Today’s Highlights:
We had another epic day on our cross-country journey! We covered 118 miles from the Nevada-Utah border to Salt Lake City. We are on Mountain Time now, although it doesn’t matter much since we really operate on sunshine time. The 4:15 am alarm came much too soon this morning after yesterday’s long ride. I had to fix a flat tire in my hotel room, then had a very quick breakfast, and we were once again on the bikes at sunrise. I took a few pictures leaving town with the sun just coming over the horizon.
Our ride started on the salt flat, and we passed right by the Bonneville Salt Flats State Park. It is really amazing to see that white basin stretching out to the horizon or to the mountains. It was especially pretty at sunrise with a backdrop of purple mountains and high puffy clouds. After about ten miles, I joined up with Gene, Jane and Mark to form a pace line. There was a stiff wind from the south as we headed east, and it helped quite a bit to team up. We pressed on to our first rest stop which was a long 42 miles from the start. I didn’t take many photos during that stretch since I was concentrating on the group ride. It was nice to have company.
We continued our pace line after the rest stop, but I eventually dropped out so I could take pictures and move at my own pace. Pressing on in the wind alone was worth the extra work, because the landscape changed as a small climb raised us above the salt flats, and I stopped much more often to shoot. Winding through a low mountain pass, there were nice scenes of mountains and grasslands. Once over the pass, I picked up another pace line with Gene, Jane and Dave this time, and rode with them for about ten miles before venturing on my own again.
The route dropped down into salt flats again, southwest of the Great Salt Lake. I came to a small, very salty lake, which I assume was a southern-most branch of the Great Salt Lake. It was pretty to see, but not so nice to smell! The wind was very strong here and a struggle to ride against for several miles. Luckily, it shifted to a crosswind after a while and was not quite so difficult.
Our second and final rest stop was at ninety miles. I made it there feeling pretty good, and was not concerned about riding only thirty more. The crosswind continued as I rode on I80 where it dissects the southernmost tip of the Great Salt Lake. However, seeing the mountain range directly ahead and knowing the road would turn northeast, I knew that things would improve around the bend. And they did. The last twenty miles of the ride had a nice tailwind, and I was comfortable stopping as much as I wanted to take pictures since I made good time while pedaling. At 108 miles, I reached the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake, which I was really glad to see up close. The route was on a frontage road off I80 and I was able to stop often to enjoy the view. I rolled into the hotel around 3:15 pm. It was a very long day in the saddle, but another great day to be out experiencing natural wonders.
We have now ridden for eleven days straight, covering 869 miles, climbing 30,000 feet, with almost 60 hours of saddle time! Tomorrow is our first rest day. Hooray!
Pictures Of The Day:
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