Biketodetroit

We left Bryce Canyon in cold and rain, with full rain gear on. The lower photo shows one of the maps we have for much of the route. They are created by Adventure Cycling, a non profit which researches cross-country routes which are interesting and which attempt to avoid the most heavily travelled and dangerous roads. This is David's map for today, in the rain. The temperature was in the 50s and the wind was mostly favorable, so we made good time and had a pleasant trip to Escalante. We attempted lunch in Henrieville, but the post office porch was our only respit, and the only food the unripe pears on the tree next door.
The shot framed by the tree looks out at Powell Point, obscured by rain and clowds. It was a central reference in John Wesley Powell's mapping of the region.
The climb to that point was probably the steepest we have had yet. All of us used our lowest gear. More on that soon.
The 18 mile ride into Escalante was aided by a tailwind. This might be the first really helpful tailwind we have enjoyed. We rode down in less than an hour following a pretty stream steeply down through dramaticly uplifted and bent sedimentary rock. We are on the edge of the Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument. This is a huge region north of the Grand Canyon which rises in a series of giant steps resulting from uplifting and fractures, with changing colors as the steps move north. It is difficult to comprehend in its entirety, but riding through one small portion produced a long series of surprising and picturesque variations on nature's manipulation of the rock.
We had a very nice dinner tonight at Cowboy Blues restaurant. It was filled with locals, tourists, and a large group of parents and teenagers, celebrating the kids graduation from a nearby camp/school for troubled teens.
We have completed two weeks of riding, and a total of 896 miles, or 905 miles, depending on who is counting, and we are all too tired to check the numbers.