17th June 2018 Sunday – Another shift and a half

- May 18, 2018

17^th June 2018 Sunday – Another shift and a half

Hello Everybody!

Route: Cannonville to Cedar City

For the non-mathematicians out there:

Distance: 88 miles (Total 2,822)	Average speed: 10.1 mph
Calories: 2,472	Cycling time: 8h 41min
Average cadence: 73 rpm	Climb: 6,001ft, Descent: 5,889ft
Heart (yes I have one): Max 138 Aver 111	Aver Temp: 21C, Max temp 31C
Temperament: Bottom lip quivering

I always start tough days thinking about what might go wrong but so far things seem to work out OK. That is not to say during the day I have severe moments when things really get on my nerves.

Grand Staircase Motel where I stayed

The first climb of the day took me to Bryce Canyon – a well-visited tourist area. The climb was no more than 6-7% at maximum and was a good warm-up for the main climb that would start 3.5 hours later – oh dear. I then had a very nice descent but I noticed that it was quite cool – the first time I had noticed such an event in the very long time.

I stopped and took a fair few photos and also stopped at the visitor’s centre where I met Helen (UK) and Mark (USA) who live in St George. They said that they would like to donate and without spoiling the surprise their did - $100 via the Crowdrise website, which is now showing $550 in total. I did not take their photo but when they read this perhaps they could send me a nice photo please?

I changed my route from the ACA proposed one. Instead of going north at the main junction I had decided to cycle south as the route looked easier in terms of just having the main climb and was slightly shorter but not by much. Given the wind was very strong and coming from the south maybe I should have gone with the ACA but I didn’t.

After 8 miles of total headwind mental torture, I stopped at Hatch and had lunch in a lovely diner – milk shake, real fruit to replace gravy and nice chicken sandwich. After another 13 miles of mental torture, I had got to the start of the climb at 45 miles in. A quick water refill and then off I went. This climb was fairly steep but I did notice a possible tailwind as the climb went west. In the end, I got more tail than headwind while climbing so some payback for the 21-mile stretch.

check if you can see the bubbles in the yellow tubes

About 12 miles up the hill, I stopped at Duck Creek. At the local Deli, I had a lovely blueberry muffin (again the size of a normal cake) and coffee. The place was based around outdoor tourist activities and seemed to be quite thriving. It looked very similar to other alpine villages and scenery.

I did get to the top eventually but I made sure I had a good rest before attempting the 17-mile descent – it was VERY windy at the top and cold – I actually put another top on. The first 8 miles had a gradient of between 4-8% which equates to fast. The later stage went down through a canyon (gorge) which can be pretty but also make handling a bit tricky. However, there were recent roadworks that had not completely finished so the tarmac was uneven and a little scary. I had 2 main gusty wind moments where I thought we were about to go flying but I managed, with Blossom’s help, to keep the rubber on the road, as they say.

Once the gradient eased it seemed to be OK but a few times I was almost stopped in my tracks by the canyon funnelling a massive gust of wind. I found Cedar City and then tried to find my Airbnb, which only took me 15 minutes. Oh dear. I had booked a 3 bedroomed house, not because I was planning a party, but due to the fact that it was £31 per night! It also made a very nice rest day location as Cedar City is larger than most places and has a very nice feel about it – it hosts an annual Shakespeare event and lots of other things. I was very, very tired when I got in and after a quick Mexican meal, I retired to my bed. PS the guy I met at the Riva Koffeehouse the other day was also in the restaurant and he paid for my meal, which I found out when I asked for the bill and he had gone. How very nice of him and this is the second meal bought for me this week. By the way, in case you are not sure but I was absolutely tired today.

My rest day list of things I did or could have done or think about Cedar City:

It has the best cycle shop in the world, namely Cedar City Cycles, owned by Brian, who is a genius. He fixed my rear wheel, brakes and sold me some powders and blew up my tyres – they did make a loud bang but what the heck
the evenings were cold or at least not as warm as the previous forever day – could be as I am closer to the “real” desert
rediscovered my love of fig rolls – great for instant hello and easy to swallow without chewing.