The route from Ferron to Park city is 160 miles and we’re planning on covering the distance in 3 days – leaving today as the short day. On our way up the road we pass through a couple more rural towns – Castle Dale and Huntington. These towns have slightly more food options than in Ferron last night, but still only one motel each.
Last night when we walked into the motel, instead of a typical lobby and registration desk, the motel was combined with a gas station and convenience store. The two teenagers working there didn’t know how to check guests into rooms so they called the owner who was able to get us set up. She was extremely helpful but the situation made it painfully clear that not very many people stay at that motel.
This makes me wonder about the future viability of bicycle touring in areas like this. There’s been the long and steady trend of people moving from rural areas to large cities and of course the introduction of the interstate system has had lasting impacts on the number of travelers who take roads like this. After cycling past so many abandoned motels and seeing the low usage rates of the lodging options still in operation it makes one wonder if in the future it’ll even be possible to have places to eat and rest in small towns. Or maybe the urbanization trend will reverse. Only time will tell, but I’m happy to be traveling this way while I can.
Back on the road today, heavy rain storms filled the horizon to the east while snow fell on the mesas and mountains to the west. We were thankfully spared from both as we headed north.
After a quick lunch in Huntington I got another flat – this time perhaps due to my rim tape no longer being aligned. I patched the rim tape up and put in a new tube and we got back on our way.
Besides this the day was largely unremarkable. The weather was cold but not frigid, the wind was blowing, but from the side, and we arrived in the town of Price. There’s a supermarket and a Walmart here – signs that we’re getting back towards more populated areas for the first time in two and a half weeks. For the next few days we’ll be going through cities/suburbs and are looking forward to getting our fill of meals that aren’t American, Mexican, or American Chinese.
Notes from Donald: “Today was a nice short day. I’m glad we didn’t get hit by any 50 mile an hour crosswinds or rain.”
Today’s mileage: 43 miles
Total: 1090 miles
It’s so good to see that you had a day without storms or headwinds. I’m enjoying your travelogue immensely!