Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Arrival at Zion National Park today!

Today's ride was mostly uphill after yesterday's descents, arriving at the south entrance of the park (which is spectacular, if not the more famous part). The middle of the park is an ancient highway tunnel where bicycles are banned, so I had a long wait by the side of the road while I waited for the tour van to shuttle me through. A competing company was also collecting its riders at the same spot and they were making it their snack stop (I think they were riding less than half our distance, so our stop was much earlier). This was Bicycle Adventures, so I went to say hello and they immediately started pressing drinks, fruit, and snacks on me! Most touring companies will feed stray non-guest riders out on the road--partly for the good vibes cycling brings, and I suspect partly as good promotional juju. They even had Mexican Coca-Cola (with real sugar, not corn syrup)!

After the tunnel, I got a nice speedy descent and then I took a little detour off the route and rode the seven miles up the park's Virgin Canyon, which is restricted and has little motorized traffic. The road is dyed red to match the enormous canyon's rocks (this is the centerpiece of the park, this part of the canyon) and it was worth the small effort!

Here's the view from near the tunnel:


(click to see a larger image)

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