| ||||
Day 22. Milford, UT to Cedar City, UTYesterday: Day 21. Milford, UT.Tomorrow: Day 23. Cedar City, UT
31 August, 2003 -- Day 22.
Hitting the road at 8am today, I knew it was going to be an easy spin over to Cedar City with just one climb from about 4900 feet altitude up to around 6600 feet. Sure it was over 1500 feet, but the ascent was about 25 miles long, making it an easy slow grind to the top. About 15 miles from Milford was the small town of Minersville. The maps advertised that it had a restaurant, so the plan was to roll there and stop for breakfast. The ride to Minersville was pancake flat and was filled with some rich agrictultural land -- the first such land I had seen in who knows how long. Arriving to Minersville, I was sad to learn that the only place besides the local church that was open was a local convenience store selling fried chicken at 9am. Okay, I passed on the chicken but did grab a snack and sat out front for a half-hour or so, sipping on my morning coffee. "How far you ridin' that thang?", a local asks. "From San Francisco to phoenix and back" "that's a pretty far ride; hell, this one time my buddy-and-I rode over there to Milford, which is just 15 miles away and i nearly died trying" Anyway, the day's ride was pretty uneventful. 25 miles up, then 20 miles back down before rolling past Enoch, along I-15 (my first interstate in ages!) and into Cedar City. The only story from the day was that I managed to forget putting sunscreen on my arms and they are now nice-n-red. Not too bad, but serves me right. duh. Cedar City's temperature reached into the 90s in the afternoon today, making me glad that I took care of my ride early in the morning. The mountains behind Cedar City are the first real indication of the awesome family of National Parks that populate this part of the country. Withing a few hours drive, one can find Great Basin National Park, Zion, Bryce, the Grand Canyon, the Escalante Grand Staircase National Monument, and others. An outdoor enthusiast's playground indeed. I will continue my easy stretch by resting up in Cedar City and doing laundry. Exciting, huh?
|
