Saturday, September 20, 2008

Last day of the bicycle tour today.

We rode from Bryce Canyon to Cedar City, UT over the Cedar Breaks National Monument and it turned out to be one of the most physically difficult days I've spent on the bike in a while. The morning was chilly, but tolerable, and we got to pass through the Red Canyon again. This time, I skipped the bicycle path and rode down via the highway--and got to go through the little arch cut into the rock fin on the highway! The bad news was that once we left the canyon, the wind rose up and I had to ride uphill 50 miles or so into a howling headwind. It was a long, slow grind and the majority of riders in our tour surrendered to the conditions and took a shuttle van for part of the ride. I can't blame them, but it was a reward to reach the picnic stop and be the subject of admiration from those who didn't ride.

The Cedar Breaks has a summit of around 10,000 feet and is capped by another colorful, striped canyon that may not be a match for Bryce, but is still worth a visit. On the way up, there are more ancient lava flows splitting the Aspen stands and meadows, the iron-gray rocks splattered with bright green lichen patches. The high altitude made things a hair chilly, but immediately at the beginning of the descent, the wind rose up behind me and things warmed up to make for a screaming downhill into town. A fine finish!

Here's a view of the autumn Aspens on the ascent to Cedar Breaks:


(click to see a larger image)

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