Day 14. 9.19.2013. 61 miles from Zion NP to Riverside RV park (almost to Bryce)

Today was definitely a memorable day. We didn't start our ride until noon, and the first 7 miles was the most spectacular climb I could imagine. We then had to hitchhike through a tunnel where bikes weren't allowed (with all of our gear). The rest of the ride was a steady climb from 3900 feet to 7900 feet. Quite the taxing day, but we feel great tonight as we are going to rest well and explore Bryce tomorrow. 

It all started with another visit to Fred at Zion Cycles. .... Okay actually before that on the ride to Zion Cycles a bee flew down my jersey and stung me. AGHH, what a way to start the day... Back to Zion Cycles...Seriously, there will not be a better bike shop/owner along our entire ride. Fred was so generous with his time and answered all of our questions. He looked at Josh's wheel yesterday and saw that almost every spoke hole on the rim was cracked. That meant that Josh desperately needed a new wheel. With hours of researching, and planning, we decided to order a wheel online and ship it to a bike shop in Moab, Utah. This means that Josh is still riding his wheel that is not 100% Fred didn't have the wheel Josh needed in stock so he ordered the one Josh needed for him to then have it delivered in Moab. It was a really tricky situation. But I believe it all worked out the best it could have. 

Here is my stupid bee sting. 

I didn't get a picture of Fred, but here is one from Trek's magazine a few years ago. 

We then rode by the post office to drop off our Zion postcards then we were on our way. 

Check this road out!

Bliss

Even more bliss

Can you see the road we just came up?

Hitchhiking for a ride through the tunnel

Leaving Zion... Sad sad day. 

The hitchhiking was quite the experience. We met a truck full of people who were getting ready to go canyoneering/repelling/swimming in deep water holes. After a lengthy packing period we ended up fitting both our bikes and our gear with all of their gear and Josh in the back of the truck. Will, Jessica, Hellen, and Keith were all super cool. It was actually a really fun experience. Look at Josh's blog post for pictures. 

All in all, after leaving Zion, which we were very sad to do, today was a tougher day of riding. We climbed all day at a gentle incline, but sometimes those less inclined hills are more tiring. I was impressed that we made it 60 miles before dark while climbing that much. We only took a half hour lunch break and 2 quick pee breaks all afternoon. We pulled into Riverside Restaurant and RV park and talked with Bob about staying here for the night and he quickly told us just to stay for free. What a blessing. The place had great showers, and a room indoors where we could blog, eat, and relax. So tonight might be the first time I have blogged from inside :)

I almost forgot, Josh and I purchased a national park 1 year pass that is good for either of us, and basically anyone else who would want to come with us. This ended up saving us quite a bit of money because now we don't have to pay to get into all of the national parks along the way, or any that we may want to go to until next October. Whoot! The lady was very nice and allowed us to use the pass money we spent yesterday to go towards our annual pass. Yet another blessing. 

God just continues to bless us with amazing people along the way. Where would we be without his looking out for us? 

The rest day was great, the trip has been great. We are learning more and more every day, and we are more committed then ever. Thank you for your thoughts, support, and prayers. 

Tailwinds, 

Mark