Day 53, Happy Highway Hills

Utah has kicked our butts for quite awhile now, but we have been kicking its butt right back at it. And we are about to kick it for good as of tomorrow! Due to the rather difficult nature of Utah's hills and mountains, we were slightly behind schedule. We decided that without weight, we could probably double up and do two days' worth of riding in one, and we had planned on doing 95 miles today. A little sleuthing and we found a 77 mile route instead that did NOT involve a 4,000 foot climb! So here we write for the last time from Utah, thankfully.

Our sleuthed shortcut was really fun riding. The climb in the morning didn't take very long, and certainly the newly-stocked sagwagon was delightful. The entire trunk is filled with an assortment of yummy goodies that make convenience stores look like child's play.


The downhill was classic and helped restore our faith in bicycling. Just two days earlier, Stephanie had decided she hated riding her bike, but this downhill put the love for her bike right back into her heart (it may also help that 60 extra pounds are no longer attached to her bike). The shortcut then took us on I-15 for 16 miles, and we summited a mini-mountain (6500 ft) on an Interstate highway--not bad for a day's work. An extra long break at lunch in Beaver, UT (where the Budweiser sign proclaims, "it's always colder in Beaver"...hmmm....) gave us the strength to finish up our day in questionable FLDS-compound lands.

We even had time this afternoon to have an apero outside the hotel on the lawn, where Carrie was delighted to be mistaken for Stephanie's sister! Tomorrow there are no services for 84 miles, except of course the minivan/sagwagon service, which is better than any old Chevron could ever provide.