June 13: Day 13: Salt Lake City (UT) to Provo (UT)

Time Zone : Mountain (GMT -7)
Todays Distance: 66 miles
Cycling time: 5hrs 11 mins
Average Speed: 12.7 mph

Today’s cumulative ascent: 1999 ft

Average Heart rate: 117 bpm

Distance so far: 913 miles

Ascent so far: 34,753 ft.

PROFILE

MAP

Dedication: Today is for the hard-working students of Providence who deserve a break and that includes Laihunshisha,Evangylene,Benson and Bantei. Keep up the effort. We’re all behind you.


It was a later than usual time for loading today because of the shorter day…66 miles. Still it was nice to be back on the bike after the Rest Day. Really enjoyed it and benefited. Four of the original group have gone but seven new riders have joined in at least for the Rockies. The Rockies will a shorter section than the Western States…only 8 days instead of 11. It promises to be something special. We’ll see how it pans out.
As often happens to me at the early stages of a day’s cycle some words of a song run to me as we warm into the action. I realised that we were finishing our second 500 mile stretch and I hummed the Proclaimers song with a few apt changes “ And I would ride 500 miles, and I would ride 500 more to be the one to help out Providence…daa, da, dada”. It set the mood.

Today’s route was mostly through suburbia, not the most scenic, and thus the navigation was very bitty…many turns and very few long stretches. It was something like Day 1 making our way through San Francisco. It would be a day to hang in with a bunch as some were uneasy about the length of the cue-sheet. For the last few days it was merely….get on I-80 for 100 miles, then into the hotel .Not today. There were two pages of turns.(see Heard Today). No more I-80; we had a nice relationship for a few days.

Some 7 of us cycled together till the SAG stop through the west and south part of Salt Lake City and the early morning traffic. At one stage we passed through a Business-Golf Park with the early morning workers/players just about to tee off.
The naming of streets and roads in Salt Lake City (and other towns we passed through today) are quite baffling at first but when explained prove to be very rational. The city is laid out in a regular grid with the streets/roads going east-west or north-south. The Temple is at the heart of the city.The streets are named according to their distance and direction from Temple Square – 800 South runs across 8 blocks south of Temple Square and 1400 West runs up/down 14 blocks west of Temple Square. The blocks are of standard size so to find your location go to the nearest intersection and you have the rectangular co-ordinates of your position. All very mathematical and I like it.
For most of the time today we were moving south and the early sun was casting shadows of each group to the right. Far to our left we could spot the workings of Kennecott Mine as mentioned on Day 11.
Each suburb we passed through had its own Mormon Church building (Temple) and most were of the same design. The Mormons in 19th century, under their prophet, Brigham Young were seeking religious freedom and migrated to Utah.They established an agricultural athmosphere that has lasted to this day. It was so refreshing to get that smell of newly-mown hay as we cycled along. Also vegetable gardens and plenty of horses and ponies were visible.
I found that the miles clocked up quicker than usual with all the navigational turns; I felt that we were just getting in position to start the day’s serious cycling when the conversation in the group turned to the SAG stop. That was a quick 29 miles!
At this stage we were heading east facing straight at the Wasatch Mountains through a quiet suburban road. SAG was in a church parking lot on the edge of Jordan and a chance to refill the bottles and have a bit of fruit. Only one SAG today. After SAG some of our group went for dough-nuts (?) to a gas station and three of us powered on – Peit and Hetty from the Netherlands and self. Immediately we were into construction work and care and watchfulness were needed.
We were moving out of the built-up area for a period with the snow-capped Rockies o our left and nice green draped hills on our right… it reminded me of a home scene. This was the highest point of the day…no real climbing on this route. We had a navigational problem at one stage as a result of unmarked roads (we weren’t the only ones) but we got back on track near the town of Orem.
We passed through the campus of Brigham Young University, a 30,000-student university founded and run as the leading Mormon institution of higher learning. With its many sporting arenas and the immaculate grounds, it was an apt photo stop. The decoration on top is a bee-hive – Utah is referred to as the Bee-Hive State. Early Mormon settlers have been described as having carried "swarms of bees" with them. This nickname commemorates the industry of the people of Utah. This campus is immediately beneath Y Mountain (8400 feet) and the college reputedly has the best dinosaur bone collection in the world.
At 1.15 the three of us had reached the hotel in Provo located on the eastern side of 250-square mile Utah Lake. The name of the town has no paramilitary connotations but but was named Provo in 1850 for Etienne Provost , an French Canadian trapper who arrived in the region in 1825.

Not the most scenic day’s cycling. No wow moments but it places us immediately on the threshold of the Rockies.

As I look out my window just now to the east, there they are rising majestically and waiting for us.
Average heart rate was up a little today, possibly arising out of the rest day yesterday but also in that I kept up a stronger pace; it was just a day to get from A to B.

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

Heard Today: A cyclist looking in awe at the unusually long cue-sheet “What’s this, a novel”.

Day 12:Thursday June 12: Rest Day: Salt Lake City (UT)

Nice to enjoy a Rest Day. Breakfast at eight with most of the party in the hotel was a leisurely meal. An opportunity to make a few relaxing phone calls and catch up with some e-mails. Nothing seemed to be rushed. A bit of necessary washing and ironing . Some postcards to be sent. A stroll up to the local gas station. Spent a while washing the bike and dinner in Perkin's Cafe next door with the lads. All very relaxing.
I didn't bother going into the city -- would have involved two bus journeys. Some of those who went in walked more than they intended to.
Tomorrow we start on the second stage which lasts for 8 days- the Rockies- and will bring us over the highest point and over the continental divide. Looking forward to it.

Day 11: Wendover (NV) to Salt Lake City (UT)

Time Zone : Mountain (GMT -7)
Today's Distance: 121 miles
Cycling time: 7hrs 51 mins
Average Speed: 15 mph
Today’s cumulative ascent: 1657 ft

Average Heart rate: 93 bpm

Distance so far: 847 mile

Ascent so far: 32,755 ft.

Profile:

Route:

Dedication: Today as I cycle the second century of the trip, my thoughts are for Aungeeta, Sapna, Rishisha, Cliff, and Billstar of Providence and wishing them the best. See you in October with 10 more good Abbey Sirs.

Today was to be another long day, another century … no rest for the wicked. Centuries for any cyclist are rare but like the 46A bus, you’re waiting for one for hours and then two come along together. No one was complaining; attitudes are positive in the party. Breakfast was available in the casino or nearby McDonalds. I opted for the casino and had a most nourishing meal – fruit juice, porridge with raisins, omelette, strong coffee and brown toast. I think I made the better choice.
Weather talk the previous evening was of a headwind for crossing the salt flats (and not much shelter there). Outside as we loaded and signed the wind was all over the place because of the buildings but high up the clouds appeared to be going our way.
Everyone was glad to see Hetty (who fell yesterday and had 13 stitches) was up again for the challenge and rarin’ to go. All were concerned for her and wished her well. Some lady! (She already has the 10 week Paris to Dakar cycle tour under her belt) Temperatures were low and all (self) included were tending to wrap up. The tailwind was a cold one as we set out along West Wendover Boulevard with the salt flats ahead of us. We all knew that a new experience lay ahead and that it would be so different to the Nevada Desert. How different ?….no-one knew.
Wendover is just on the border but there was no sign for ‘Welcome to Utah’. Rather disappointing as it would have made good photo. Our only hope is that as we leave Utah we can go across the road for the shot and, sure, no-one will know the difference. Also we couldn’t see any indication that we were into a new time-zone. Also disappointing.
Our usual little cycling group of 3, Johnston, Mooney and O’Brien started off and remained intact for the duration.
Within 2 miles we were on the I-80 heading East and the mile markers started from zero afresh. The mountains were much more jagged than in Nevada and had little or no cover; just bare rock. Normally I start with a quiet prayer for a safe journey and then a line or two of a song (from my vast repertoire) with a slight variation somehow connected to the day ahead. Today it was ‘I’d ride a hundred miles for one of your smiles, my Saoirse’ (our grand-daughter).
The road ahead stretched forever and ever. I thought I had seen long vistas ahead in Nevada, but this was something else – almost 45 miles straight ahead and as flat as a pancake. Unbelievable.
Cycling at first was a pleasure and we were keen to make the best of it, as there was word around that it would swing about by mid-day. ( One was heard to say that it would happen at 11.17 am.!) When the muscles had warmed up the three of us were sailing along effortlessly at 18+ mph. However about 30 miles out, in the space of a minute it did turn about and was beating down on our noses. Oh no, was this to be our lot for the next 90 miles? We formed in a line but had to work to maintain 10 mph. Fortunately, the headwind only lasted for a few miles and we returned to our previous pace.
On either side we had the salt flats; glass flat expanses of white sand with a heavy concentration of salt left behind after evaporation. No a good idea to put shoes or tyres on it for any period. The two carriageways of the I-80 were separated by a wide median of salt flat and outside these there were two parallel railways….. hence the four lines that appeared in yesterdays photo. On our right were the Bonneville Salt Flats where land speed records have been set and challenged. Further south of that lay the US Defence testing grounds … not open to the public.
Our first SAG was at the 40 mile mark on a small side road and a chance to top up water, collect snacks and sign through. Back onto the straight and at the 50 mile the road rose before us to the highest point of the day; not really a climb. Drop We did enjoy the descent down to the level of the flats especially with the tailwind behind us.. A short bun-break was called for at the 71 mile mark at Delle City Station. The coffee and sandwich were excellent but city was an overstatement. As far as I could see, the station was the city. Had a chat there with one of the Highway Patrol who was in for a mid-morning coffee. He was about 6 foot 6, very strongly built and wearing a gun….very easy to be nice to him.photo expanse
We had been away from the mountains for a while but they appeared again capped with snow...the Wasatch Mountains, the begining of the Rockies.

With the mid-day sun warming up there were some nice views and there was shallow water beside the highway. Still the white salt/sand stretched out and out.
One sign I spotted on the side of the road made me think I was almost at home …..an idea for a twinning with Grantstown.
When we came within 20 miles of Salt Lake City traffic became very heavy in both directions and also we caught our first glimpse of the Great Salt Lake out to our left with two large islands and backed with snow-capped peaks. We may not see another such expanse of water till we hit the Atlantic.

At Exit 102 circumstances saw us going up to the smelter for Kennecott Copper Mine, the largest opencast mine in the world. The Great Wall of China and Kennecott, the largest and richest open mine on earth and owned by Anaconda, are the only man-made creations visible from the space-shuttle while in orbit. Our little detour didn’t have a corresponding return route in the vicinity so we had to retrace our steps gingerly and carefully back down the exit ramp to get back on I-80.
Another 10 miles along the Frontage Road brought us to the Airport Comfort Inn arriving at 4 pm.
Another century for the collection and another great days cycling bringing us to the end of the Western States section of the trip. At Route Rap certificates were presented to the four who had completed their first centuries and also to those who only signed on for this section. We sadly say goodbye to them tomorrow, but a few more will join us. So tomorrow is a rest day and I’ll put my feet up and recharge the batteries. There’s plenty more cycling to come.

The last 11 days have been incredible in so many different ways. It seems so long since we left San Francisco; there have been so many new experiences and so many exhilarating sights and so much done for Providence. They deserve it....because they're worth it. What a wonderful world. It's only just begun.

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

Heard today: 'A bad day on the bike is better than a good day in the office.'

NB. No blog tomorrow. That's the plan.
But still, keep the comments coming. One liners do have a great encouraging effect. After each read , put pen to paper and show other how it’s done.

1. Click on 'Comments' at the end of the day's entry.

2 Write the comment in the box on the right .... even one-liners.

3. Complete the Word verification.

4. Click the third button 'Name'. (or 'Anonymous')

5 Insert your name or initials.

6. Click on 'Publish your comment'

Matters arising.

Re Competition for the name of my bike: Andrew (England) who did this cycle last year and was of immense assistance to me in my preparations, raised the issue of whether the bike was male or female. A very important consideration in your choice of name. By this stage the bike has got to be male based on the scientific observations of Prof de Selby as out lined by the scribe, Myles na gCopaleen (The Third Policeman). De Selby notes that in a situation where a person spends a lot of time on a bike ( a la policeman or postman in 50's) there occurs a reciprocal transfer of molecules from man to bike and from bike to man, Thus the man becomes part-bike and the bike becomes part-man. Evidence of this is when you see a cyclist leaning against a wall or fence for support as in photo. (Courtesy of 32-Ireland-32, 2006. Day 7. Lake Melvin). In such a situation the bicycle-molecules have become predominant. Based on this scientific theory, I should think that my bike is definitely male. Keep the suggestions coming in.