Last night I got a flat in my front tire while biking around Gunnison, so I went to replace the tube first thing in the morning only to find it was a faulty tube, so I had to replace it again. I stopped by the local bike shop on the way out of town for some more tubes, then headed west.
Today I just followed route 50 the entire day. For the most part it had nice shoulders, but there were some dangerous sections where the shoulder disappeared and the road had tight curves. Luckily that was right after a construction zone so the cars came in packs every few minutes and I just pulled over to let them pass before continuing.
So far on my trip I haven’t had too much trouble dealing with being on the road alone, but today it hit me kind of hard and got pretty bummed out. If I am to make it to Anaheim on October 22nd though, that means just over 3 more weeks left. It’s not just the desire to go to a nerd convention though. Don’t care at all about that actually, I just want to be there to see people. This trip is definitely taking it’s toll physically and mentally on me in all sorts of ways. And so while I don’t want it to end, I’m also ready to see the Pacific.
Speaking of which, I’ve been looking over my maps and the Adventure Cycling Association’s routes through Utah and Northern Arizona seem very indirect. Not only that, they seem kind of poor routes, going up to 75 miles without any towns or services. So I may cut southwest once I enter Utah in order to save myself 3 or 4 hundred miles of riding at the expense of not visiting the Grand Canyon. I think I can live with that.
But anyways, today I had a couple 1000 foot climbs which is definitely nothing to sneeze at, but the day was more downhill than uphill and I wound up at the town of Montrose at 6000 feet elevation. Tomorrow looks to be a relatively challenging day with a 3000 foot climb, but hopefully I will be able to knock it out.
Today’s mileage: 69 miles.
Total: 2664 miles.
Lots of great pictures lately. So much good territory out west. 3 weeks till Anaheim, but probably the most scenic of the ride.
We are following your course with great hopes for continued good luck with your goal to get to nerd convention on time. Sending our very best wishes on your solo ride to the Pacific!
70 miles per day seems like a lot to me, but it suppose that it would. I did this in a VW on route 70, but not on a bike. If you really need to skip the Great Basin please do not hesitate. It’s a rather large desert. Yuma can be startling in its heat, probably still at this date. I can even pick you up. It’s not a problem. Keep in touch. You may have my email, but I’ll send it to you anyway.
Bob
Totally understand you skipping out Arizona/Southern Arizona. You are doing great out there.
Kevin
So far on my trip I haven’t had too much trouble dealing with being on the road alone, but today it hit me kind of hard and got pretty bummed out. If I am to make it to Anaheim on October 22nd though, that means just over 3 more weeks left. It’s not just the desire to go to a nerd convention though. Don’t care at all about that actually, I just want to be there to see people. This trip is definitely taking it’s toll physically and mentally on me in all sorts of ways. And so while I don’t want it to end, I’m also ready to see the Pacific.
Galen, what you just wrote is exactly why you are doing this trip. Even though it has taken 51 days and three quarters of the way across the country, you seem to be discovering what you set out to discover. Keep truck’in and forget about deadlines. If you get the feeling you need to linger at some point.. linger. So what if you finish your trip a week, a year, or five years down the road.. SO WHAT! Listen to your heart and go with your feelings. Enjoy every day – no matter what it may bring. This is a wonderful time in your life.
Uncle Dan
I agree with Uncle Dan!