June 30------50.17 in 4:26. I got an 8AM start, same heat again today. As I was riding out of Green River to I-70 for a twenty mile interstate ride to US 191, I saw a sign that said 'Frontage Road--old rt. 50 and 6'. It looked like it had a chance of paralleling I-70, and on a whim, I turned onto it. The road wasn't in very good shape to start, and it only got worse as I went. After about five miles of riding, I could still see I-70 over to my right, so I knew I was fully committed. Boy, was it worth it! It was great riding over washboard gravel, and watching for snakes and pronghorn in the road, instead of watching for Fed Ex triple trailers blowing by at 80 mph. (See pictures for snakes and pronghorns in the road.) I ended up with a thirteen mile ride on a very old, historical road, with rock formations on both sides, before I popped out at I-70 about seven miles before the Moab exit. Perfect! I got off the US 191 exit, and stopped at Papa Joes Roadside Oasis, and had a sausage and egg biscuit. While I was sitting there, a girl opened the door to the store, and an eight inch lizard ran inside. The chase was on! It took a while, but just when I thought the lizard was gonna win, the girl caught it and carried outside. So much for breakfast entertainment. I headed south on US 191 toward Moab. The road was obviously a main thoroughfare, just like I-70 without the median. The hills were very long and gradual, the shoulders were eight foot wide, and traffic was very heavy, even on a Sunday morning. I later found out that 191 is a main north-south connection between Mexico and Canada. The heat was starting to ramp up, but fortunately, about ten miles out of Moab, a nice bike trail left the road and took a separate route into town. It was also ALL downhill, and it was a nice cruise into town and across the Colorado River, right towards our campground. After regrouping, Pam and I went into town to check things out. We had a lunch at the Moab Grill, went grocery shopping, and located the bike shop where I am going to get my gears fixed tomorrow. We hit the campground pool for a while after that because it was still 102 degrees at 7:30 PM.
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| Snake on the road! Gopher snake maybe??? |
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| This wasn't a really busy road!! Just trying to catch up to the prong horn! |
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| Hey! Are you following me??? |
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| Moab, Utah |
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