So if you see a tree out here in the middle of
nowhere, you're either about to die because you're seeing a mirage or that tree is resilient as anything (like an idea). Even if there is one, it's either 400 feet away, where there is no way that it would provide any shade whatsoever or it's shorter than me.
Anyway, continued where I stopped yesterday and biked up another 5 miles of the San Rafael swell. Within the first 2 miles, I got a flat tire on a bunch of road gators (bunch of blown-out tires left by trucks. They have small pointy metal wires within the rubber) Took about 20 minutes to replace before I set off again.
I swear, I think its the top everytime I see a turn, but these swells give no break. Got to the top at about 7270 feet and had a beautiful downhill for about a measly 4 miles. But it's alright, whenever I go downhill for too long, it means I'm going to have to make it up in uphills anyway.
Afterward, biked into a small headwind on relatively flatland for 20 miles before hitting another mountain range. (I forget what it was called, but it definitely started with a "w") This one was 7 miles long but unlike swells, it actually had green vegetation. The great thing about this mountain was that after I got to the top, it was all downhill to the next city. The first 7 miles followed a great downhill with 6% gradient and then mellowed out to a lesser sloped downhill. Still wonderful nevertheless.
On the last 8 mile stretch to Salina, I made a turn and saw a storm system starting to approach. The winds kicked in and I got a headwind with 25 mph gusts. Thank God I was going downhill or I would have literally been pedaling and not moving at all. It was still hard to go at a speed greater than 12 mph in this wind but I made it before the rain and we settled in a hotel for the night.
Distance traveled: 84 miles
Time outside: 8 hours
20 miles after Green River, UT >> Salina, UT
(This bridge would literally sway when trucks went over it)
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