To Utah!

Day 7: Tonalea, AZ to

 Monument Valley, Utah

wind. wind. wind!

If ever there was a ride that dared to be dynamic, this was the ride!  What started as us waking up on the side of the road in Tonalea, AZ, ended in one of the most memorable rides of our lives.  Our sleep was less than memorable, however, but we were tired, and when you begin to doze by the end of a ride, no matter where you are, including the side of the road, anywhere works just fine.  We carb'd up at the ONLY service station we could find (none other than a "trading post" (go figure) that was actually a market quite similar to a circle K), and then pushed our way out of Tonalea...

and then there was wind...lots and lots of wind!

It took us around 3 hours to go 30 miles, which, if you are keeping track, is only a pace of 10mph.  That's not really a bad pace, but it was quite annoying, especially after a less-than-par sleep.  We took a break every 10 miles or so, which is our custom, and the above picture of les drinking peanut butter was one of our snack options when we were gathering calories again.   Yes, it comes down to drinking peanut butter.  It's actually not as bad as it sounds, haha.

By our third stop we were about 35 miles outside of Tonalea and we started to see other cyclists.  They were headed the other direction, which meant they were in for a slightly declining, tail-wind-filled ride, which is nice...for them.  We stopped and talked to them and they were all very kind and inquisitive about our trip.  They were doing an annual cancer awareness ride that begins in Austin, TX and goes all the way up to Anchorage.  It was neat to hear their stories and to relate with them.  If you are interested here is their site: www.texas4000.org  check it out!

We think this was a house on top of a concrete bomb shelter with a giant slide

Our next 15 miles was more of a descent than anything else, and while the wind was still in our faces things were definitely looking up for us.  We reached Kayenta, AZ and fueled up again at a fast-food establishment that had a TON of German motorcyclists.  They looked at us as crazily as we looked at them, if you want to know the truth.  Anyway, after eating we headed down to a gas station that had a little dining area and rested for another 3 hours.  It was here that we would not have minded a ride from somebody.  Again, this trip isn't about riding our bikes, it is about adventure and seeing the world, namely the US, so, as many people passed through and talked to us we dropped hints that the heat (98-99 degrees) was killer and stuff, but we didn't try to give them any sob stories.  If they offered, we'd take it, end of story...

...except for how I, Aaron, made a sign and posted it on our bikes that said, "Mexican Hat?" (one of our stops), and below it read, "...or the Colorado State line, we're not picky!"  We got some good laughs and everything, but no offers.  But here's what I love: our next 20-21 mile evening ride from Kayenta to the Arizona/Utah state line was probably the most scenic and memorable ride we have had thus far.  As I said before, the dynamics between the morning hilly, windy, and hot ride to the cool, relatively level, and ridiculously scenic Monument Valley ride was extraordinary!  In retrospect, we were quite happy that nobody offered to take us anywhere.  

Looking ahead to Utah

Looking behind to Arizona

We cruised past the state line, took some pictures, and yelled at the top of our lungs: WE ARE SO HAPPY WE'RE OUT OF ARIZONA!  

It's not that we hated Arizona, but it just got extremely boring, and hot, but friends let us tell you: Arizona taught us things we could never have learned in Colorado, Kansas or wherever else.  As Les and I have talked about the 4 or so days we spent riding through Arizona we talked about how it has been good that such a physical challenge stared us straight in the eye on the front end of our trip.  It tried to break us, really, and there were many times where we would have loved to just hop a train up to Colorado to burn away our misery, but we didn't.  We pushed...and pushed...and pushed.  

Upon crossing the state line we went left about 2 miles and found what was more of a tourist stop than a city called "Gouldings."  Tons of Europeans were here, and it was kind of weird because it was in the middle of nowhere.  At any rate we found a church and rolled out our sleeping bags in the back.  The stars were incredible in the dark Utah night sky.  We were sleeping directly below Butes that stood hundreds of feet tall, and the temperature was just warm enough that we didn't need to bother to set up the tent.  

The juxtaposition between part one and part two were incredible, the Utah sky shimmered fantastically, and we drifted off to sleep without a bother from any church parishoners whatsoever!