Asia likes sunrise circles!
Today we woke up at 5:00am at the church in Baker. Maceo played the church organ and sang some lovely tunes to get us out of our sleeping bags. When we left at 6:30am the sun was prepared to deliver its wrath. It didn’t disappoint. Today was a 100-mile day to Delta, Utah. We stopped as a team at the state border. I really thought there would be a drastic landscape shift from Nevada. I was wrong. Instead we were met with heat, hills, and loneliness. I had a great downhill after a large climb. The scenery was something out of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. I had hope for Utah, but that was abruptly stolen away. Next came the hardest 20 miles I have ever biked.
Cole embracing the morning sun
I was sweating like a broken sprinkler and mucus was draining out of my nose like a leaky faucet. They were coming out simultaneously, so I could not distinguish one from the other. I would just wipe my face The hill we were climbing kept turning and would not stop. And we finally got to the top it was flat and hot air blowing across our faces. The flat salt lake paralleled the right side of the road and the electric poles were on the right. It was bright; the sun reflected off the white gravel. This has become as much a mental challenge as it is a physical one. The vast emptiness enclosed us like we were trapped in a snow globe made from hell. Each mile tore away at the muscle fibers in my quads. I just wanted to get to the car to get more water. To top it all off, I saw so many dead animals along the road. It was a rough biking day.
That being said, we had a wonderful dinner with our warm shower hosts. We stayed at a really modern high school in Delta, Utah. They cooked a delicious meal of pulled pork sandwiches, cheesy potatoes, cornbread, lentil soup, and homemade ice cream. I ate so much. Need to replenish my bike fuel.
One final note: Richard, the warm shower host really likes bike. Apparently he really fancied my old-school Lemond Bike and wanted to buy it from me. He knew more about the bike specs than I did. The following morning he brought a paper-mache replica of my bike that someone had gave to him a while back. It was a strange moment to say the least.
The paper mache model of Travis’ bike
Tomorrow is 4th of July! I am exited to see fireworks with our team and to have good food in the next city. We deserve the celebration after two 100-mile days.
Travis