Salt Lake City – Mona – Salina – Torrey – Capitol Reef – Boulder: 497 km

With our newfound energy from the rest days in Salt Lake City we ride off deeper into Utah, southbound. We don’t know it now, but this will be the biggest week we’ve done so far, and probably will do for a while. Over 600 kilometers, nearly 7.000 meters of elevation. We just ride, there’s nowhere really that is interesting enough to stay and rest for a day. But the days pass by smoothly. Utah’s soil is turning redder and sandier with every turn. We’re slowly riding into the desert. With that, the temperatures rise. Every day is hotter than the previous one, we’re getting close to 40 degrees. We ride through small town America, the Mormon kind. Towns have the names of the chapters in The Book of Mormon; Nephi, Lehi, etc. White chapelled churches stick out above the single floor homes that surround them. It’s exceptionally clean and quiet. Most towns offer not more than a gas station with accompanying general store. We use them for snacks and water. The wind blows tumbleweeds over the tarmac. It feels like we’re cycling in a cartoon. And then there’s the road kill. Every couple of kilometers a deer, goat, cat, possum or other rodents lay splashed out over the road. I try to look away if I can, but the smell is the worst. A deep dark stink, bitter and intense, takes all other scent away. Even when we don’t see the animal, we know it can’t be far away in a ditch somewhere.

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After some of such towns, and some of such roads we get to where we planned to go; Capitol Reef. Southern Utah is full of National Parks. We can’t see them all, but this is the first of a couple that we’re visiting. Our ride into Capitol Reef is awesome. The road drops down into the park, we’re surrounded by sand stone layered ridges on both sides. It’s as if a huge knife has made a cut through the landscape. The soil and the mountains are a deep red, the sky stark blue. The river at the bottom of the canyon provides water for plants to grow. Large trees on both side of the road, although they seem small on the backdrop of the mountains. We’re planning a ride to the east side of the canyon, so we can circle back over the Burr trail, supposedly stunning. Our only problem; water. There’s nothing and no one out there. But we’ve brought a 10L water bag, so we’re feeling confident. Half way through our first day we start realising that 10L is not nearly enough for two days in the desert. It feels like a ticking time bomb in the back of my head. Will we have enough? Can I drink some more, or should I save it for later? Luckily, we find a ranch on the outskirts of the park where we can stock up, and are offered a soda. Just when we’re leaving, I have a flat. It turns out that the off-roads are filled with goat’s heads, or cat’s heads, or devil’s eyelashes, or puncture vines. Whatever one may call them, I think it’s pretty clear what they do. I’ve run out of fresh tubes, so I glue the puncture shut, only to realise that I have about five punctures in this tire. The next one the same. I need new tires, they’ve become worn out and are paper thin, not the characteristics you look for during a trip through the desert covered in treacherous plants. After about four tries my tires stay inflated. The farmer bridges us and our bikes in his buggy towards the asphalt, where the goat’s heads are not as prevalent.

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A little more at ease with our water supply, we ride onwards. My back tire is slowly losing air. Paved roads turn into sandy ones, sometimes so thick that we have to walk. I have to inflate my tire every couple of kilometers. Dawn is slowly creeping up on us, making our shadows longer, the previously stark blue sky a pastel turquoise and pink. We make it to a free campground. I’m utterly defeated by this day.

Waking up in the desert is something else. No other people to rely on, not enough water for an extra cup of coffee, if one at all. The only evidence of human presence are the tire tracks in the sand, who knows how old they are? The bears are a thing of the past, but we’ve been warned here for deadly spiders, scorpions and rattle snakes. We check our shoes. On today’s menu; an insane climb over gravelly switchbacks, and the scenic drive over the Burr trail through the canyon. Both deliver. The climb on its steepness, the canyon on its beauty. Both are spectacular, the views, the caves, the red rocks towering over us. I’m thoroughly impressed by our surroundings. As we ride through it, I decide this must be the most beautiful ride I’ve ever done. It’s simply so different from anything I’m used to or have come across over the last year of cycling. A desert! And a real one at that. The challenges with the climbs, the heat and especially with the water are totally worth it. I’m happy we’re here.

The Burr trail ends at a small but welcoming town called Boulder. We drink all the water we can get our hands on, eat pizza and have a beer. We deserve it after all. We sleep in a park, although locals tell us we might be sent away. Nobody bothers us that night and we sleep like princesses.