my favorite to date, without looking at them all, is below.
No comments:
Post a Comment