Day 16: June 16: Green River (UT) to Grand Junction (CO)

Time Zone : Mountain (GMT -7)
Todays Distance: 96 miles
Cycling time: 7 hrs 12 mins
Average Speed: 13.3 mph

Today’s cumulative ascent: 3917 ft

Average Heart rate: 107 bpm

Distance so far: 1149 miles

Ascent so far: 42,882 ft.

Today’s Profile:

Today’s Route:


Dedication: Today is for my Second Year Maths students in the Abbey. I corrected their Summer Maths test yesterday afternoon in Green River (UT) and many of them wrote a note of well wishes and encouragement at the end of their tests. It helped. Thanks guys.

Today, the 4th in the Rocky Mountains Tour, was to be a long day and everyone’s expectations last night was that it would be tough and testing. It was for so many reasons.
Leaving at 7 am it was pleasant and most left in short sleeves and headed east into the rising sun. Navigation for today was straight-forward – drop down onto I-70 East after 1.3 miles and come off after 96.3 miles. The shoulder for most of the day was gritty with plenty of tyre debris strewn about. To the first SAG at 24 miles it was all a pull but the wind was kind – it was non-existent.
During this first stage I got my first flat of the cycle so far. Not bad for 16 days and over 1000 miles. And it was in the front wheel, strangely enough. Others have got 5 or 6 so far with one getting 4 in one day. I’ve been one of the lucky ones. There were 5 in our touring group today and all helped with the repair – in my case it was a sharp stone. In many other cases it is pieces of radial wire that is the culprit..
Our group had 4 flats today, with Jeff having 2. This is the first day we were held up with putting in new tubes. The old ones will be repaired on Rest Day. Luckily, when we got the last flat the SAG wagon was nearby and Christine produced the foot-pump – the only weapon to put in the pressure. And the 3 gentlemen just watched as Christine was left to do the pumping! No chivalry. Me? I was busy taking the photo.
On our left for the first part of the day we had the same scenery as yesterday. You could imagine you were cycling along the bottom of a lake that someone had pulled the plug on, long time ago. As the morning wore on the sun began to catch the face of the rocks in thee distance.
Cycling through this Utah desert, we were confronted again with vast expanses of arid earth. It stretched to the extremities of human vision and very little vegetation seemed to thrive. In the far distance higher mountains capped with snow were to be seen. Is there any end to the seemingly infinite spreads of nothingness that we have experienced in Nevada and in Utah?
Long straight roads faced us again with very little in the way of long serious climbing although the aggregate for the day was just short of 4,000 feet. It was all short frequent lifts. When a descent came, it was relished.
We knew that temperatures would climb as the day progressed and with the long mileage, hydration was of the essence. Copious amounts of water were taken the night before to hydrate and our strategy was to take small frequent drinks as we passed each mile marker along I-70. It worked well and the SAG wagon was on hand many times to top up our bottles.
At the 71 mile point we came to the Utah/Colorado state line. We were now entering our 4th state of the cycle. It had taken almost 5 days cycling to cross Utah, the beehive state. The moment of entry had to be recorded. The mile-markers along the I-70 started at zero again.
From the second SAG stop on, there was a little more greenery to be seen and by the time we were descending to Grand Junction, more and more cultivation was evident. The Colorado river, flowing against us was in full flow. I believe it was in flood just 2 weeks ago.
The last 40 miles, we cycled in great heat. Some of the cyclists had recorded temperatures in the 90’s. When stopped, it was intense. The only relief was to keep cycling and to create one’s own air-conditioning. Sun-block was increased and shirts were open to full extent to keep cool. It was almost 4 pm as we came into Grand Junction on the Colorado river … a town with a population of almost 50,000.

It was a relief to get into the air-conditioning of the motel…West Gate Inn (we could have been in Clonmel) shortly after 4 pm and into a deserved shower.

So, it was a tough day…..flats, heat, and distance. But I think the degrees were more draining than the miles. It was enjoyable as the 5 of us cycled along (Gary joined our touring team today). We worked well together with each one looking out for the other. We are now facing the Rockies themselves in this Rocky Mountain section of the crossing.

Thank God for the energy and thank God for the energy.

HEARD TODAY: At Route Rap this evening “Tomorrow is a recovery day; we only cycle 70 miles”