Cedar city to Panguitch ‘Trust Your Journey’
Up @ 0500

Day 17

63 Miles
The alarm went off this morning all too soon not just because I would have liked to stay longer in bed but because I didn’t want to leave 2 people. Vicki and Rory. I felt sad but this isn’t a goodbye.

We need to stay focused on the cycle across the USA. We have set out to cycle across 14 states, well actually 12 because we’ve ticked California and Nevada off the list.

Both Vicki and Rory got up early to help us on our way. After breakfast Vicki gave me our clean laundry, she also gave me this lovely Cedar City Cycling top which I now wear with great pride. It will always remind me of these lovely people.

The plan today was Rory was going to take us to the start of the climb and then we would be on our way to Panguich. The Western Express cycle map suggested we take the intersection with the Grand Canyon Connector and Utah Cliffs Loop. This was going to be a tough climb….

A 12 mile climb from 6000ft to 10000ft made me nervous but it actually turned out to be much more like 18 (Rory we will never allow you to forget this), with a further climb that wasn’t discussed. The road was treacherous, with very little and in some places no hard shoulder for us to ride in. Lorries, camper vans and trucks only centimetres away. We even had people wanting us off the road – pointing and shaking there heads. I was scared and wobbled a few times!
However, ? we managed to reach the top of the 1st climb and turned a corner and then another climb stood in front of us. There was a silver lining because that’s when we we met Mike. He was sitting on the ground resting because he’d taken the same route and his knees started to hurt. Reluctantly he took some anti inflammatories from me, but they helped as Mike joined us all the way to Panguitch with little discomfort. After talking to him it turns out Mikes plan is to cycle to Pueblo, Colorado.

We stopped off at Cedar Breaks National Monument. This was on our route. Please take a look at the picture.

The best part of my day was when a motorbike drove past and I swore it was Vicki and Rory. I was sure that Vicki turned and looked. I was sure! But they continued until I couldn’t see the bike. Andy said because they didn’t stop I must be mistaken.

Finally we made it to Panguitch. Tired, hot and a little dirty. The town had quite a few motels with vacancy a but they were expensive. Around $95! We left one motel and went along the main street looking for a better price. Then..

I heard someone shout my name. At first I couldn’t see where it was coming from but then Vicki came towards us. It was lovely!! So I was right Vicki and Rory passed us earlier. We planned to meet up after we sorted a room. Finally we got a great room @ Marianna’s guest house. Andy called Vicki, Rory and they came to see us, bringing 2 friends along. It was lovely to see them and a huge surprise and I’m so touched by how special they are!

Vicki gave me a bracelet.

Vicki I will wear my bracelet with pride and as I’m writing this I hope you can see that I’m thinking of you.

Day 16

53 miles

Slept until 0900 – that’s a 1st and on the road for 1100

So the day started leisurely with breakfast at the Oak Tree inn diner. Breakfast included huge amounts of carbs to give me some payback from all the spent calories from yesterday’s trip. Inclusive of 2 plates of food including 2 pancakes with syrup, hash browns,bacon, 2 eggs and 2 sausage rounds. I left a pancake, but ate everything else.

I was now prepared and ready for the road! However, it started with a gale and pouring rain. So we waited until it passed over and then started cycling.

The day was overcast one minute and then sunny but mostly the sky was grey today. See the picture below. I actually loved the coolness because it’s been really hot. However, the headwind began around 30 mins into the ride. This was mentally damaging because like yesterday, cycling @ 3 miles an hour is no fun! It was draining and I felt physically sick because of the effort. The wind would settle for a while then start up again and so on.

We climbed around 6700 ft to a Summit. I had no problem with this but the descent was hampered by the gale. Soul destroying but there was no room to feel sorry for myself. Instead I thought of other USA cycle days, days such as meeting lovely people like Douglass and Brad. This kept me going,pushing against the head on gale. It was horrible!

As we reached Cedar City there was a guy sat by the roadside. I asked him if he knew of anywhere to stay and the reply was that he’d waited for us and would like to offer us a place at his house for the night. How kind and we immediately accepted the lovely gesture. We were given directions to Rorys ? home. Rory, Vicki (Rorys wife) and Reed (their son) are all ? genuinely kind hearted people. We were made to feel very welcome, with our tummys full and some good conversation we said our good nights. I’m really tired and have nodded off as I’m writing this.

Thought from today. It’s nice to have faith in people.

Overcast and windy.

Same picture but looking through a looking glass.

Have a great day and hugs to all of you and drive and cycle together safely.

Day 15

83 miles

Up for 0500 and set off just before 0700.

Yes we’ve crossed over from Nevada to Utah!

What a day! Fierce head winds, heat and no services for 84 miles. The hardest day so far!

As soon as we left Baker ? on the road into Garrison the wind hit us face on. This was fierce and lasted all day! In fact we could have probably walked faster, we cycled approximately 25 miles in 5 hours. Unbelievable! The wind hit us side and face on and momentarily from behind but only momentarily. It was demoralising because we had 83 miles to cycle and I could have cried more than several times. I was suffering.

A stop for lunch was welcomed. Even though this was only a quick 15 minutes.

The Valley is beautiful but also, as the Sheriff said later in the day cruel because of the elements.

We passed through Snake Valley, Halfway Summit, Wah Wah Summit, and …

We met the Sheriff before reaching the final Summit, Frisco Summit. We asked if he could go ahead to Milford and ensure a room at Oak Tree Inn was reserved for us. After giving us some water he happily agreed to help.

The view coming into Milford was gleefully greeted. We took our room key and enjoyed the comfort and nice food.

Not a clear photo but it does say welcome to Milford.

Todays cycling was a struggle. The Valley was demanding both mentally and physically. There were many times when I struggled and felt sorry for myself because the wind just wouldn’t allow me to move forward. This continued for 13 hours! I’ve never been more challenged.

I am tired and my legs, body and hands are hurting.Tomorrow I’m looking forward to Cedar City via a coffee stop @ Minersville.

77miles hot and very windy!
Day 14
Up at 0500 and on the road for 0600 till 1830

We left Ely early to cover some distance before the day became super hot (It’s really hot, not much later than 0900).

I took this picture of the Nevada Motel sign the day before but the numbers are high!

We were on the road around half an hour and we came across a cyclist called Gunnar from Sweden. ? Nice chap and we had a chat about his touring plans. His plans are open ended with thoughts of cycling to Canada. We said our goodbyes with a hug and off we went. Take care Gunner.

The road to Baker wrapped around the local countryside in a snake like manner. Some climbing. See below.

The scenery was spectacular. Just look at the mountains. This picture was taken on the way to Majors Junction – 30 miles from Ely. We wanted a coffee or a cup of tea but they only serve bar drinks. So a coke it was.

Whilst Andy and were sitting outside Majors Junction on the veranda looking over the Adventure cycling map, a chap called Jeff Shoemake cycled towards us, looking wiped out Jeff explained that the head wind towards MJ made his ride difficult.

He told us we’re looking at a hard 5 mile climb to Sacramento Summit and it was! The wind pushed us along part of the way but this changed direction. The head wind became quite dangerous pushing the bikes sideways and making it difficult to move forwards.

Shattered and hot, we arrived into Baker and our priority was to buy a cold drink. There’s a very nice cafe / store in Baker and my dream came true in the form of a berry smoothy -this was delicious. Baker is a nice and tiny town with a population of 400 people. The road out of Baker allows you to access the Great Basin National Park.

After our cold drinks we left the cafe and pushed on another 8 miles arriving in Garrison, were we thought we’d find the Border inn. Soon realising the Border Inn wasn’t were we thought it was we cycled another 8 miles back to Baker. At this point we were very tired.

When we arrived in Baker Andy arranged and paid $11 for a tent spot @ Whispering Elms campsite. Between us we put the tent up, I went for a shower and instantly felt better but ready for an early night.

Relaxed and sitting at a picnic table talking about the day a friendly lady called Val from Salt lake City came over to say hello. Offering some homemade banana pie, and she also asked if we’d like to go star gazing with her family. How could we refuse? All I can say is the star gazing was amazing, with no light pollution looking through the telescope we saw Saturn, the moon and Jupiter. We were very greatful to Val and her family for sharing their evening with us.

When we arrived back at camp Val gave me some banana pie and some bananas and apples for both of us. How lovely!

After eating my pie ( in the tent ) I soon fell fast a sleep.

Eureka to Ely? Day 12

77 miles

We were up for 0500 after a restful sleep but I wanted to stay cosy and ? tucked up in bed.

We knew there weren’t going to be any services for 77 miles – so we packed plenty of water. It was going to be another scorcher.

The day started with a skyscraper climb. We took this climb steadily because our legs still hurt from the previous days. But we always seem to manage.

The route to Ely.

In my thoughts today I felt a little sadness, I was thinking back to yesterday about Charlie whom I met in Austin. I left a part of my heart there with him. See another picture of all of us together.

Charlie ????

Getting back to today. We climbed 4 Summits – Pinto, Pancake, Little Antelope and Robinson. Cute names but they’re not as timid as they sound. Mostly the climbs were 1000 ft up and down to each Summit.

Even though we found the climbs tough, with each climb there’s a down hill and the final decent into Ely was much appreciated.

After 77 miles in the heat (87 degrees F) ???? I was ready for sleep! and that’s what happened.

Unfortunately, I’ve picked up an injury from today. As it turns out I’ve got a tendon problem with my right little finger and I can’t straighten it or bring the finger back to meet the others. See the picture. It looks odd!

My crazy finger!

When we arrived in Ely, we looked around for a cheap motel the White Pine Motel ticked the boxes – cheap at $39 night. A little worn around the edges but good enough.

? Ely Main Street

On route to Ely we decided to take a rest day tomorrow. We need a rest. We’ve put a lot of ourselves into the fundraising cycle ride, and our legs and bodies are tired. It was a mutual decision and to remain strong it was a wise one. On the other hand, there maybe some others who take the easier way out..

I’ve got a small gripe about some people we passed on the way to Ely. Something I feel strongly about and that’s integrity. ? We came across some guys and after we chatted, they seemed good, honest and passionate about their mission. I’ll keep who they are anonymous. They are walking West to East across the states to raise awareness. The thing is we passed them (and remember they’re walking). We cycled up a Summit puffing away and there they were getting out of a vehicle at the top. Well, I wasn’t impressed! Gripe over..
Andy was hungry so I got myself up and went to Hotel Nevada for some food. I couldn’t manage a lot but Andy scoffed a big pizza. Ely Main Street was quiet and with most of the shops boarded up. I was soon fast asleep.Looking forward to a lie in????.

Day 11

70 miles 3336 calories!

The journey started around 0700 on route 50 . The time was significant because we wanted to miss as much of the heat of the day as possible. It gets really hot here and near impossible to ride because it sucks all of your energy. We wanted a cool start… Most importantly there aren’t any services on the 50 for 68 miles. We’d packed plenty of water because Nevada can be very drying!
On leaving Austin, there’s a climb and 3 Summits. Austin Summit, Bob Scott Summit and ? Hickinson Summit. Some of the roads are poker straight and very long and as the map says ‘bean flat’ at times. Around 10 miles out of Eureka I hit a wall. I felt shattered probably because I’d not eaten enough. To try to rejuvenate myself I scoffed fig biscuits and drank a litre of water. I still felt useless on the final push into Eureka. This was another climb. I collected everything I had and slowly made it to the finish line. Andy was kind and patiently stayed close by and sorted a motel.

Shattered but I’d made it to Eureka ????

On our way to Eureka, about 20 miles from Austin we bumped into Robert. A young and polite German guy. We saw him cycling towards us going in the opposite direction towards Austin. As it happens Robert is cycling coast to coast New York to California. The total opposite to us. We all chatted about the route and we gave Robert a couple of tips and let him know about the delights of Austin. We laughed and gave our business cards before getting back on the bikes. Who would have imagined meeting someone who’s sharing the same route across the States and they’ve already moved their wheels over ground we are yet to cover.

On route to Eureka we passed a middle aged couple who shouted over from the other side of the road asking, Where are you heading’, ? they had 2 horses and told us they were heading to Virginia right over on the east coast. ? Who could possibly think up the challenge to ride a horse from the West to East coast! Well it happened today! I did worry about how the poor horses would feel because trucks constantly pass at high speed!
Something a little different but more humorous was when an American guy caught our attention. He’d seen the Union Jack flags and shouted ‘ Hey guys’ and then pulled his trousers down. Jeeze I didn’t know what he was going to show us. Unexpectedly he showed us his Union Jack pants. Indeedie, and thankfully that was all! He’s definitely a UK fan. We laughed all the way up the road. Rule Britania!

I’m all settled in the Sundown lodge and we’re planning to have an early night because where off to Ely. A 78 miler! Best eat more.

Good night from me and good morning to everyone at home.

Ps mum I’m safe and doing well. Love you.

Day 10 0900-1400hrs

20 miles east from Middlegate Station.
Today we set off later than expected due to Middlegates wifi being temperamental both last night and this morning and we wanted to upload our blogs before setting off. The late start means that we have to cycle in the full heat of the day.
This morning we had 2 choices of route, either take the County road 722 or stay on Highway 50 both of which would join together again leading into Austin, our next destination. We’ve found that talking to the locals about their local area is the best practice in this situation. The County road 722 would start with a steep climb up to 7000 from 4000 ft but this would be more scenic and with some shade plus the climb would be out of the way, with a good decent. Alternatively, we could remain on the 50 which has more traffic, a couple of smaller climbs and is not as scenic with little shade.
So with this in mind we took the County road 722 to Carolls summit. The climb was steady but over the day we made a 3000 ft rise. Our intention was to reach the summit and wild camp.
On our way to the County road we chatted to an Italian man who’s on holiday in the USA. He told us he’d stayed at Middlegate Station too and noticed both Andy and I this morning. We chatted about the route we were going to take, a few stories from our adventures and about why we were doing the cycle ride. I can’t remember his name but this lovely Italian man offered us some ice cold drinks. I hope he gets back in touch so we know his name. He was like our angel today because he also met us half way up the summit with more water. We were carrying 7 litres each which is very heavy but it was rationed because it needed to cover us until tomorrow lunchtime.We were very grateful. We took a picture of us all together.

When we arrived at Carolls Summit there wasn’t anywhere suitable to pitch the tent. So we started to decend and then found an abandoned house with a garden area plus a shallow stream close to our pitch for the night.

We needed to relax and hydrate today because the heat from Fallon to Middlegate Station exhausted both of us. After pitching the tent Andy cooked and I sorted the mattresses and we watched Ted 2.

Bedtime was a lovely 2100hrs – I hope we get some good sleep tonight.

40 miles

Hot day! I burnt my legs today ???? with factor 30!

Well to say last nights sleep was terrible would be an understatement! At midnight I was awoken by something touching the tent – at my side. That’s less than 1 mm away. I woke Andy and both of us nervously sat very still. Andy undid the tent zip and what ever it was ran away. Whatever it was – we will never know but it did return. In the morning we found a large hole in the ground not more than 5 feet from the tent.

Shattered but ready to move on!

The day started with a wash in the nearby stream. See below. The water was icy cold but very refreshing.

It was nice to freshen up in the nearby stream.

A small snake wanted to freshen up too.

The road was mostly straight…

.. and very long and appeared to disappear into the sky! However, the 722 joined with Highway 50 and the road started to take an incline upto Austin. This was tough going as the sun beat down upon us. We stopped every 20 meters, trying to keep hydrated, sweat fell into my eyes and my body felt wet like I’d walked out of the shower.

With a final determined push we made it to Austin. We found a motel and freshened up and headed to local jewellery shop and bought a small piece of turquoise .

See the pictures below inside the ? International bar in Austin.

This is a picture of Charlie and Tom.

I’m getting to know Charlie (a local in Austin). Charlie has lived in Austin most of his life, leaving for a while but choosing to retire in a town he grew up and shared his married life in. He had really kind eyes!

We enjoyed a well earned brandy and beer with our new friends.

I’m going to leave my blog here. Enjoy your day, it’s time for me to go to sleep because I’ll be up for 0600 hrs to cycle to Eurika.

Day 9

50 miles of heat and sweat on highway 50

Or should I have said Fallon to the middle of nowhere, (See the picture below) on the western express route to Middlegate, passing Salt Wells Basin and Sand Springs Pony Express Station.

Todays journey began in Fallon at Brad and Staceys lovely home. I awoke refreshed and gleefully happy because those loaned pillows helped perfectly to rest my head. I slipped out the tent to find Stacey, Brad and Andy talking, drinking fresh coffee and putting the world to rights. These guys have given us not only a safety net ? by offering food, shelter and other home comforts for the night but most importantly they gave us friendship. Brad, Stacey and Hannah if you come to the UK you’ve got a place to stay.

Our goodbye this morning.

So we said our goodbyes (sadly but we are now facebook buddies) and we were on the road to Middlegate around 9:30.

The road to Middlegate seemed to be never ending like the saying goes ‘it’s as long as a piece of string’ you just don’t know were the end is going to be. The road also appeared to evaporate due to the heat, shimmering like water.
Did I mention the heat! I couldn’t seem to quench my thirst or cool down. Andy asked me to take my helmet off and without knowing what he was going to do – he poured water over my head. This helped but it evaporated not long after. Thank you Andy!

After some more frazzling heat, we arrived at Middlegate Station, ? a little drained but happy to survive the journey. My 1st impression of the Staion was like stepping back into the Wild West in the 1800’s. See what you think…

My view of Middlegate Station from the veranda around 18:00hrs

Middlegate Station deck area. The neon sign maybe modern but you could imagine a Clint Eastwood or John Wayne movie being made here.

I’ll pop the postcards in one of these.

This car was found in Nevadas hills and brought down to Middlegate Station. Someone in the 1930s couldn’t afford the fuel and abandoned it.

As I’m writing this I’m sitting on the veranda, the suns heat has passed, the bikes are fastened close by. I am regaining some strength and having a welcome rest!

I will leave you with this picture of my view this evening of Middlegate Station. Goodnight and god bless or rather ‘you enjoy your day y’all’ .. Because you’ll be starting your day as mine is coming to an end.