Albuquerque to Grand Junction

Fall 2023

Denis Kertz, ©2023

Sep 18 - Amtrak, CO - Amtrak Train

This year’s bicycle trip was from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Grand Junction, Colorado so I had a reservation on the Amtrak Southwest Chief to get me to Albuquerque. My Amtrak train didn’t leave until 2:50 pm so there was plenty of time to get to Chicago’s Union Station for the departure. Nevertheless, I took my bike on the 9:25 am Metra commuter and got in to Union Station about 10:15. That gave me lots of time to kill but since I had a sleeper ticket that allowed me to hang out in the Amtrak lounge which had beverages and snacks and TV. I wasn’t able to bring my bike into the lounge but I was able to put it in the Amtrak storage.

Amtrak escorted us from the lounge at 2:20 to our train. I retrieved my loaded bike from storage just in time for this escort. Then it was a simple matter to unload my bike and hand it to the storage handler to put in the storage car. I carried on my 2 rear panniers and my duffel bag which was also stuffed with the contents of one of my front panniers. I used the other front pannier to carry my sensitive/important stuff to my roomette.

We left right on time at 2:50 pm. Shortly after the dining car attendant came by to get our dinner reservations. I chose 5:30, the first dining time. At 5:30 I was shown to a table by myself. Usually, they pair up folks for the 4-person tables but this time I had an entire table to myself. My meal was a decent shrimp appetizer, Atlantic salmon, and chocolate mousse.

I spent most of the rest of the time reading my Kindle before calling it a night.

Sep 19 - Albuquerque, NM – Amtrak Arrival

I slept very well in my sleeper, better than I had slept in some time. Maybe the rocking of the train lured me to deeper sleep. In any event I didn’t complain.

I was the first to the dining car for breakfast at 6:30. I was joined by a tall dude, who must have been about 6’8” tall. He said airline travel didn’t agree with him and I imagine airline seats were not kind to him. We had a reasonably interesting conversation.

Not too long after breakfast we stopped in La Junta, CO, where I had left the train last year. We were on schedule so we were allowed to leave the train for a few minutes to stretch our legs.

At noon I had lunch with 3 other folks. Two were a couple who had decided to take a train vacation to Albuquerque, explore the area for a week, and return home via train. Our other diner was a young woman.

We slowly climbed the Raton Pass and made our way to Albuquerque. At times we were just crawling along so I assumed we were behind but we pulled into Albuquerque about 10 minutes ahead of schedule.

When I exited the train, I was told to go to the head of the train to get my bicycle from the luggage car but the luggage car was actually the second last car on the train whereas it is usually near the beginning. This meant I had to drag my duffel bag, 2 rear panniers, and 1 front pannier the length of the train.

It didn’t take long to fill my empty front pannier and then I had 4 panniers and my duffel bag on the bike. I headed north just a short distance to get to Central Avenue, a major street. However, it had a bike lane and there wasn’t a lot of traffic on a Sunday afternoon. My Days Inn where I had a reservation for 2 nights was less than a mile east on Central Ave.

I had requested a first-floor room to accommodate my bicycle and I got one but it was the furthest room from the office so the WiFi looked weak. I couldn’t sign in with my tablet using the password the office gave me. So I moved outside to get a stronger signal and still failed to sign in. I also tried my cell phone and had the same difficulty. So I went to the office where I was told that the capital S at the beginning of the written password was really a lower-case s but no one would have guessed that. With the correct password I was able to sign in. I also mentioned the weak signal so I got moved to a closer room, giving up a king-sized bed for 2 beds which was fine by me. Then I discovered I had to Login to finally get Internet access but I couldn’t click on the “I agree” link. So it was back to the office where I was shown I had to click just to the left of the “I agree” link and an invisible little check mark box showed up after it was checked. I don’t know how anyone was supposed to guess that but I finally got connected.

Then I went looking for food. I wandered around and finally settled on the Range Cafe where I had a good Buffalo Chicken Sandwich. I also looked around for a convenience store so I could pick something up for breakfast. The motel had a breakfast but it was a very light breakfast that really wasn’t a breakfast and I figured I would need something more substantial for the Sandia Crest climb. The Range Cafe would have been suitable for breakfast except they didn’t open until 8:00 am and I wanted to get on the road sooner than that. I did find a Circle K that had breakfast sandwiches except they only had them fresh in the morning. So I was left undecided about what to do for breakfast in the morning.

I finally started arranging everything for the Sandia Crest climb with maps and the clothing that I figured I would need. Since this was an out and back climb, I only needed a few things and would be able to leave most of my gear in the motel. This was fortuitous because the climb was a 6,000-foot climb and it wasn’t reasonable to do that hard of climb on the first day with all of my gear.

Day 1: Sep 18 - Albuquerque, NM [72.3, 8:03:36, 9.0 mph, 32.8 max, +6,299', -6,171']

I checked out the “breakfast” and, as I was told, there was almost nothing. I grabbed a lukewarm coffee and a granola bar.

The plan for the day was to climb to the Sandia Crest that overlooks Albuquerque. It was a 36 mile and 6,000 feet climb. Since this was an out and back, I was able to leave my gear in my motel except for a few essentials. The only route question was how to get through the metro area. I had a choice of 2 routes, either the Adventure Cycling Route 66 route or a route created by Google Maps. I chose the Google Map route because it was simpler and it turned out to be a good choice.

Getting to the Sandia Crest requires approaching from the back side. This meant I had to ride through Albuquerque. Google Maps routed me on Coal Ave which turned into Zuni Rd. When Zuni ended, I headed north a few blocks and to Chico Rd. When it ended, I headed south and picked up Central Ave until it turned into 333 which billed itself as Historic Route 66. At Tijeras I took 14 north and picked up the Sandia Crest Road in San Antonito.

I left at 7:15. Coal Ave was a good choice since it had a bike lane as did Zuni Rd. After about 3 miles I stopped at a Circle K and had an egg sandwich and a small beef/potato burrito. I would have had 2 egg sandwiches but there was only one left. This was good enough to keep me going for a while.

The first 23 miles were a gradual uphill until the Sandia Crest Road. The Sandia Crest Road was 13 miles with two 6-mile stretches with an average grade of 6%. The Central Ave section was the only section without either a bike lane or a wide shoulder. But Central Ave had 3 lanes and the rightmost lane was essentially just a right turn lane so it was safe to use as long as I kept an eye out for right turning vehicles.

I stopped at a food mart about 5 miles before the Sandia Crest turnoff because I thought it might be the last opportunity for refreshment. Turns out there was a food mart right at the Sandia Crest turnoff and I stopped there for a Gatorade and a bear claw.

The Sandia Crest climb was not too difficult except that it was my first day. I was okay on the first 6-mile section but then I started dragging after 2 miles in the second 6-mile section. So I stopped for a 10-minute break that helped. I decided to split the remaining 4 miles in half and took another short break before completing the final 2 miles.

From the Crest there was a panoramic view of Albuquerque as well as eastern New Mexico. I took the obligatory photos and then prepared to return. I didn’t reach the Crest until 2 pm so I didn’t linger long. It was fairly cool so I donned my light weight jacket for the descent. I descended all the way to San Antonito except for a short climb near the Sandia Peak ski center.

I stopped again at the food mart where the Sandia Crest Road ended. Then I discovered that the climb to San Antonito, while not steep, was steeper than I thought. I coasted almost the entire way down 14 back to the junction with 333. Even the 333 section was easy as I lightly pedaled and coasted back to Albuquerque. In Albuquerque retraced my route, pedaling lightly most of the way.

When I got back to the motel the first order was food after I took a shower. My friend Guy had recommended the 505 Food Court. It was a bit of a hike but he also recommended the Thicc Pizza that was billed as Detroit style. Their standard order is for 2 but I managed to devour the entire pizza serving in one setting.

Back at the motel I made a reservation for the Route 66 Casino Hotel for tomorrow. It is only 20 miles outside of town but it wasn’t realistic to go further. Grants was the next logical destination but it was nearly 80 miles and I knew it would be foolish to attempt to make it there after today’s hard day. So tomorrow will be basically a recovery day.

It turned out to be a great weather day. It was cool most of the day with the only downside that it was somewhat hazy looking out from the Sandia Crest.

Day 2: Sep 19 - Albuquerque, NM [23.5, 2:57:59, 7.9 mph, 33.1 max, +1,076', -712']

Today was a planned easy day to recover from yesterday’s hard day. This was an easy decision since the next logical destination was Grants but Grants was 80 miles away with some climbing and likely a head wind. There was no way I figured to make Grants, especially with tired legs. So the destination was the Route 66 Casino Hotel just 20 miles outside Albuquerque.

There was no reason to hurry today since check in time at the hotel was 2 pm. So first I decided to eat breakfast at Java Joes which was recommended by my friend Guy. It was just a mile down Central Ave but I chose a better bicycle route, heading down to Lead Ave and then coming up to Java Joes on 9th Street.

The only problem with Java Joes was there was no place to lock up my bicycle. So I leaned it against one of the outside tables and chose a table inside right by the window where I could keep an eye on my bicycle. I ordered an omelet along with (unlimited) coffee and the price was a reasonable $11. Since I was in no hurry I lingered over my breakfast. By the time I left there was a line formed and almost all of the tables were occupied. Obviously a popular place.

It was a bit of a challenge to ride out of Albuquerque on a bicycle. I used the Adventure Cycling Route 66 route. It used the Paseo del Bosque Trail to ride north along the Rio Grande River until there was a pedestrian bridge that crossed the Rio Grande Rover next to I40. The problem with the AC route was it showed the trail crossing on the bridge and then looping back but there was no explanation for the loop back. I had to use the MAPS.ME app on my cell phone to figure out this loop. It was a good thing that I was in no hurry as it took 15-20 minutes to figure out the routing.

The route eventually reconnected with Central Ave where there was a Smith’s grocery store. I stopped there for my first grocery shopping of the trip. I didn’t need anything for the day but I would likely need some food for tomorrow when I headed to Grants. It took a while for my shopping to find the various food items I wanted in an unfamiliar store.

Central Ave had a bike lane but there was road construction that was blocking the lane. I was able to still use most of the bike lane where there was no actual construction. Then the bike lane disappeared but there was a serviceable shoulder much of the way.

There was a fair amount of climbing, about 1,000 feet, on the way to the Route 66 Casino Hotel. My legs handled this fairly well but I could tell they were somewhat tired. I wouldn’t have wanted to do much more climbing than was required for this short day. The long climb of several miles was first a 3% grade but then the last mile was a 6% grade. I was noticeably slower on the 6% grade than yesterday but then today I was carrying all of my gear.

At the top of the hill there was a Love’s travel center where I stopped for a chicken sandwich. It was also pretty warm and very sunny so I donned my arm sun shield and put on some sunscreen. When I left the travel center there was a light where I crossed over I40 and picked up the frontage road on the other side that took me the rest of the way to my hotel.

After some more climbing I finally had a downhill for several miles to the hotel which was a welcome respite from the climbing. This was marred about a mile from the finish when some yahoo blared his horn continuously while passing. Since I was moving along at 20+ mph I chose to ride inside the white line since the shoulder wasn’t great. That apparently set off this yahoo even though there was no one in sight coming from the other direction and he had the whole road except for the small part I occupied.

I timed my arrival at the hotel just in time for the 2 pm check-in. I got a $120 AARP rate and a nice room on the third floor. There was an elevator so getting my bicycle to my room was no problem.

After cleaning up I walked to the nearby food mart which had a Dairy Queen and I had a large blizzard. As I was walking back to the hotel I realized I needed to stop walking so much to give my legs as much rest as possible. It was 60 miles to Grants tomorrow and I expected to make that but I still wanted to be as rested as possible.

I had a barbecued pork sandwich in the Laguna Burger lounge and then I retired to my room to rest and plan for tomorrow’s ride. Grants has a number of motels so I didn’t feel any need to make a reservation.

Day 3: Sep 20 - Grants, NM [59.8, 7:04:47, 8.4 mph, 24.8 max, +2,185', -1,070']

I was first in line for breakfast at 7am. I had the pancakes and bacon which was good except the bacon was way overpriced, costing $2.50 per slice.

I was on the road by 8 am. Unfortunately, the first 23 miles were on I40 since there was no alternative to the interstate. Traffic was very heavy during the morning rush hour. But the worst part of interstate riding I always find is watching out for debris on the shoulder. Debris gets swept on to the shoulder by the passing traffic. Part of this debris is radial tire wires from exploded radial tires. There’s always a good chance a radial wire will attack a bicycle tire and cause a flat.

It was a good day for riding weather wise. There was little wind, the temps were moderate, and the sky got cloudier as the day wore on with mostly cloudy skies for the afternoon.

It was 56 miles to Grants, the destination for the day. It was generally a moderate uphill ride most of the way but there were some downhill sections too.

After 23 miles I exited the interstate at Mesita without a flat tire and immediately picked up Old Route 66. Initially the road paralleled the interstate but then moved away and the silence was bliss. In a few miles I stopped at Laguna where there was a food mart. I enjoyed a second breakfast of cereal with a honey bun.

When I resumed riding, I picked up 124 which had a minimal shoulder. Then a car slowed down as it passed me and the driver said something that I didn’t pick up. She slowed again and then I understood she was pointing out that there was a bicycle path on the other side of the road. I quickly moved to the path which was paved. There was even a service station that had water and a tire pump. Except there was no water, apparently due to the drought.

When the path ended after about 5 miles, I got back on the road but quickly noticed there was now a path next to me. I had just assumed the path ended but it just moved to the other side of the road. Eventually the path truly ended and I got back on the road. There was no shoulder but there was little traffic and whenever there was a possible conflict the traffic was always very respectful and patient.

I had thought there would be no more services until Grants but then there was a small store at Cubero. Better yet, they had pizza so I got 2 slices and a cold drink. When I left I was bloated but this kick started me as I was dragging. However, as the end of the ride approached, I was dragging more and more. I eventually decided I better take a rest day tomorrow since this day turned out to be harder than I expected. I wasn’t sure how well I would recover by tomorrow so I figured it would be better to take a rest day in Grants where there were lots of services compared to the upcoming days.

I finally made it to Grants around 4:30 pm and found motel row next to the interstate. I got 2 nights at a Super 8 for $80 per night. After I checked in to my room, I immediately walked across the road to a Dairy Queen for a pick me up blizzard. Then I took a short nap in my room.

A harder day than I expected. I wondered if part of this could be that I am riding at altitudes over a mile high. In any event a rest day seemed like a good idea.

Day 4: Sep 21 - Grants, NM – rest day

One of the reasons I chose to stay at Super 8 is because they seem to have a real breakfast as opposed to that pitiful excuse for a breakfast at the Days Inn in Albuquerque. I wasn’t disappointed. There was cereal, oatmeal, and egg sandwiches. It also looked like they had gravy but I didn’t see any biscuits. In any event, I had a substantial breakfast. More importantly, I will be able to get off to a good start tomorrow since the breakfast is open at 6:00 am.

Later I was able to reserve a cabin at the El Morro RV Park which is my destination tomorrow. This place also has a cafe but it is only open from 9 am to 3 pm. If things go well tomorrow, I hope I can get to the cafe before it closes because there is no other food in the area.

I also liked Super 8 because they have a guest laundry service. I didn’t have to do laundry but it was convenient so I did it. However, I first had to get soap and the motel didn’t have any soap for the laundry (obviously, they have a LOT of soap since they clean every day). Neither of the 2 nearby food marts had soap so I finally figured I needed to visit a regular laundry where they sell soap. As luck would have it there was a laundromat almost next door to the Mt. Taylor Coffee Co which looked like the only real coffee shop in town. But these places were over 2 miles away in the downtown area so I needed to bike there.

My legs felt okay on my bike ride but then my bike was unloaded and I was riding on flat terrain so that wasn’t a real test. Interestingly, last night my blood oxygen level (SPO2) was 95%, a little low. This morning after a good night’s sleep it was 98%.

Grants was founded in the 1880s by 3 Canadian Grant brothers. Initially it served the logging industry but later it was a uranium mining center (“Uranium Capital of the World”). Grants suffered through some hard times when uranium went away with the demise of nuclear power but supposedly was making a comeback. That wasn’t obvious to me as there were several closed motels and other businesses as I rode into town.

I found the laundromat and got my individual soap box but then had trouble finding the coffee shop that was in the next block. Eventually I found it when my address indicated it must be in what had been a service station. In fact, the garage part was still being used for its original purpose but the office was now the coffee shop. I had a decent cup of coffee and a great pecan scone. What I didn’t get to my surprise was WiFi. Apparently they had just moved to this location and the barista said it wasn’t set up yet. So I didn’t get to hang out as long as I would have liked to. It may have been just as well. There was a single table with 4 chairs on a side in the place. And this is where the women congregated every morning at 10:00 am. There were 3 women there when I left.

Back at the motel I was equipped with soap but the other problem with these laundry facilities is they use lots of quarters. I needed 12 quarters and only had 10 but was able to get 4 more from the motel for my $1 bill. So I was able to conveniently take care of laundry.

Day 5: Sep 22 - El Morro, NM [43.8, 5:36:34, 7.8 mph, 25.5 max, +1,611', -692']

Yesterday morning I was impressed with the Super 8 breakfast service. This morning the breakfast was a disaster. There were only a couple cups of coffee when it ran out. There was only a little milk when it ran out. There were no egg sandwiches. Then when I went to the front desk to complain there was a sign saying the person would be back in 15 minutes. The 15 minutes turned out to be more like 30 minutes. Finally, I got hold of someone and it still took about 5 minutes before someone showed up and got things somewhat back in shape. I did finally get a sufficient breakfast.

I wasn’t in a great hurry to leave because the temperature was 42F at 7 am. Nevertheless, I left around 7:20. Just as I was leaving a touring couple were leaving from another motel. They saw me so they stopped and we had a chat. Merritt and Stephanie were riding the Route 66 route but they weren’t using the Adventure Cycling route. They had laid over yesterday because it was forecasted to be very windy. I noticed when I walked to the Subway for my dinner that it was very breezy. So it turns out that was another good reason to take off yesterday.

Merritt and Stephanie were traveling much lighter than me with just 2 rear panniers and no camping gear. So being younger and lighter they quickly left me in the dust. They were headed directly to Gallup whereas my AC route picked up 53 to El Morro.

The route to El Morro started mostly flat, then about 12 miles of 2% grade, and then 1.5 miles of 5-6% grade. After that it was mostly a gradual downhill to El Morro. It was mostly a good road with little traffic. Initially it had a great wide shoulder but about half ways the shoulder deteriorated somewhat and the condition varied considerably.

Scenery was nice compared to the last few days although not spectacular. The road passed through both the El Malpais National Monument and the El Morro National Monument.

My legs were in good shape after my rest day. I wanted to reach El Morro by 2 pm for two reasons. First, the cafe at El Morro was open from 9 to 3 so I wanted to get lunch before they closed. Next, the wind was forecasted to reach double digits by 2 pm so I wanted to avoid that. As a result, I pushed the pace. I only stopped once to eat a cinnamon roll and then to sip water. There was only one real climb, the 1.5 mile 5-6% grade.

After 29 miles I crossed over the Continental Divide at 7,782 feet. From there it was mostly a gradual downhill the rest of the way.

I reached the El Morro RV Park at 1:30 pm. I immediately checked my cabin which was behind the Ancient Way Cafe and was pleasantly surprised to see my key to the cabin was already waiting for me on a hook outside the door. I got a larger cabin than I wanted because it was the last cabin available. It had a queen bed and 2 single beds, more suited for a family. I quickly parked my bicycle inside and made my way to the cafe.

I had a BBQ sandwich that was very good. I also had a great server. I wanted the cafe to get me a couple of egg sandwiches for my breakfast because I couldn’t wait until they opened at 9 am. Egg sandwiches weren’t on the breakfast menu but they made a couple for me anyway. With my cabin’s refrigerator and microwave I was able to save these for my morning breakfast.

When I got back to my cabin I quickly connected to the WiFi and checked out the accommodation in Zuni, my next planned destination. Google Map showed an Inn there and I assumed it was a motel but discovered it was a B&B. However, it only had 6 rooms and they were all booked. It appeared this was a very popular place since it looked like nothing was available in September.

That put a kibosh in my route plan. That meant I had to revert to the Adventure Cycling route which would take me to Gallup. At least Gallup had many motels and I would be able to pick and choose when I arrived. However, this route change added about 15 extra miles over the next 2 days to get to Chambers, AZ.

All in all, it was a good day despite the Zuni disappointment. I was relieved that my legs held up very well for the day.

Day 6: Sep 23 - Gallup, NM [57.0, 6:23:17, 8.9 mph, 25.9 max, +1,814', -2,408']

I heated up the 2 egg sandwiches the cafe made for me and it was almost more than I could handle.

It was 42F at 7 am. I left around 7:15. It was overcast as well as cool. Just around the bend was the El Morro Rock. I couple rays of sunshine managed to sneak through the clouds and illuminate the rock enough to add a touch to my photos.

Yesterday’s gradual downhill continued all the way to the turnoff on 602 to Gallup. There was a surprising amount of traffic, all heading in my direction, and I had no idea where they were headed on a Saturday morning.

There was a store along the way not too long after I started where I got a coffee and a couple of bananas. There was also a small cafe in Ramah that looked like it would have been a good place for breakfast had I not had my egg sandwiches.

I reached the turnoff to Gallup around 10:30. This was about the half way point but this section had a climb to a plateau, then some up and downs, and then descending off the plateau. It was about a 500-foot climb to the plateau with only the last mile reasonably steep. When I got to the top, I felt I was dragging somewhat. Then there was a trading post that I checked out. It had some groceries so I managed to get a Coke and a pack of 6 cinnamon rolls. I didn’t need 6 rolls but that was all I could get. These rolls were also a few days past their sell by date so they were a little stale. Nevertheless, the Coke and cinnamon rolls seemed to rejuvenate me and I felt much better the rest of the way.

After I descended off the plateau there was one final climb of almost a mile at about 6% grade. Then the road descended the rest of the way to Gallup. In Gallup I was looking for a cutoff road that I never found and I ended up intersecting with 118/Historic 66. I took Historic 66 west where there was a bunch of motels. I ended up at another Super 8 for $66, hoping the breakfast would be as good as the first breakfast in Grants.

Tomorrow I’m heading to Chambers, AZ, which has only a single motel so I made a reservation for the Days Inn there. It is 50 miles to Chambers but it is a downhill grade so it shouldn’t be that difficult.

The one problem with the Super 8 and the other motels in this area is there are almost no restaurants in the vicinity. I really wanted pizza but nothing was in walking distance so I called Pizza 9 for delivery. This turned into a debacle. After giving all the pertinent info I was told my order didn’t take so I got transferred to someone else. At that point I cut my losses and hung up. Then I walked a half mile to a Mexican restaurant where I had a good meal, stuffing myself with chips and 3 enchiladas.

It was an encouraging day as my body handled the 55-mile ride pretty well. And walking to the restaurant didn’t bother me at all. In fact, I often think it is good to walk after cycling all day. Seems to be good therapy to offset the repetitiveness of the cycling motion.

Day 7: Sep 24 - Chambers, AZ [49.7, 5:17:55, 9.4 mph, 21.5 max, +771', -1,283']

Breakfast started at 6 am and I was there shortly after. My breakfast was based on two. I had 2 toaster waffles, 2 (small) bowls of cereal, 2 packets of oatmeal, 2 cups of coffee but only one cinnamon roll, which were real cinnamon rolls, because they were all gone before I could have two. I got my money’s worth and was ready to go.

It was 37F when I got up. The sun rose at 7:04 and it was 40F at 7:18. I left at 7:30 and just headed west on 118/Historic 66, the road the motel was on.

It was an easy route, following I40 and the railroad to Chambers, AZ, for almost 50 miles. The route was essentially flat, losing 700 feet of altitude for the day. There was a train coming into town as I was leaving and I would see trains for much of the day, including the Amtrak Southwest Chief as it headed east. Although I40 was the predominant road I was able to ride on frontage roads almost the entire day, needing only to ride 7 miles on I40 near Sanders.

There was a section of the route that was very scenic with hills and sandstone bluffs on both sides of the valley. This was high desert so there was the typical high desert vegetation. The culmination of the sandstone bluffs was in Lupton where there were a number of trading posts selling jewelry and such at the exit to Lupton. There was also a truck stop that I missed on my first pass but then a local pointed out what I had missed. I backtracked to the truck stop where there was a convenience store and a small cafe. I lucked out and got the last egg sandwich and grabbed a cinnamon roll, not nearly as good as the one I had at the Super 8 breakfast, and a chocolate milk. I sat in the dining area to eat.

When I left the frontage road moved to the south side of the interstate and became Grant Road. Unfortunately, Grant Road was somewhat decrepit whereas the frontage roads were in good condition. This road had a deteriorating surface with numerous asphalt patches. It was easy to dodge the bad spots since there was virtually no traffic. After 10 miles or so the frontage road moved to the north side of I40 and became a decent road again.

When I continued on the frontage road, there was one moment of near disaster as I was descending into a dip in the road at a fairly fast speed. At the last moment I saw I was headed towards a pothole. I was certain I was going to crash and/or damage the bike. Somehow, I must have avoided the worst of the pothole and managed to stay upright despite a hard bounce.

At the end of this frontage road, I had to get on I40 for 7 miles to the exit for Sanders. About a mile before Sanders there was a weigh station which took up so much real estate that there was no right shoulder. So I rode through the weigh station, wondering if I should see if they would weigh my bike and me.

At the exit to Sanders, there was a grocery store where I found they had pizza slices for sale so I grabbed 2 of them and a Coke. Then I got on another frontage road that took me the rest of the way to Chambers. When the frontage road ended, I rode a half mile south into Chambers where I had a reservation at the Days Inn. This was about 1:30 and I was able to get in my room although the check in process was pretty slow.

My room was on the first floor and was fine. There was also an adjoining restaurant and I was surprised to find the breakfast, which was part of the motel rate, was a voucher for one of six meals at the restaurant in the morning. So, this would be a real breakfast although there was something to be said for the all-you-can-eat breakfast like at the Super 8. But at least I knew I would be getting a real breakfast as opposed to that pitiful excuse for a breakfast at the Days Inn in Albuquerque.

Next, I made reservations at a Best Western motel in Chinle for 2 nights. I figured tomorrow was going to be a hard day and I would be ready for a rest day. The good news is that Chinle is next door to the Canyon de Chelly and that was a good excuse for a day off.

At 5:30 I stopped at the restaurant for dinner. There was only one waiter and one cook. The waiter was really good but the cook could only cook so fast. So, it was a wait for food since there were several other groups already ahead of me. As I was waiting, I happened to see that my Adventure Cycling map for the Arizona section of its Route 66 warned that Arizona did not observe daylight savings time. That put me in a bit of a panic. Normally I only care about daylight, not the actual time. But I needed to be at breakfast at 6:30 in the morning so I could get an early start for what would likely be a long day, as the route was 74 miles to Chinle and likely the longest ride of this tour. What Adventure Cycling neglected to say is that the Navajo Nation does observe DST and it looks like I will stay on DST because I will be riding through the Navajo Nation while in Arizona.

For my meal I had 3 chicken enchiladas along with rice and beans. It was okay but somehow something seemed to be missing. Nevertheless, I really appreciated the waiter's attention to everyone.

It was a relatively easy day for a 50-mile ride. But it needed to be an easy day because tomorrow’s ride to Chinle promised to be hard, maybe the hardest day of the tour.

Day 8: Sep 25 - Chinle, AZ [75.3, 8:32:32, 8.8 mph, 31.7 max, +2,795', -2,854']

The restaurant was open at 6 am as the waiter told me they would open for me, earlier than their official 6:30 am opening. My voucher for the breakfast had a selection of 6 items to choose from. I chose the omelet with hashbrowns because it looked the most substantial. I had my breakfast and was done in 15 minutes. That let me leave by 6:30 which was 7:30 DST and about the time I would have left with an even earlier breakfast.

When I left there were two trains on the tracks behind the motel. One was carrying the usual shipping containers but the other was pulling empty cars.

Today promised to be a long day. It was 74 miles to Chinle with some climbing. The route gained 1,100 feet in altitude in the first half of the route with multiple climbs and then lost 1,300 feet by the time it reached Chinle. Most of the climbing was in the first half and the second half was mostly flat or descending.

I headed north on US 191 on initially a very good road with a good shoulder. The views were nice with wide open vistas of yellow grass and juniper shrubs. There wasn’t much to do but crank out the miles. Since there were convenience stores near the halfway point, I looked for an opportunity for a second breakfast at the halfway point of the first half of the route. There wasn’t any good place to stop so I eventually just pulled off the road and sat on the shoulder for my cereal breakfast with my honey bun. Of course, it’s not unusual to find a better place just a little further on. In this case I found there was a convenience store just 4 miles down the road at Klagetoh. I stopped there for a cold Coke.

After Klagetoh the road deteriorated significantly with lots of cracks. It was unpleasant riding for a while.

There was a fair amount of up and down riding with more up to reach the high point on the route. Then there was some descending to Ganado where I expected to find a convenience store. However, this store was now closed. As I rode through the property a couple of dogs came out to express their displeasure. One dog thought he was particularly assertive until I turned and yelled “Shut Up” as loud as I could. That appeared to stun him that a cyclist would be assertive in turn.

Fortunately, there were 2 convenience stores just up the road in Burnside and I stopped at the biggest one where I had a Coke and a Cliff Bar. This stop was an important psychological stop. At this point it was only 30 miles to Chinle on a mostly flat or descending road. Before I had been doing mental projections on when I would arrive in Chinle and it was looking like maybe after dark. But that was based on progress on the first half of the route which was noticeably harder so it wasn’t a fair projection.

I stopped in Burnside at 1:45 and left at 2:15. At that point I could see arriving in Chinle around 5 pm. That was a big psychological boost.

Leaving Burnside, the road stretched straight ahead for miles. It was a fairly good road but it had no shoulder. This wasn’t a problem early but traffic picked up as the afternoon progressed. The road was a little rough because it was chip sealed. It was interesting that the white line was noticeably smoother than the rest of the road.

I kept grinding out the miles and then with 15 miles to go someone had the bright idea of making the white line a rumble strip. This forced me to ride inside the white line and forced traffic to pass more carefully. For a while I kept swerving on to the rumble strip. Then I realized that I was continually looking at the rumble strip. A rule of cycling is that you should look where you want to go. Since I was looking at the rumble strip to avoid it my bike was naturally moving that way. Once I forced my eyes to point straight ahead I avoided the rumble strip.

The scenery got way more interesting on these last 30 miles.

I rode into Chinle at 5:30. When I got to the main street where I needed to turn for my Best Western motel there was a Speedway on the corner. I made a beeline for it because I wanted some refreshment sooner rather than later. When I got off the bike my legs were so tired I almost fell over. The Speedway had pizza slices so I commandeered 2 slices and a Coke. That resuscitated me and it was a short ride to the Best Western from there. Check-in was really quick and I got a first-floor room as I requested.

After settling in my room, I walked back to the Speedway for another pizza slice and an ice cream bar. Then I discovered I didn’t have cell service. I had this same problem last year where in certain locations I lost cell service and could only make emergency calls. After my trip last year I contacted tracfone and a tech guy said he recognized a problem and made some configuration change that supposedly fixed the problem.

Obviously it didn’t because I had the same problem in El Morro and now again in Chinle. This time I found a chat button on the tracfone website and worked with 3 different chat guys to try to resolve the problem. One guy asked me to remove my SIM card and re-installed. The problem, however, was my Galaxy A51 didn’t have a removable SIM card. Googling showed there was a hole on the left side of the phone that when pressed with a pin popped out the SIM card. My phone didn’t have that.

Eventually, the last guy after trying a couple of things with no success said he needed to escalate this to corporate. That was really disappointing. At this point I had no confidence that tracfone was going to resolve this issue quickly. Now I would be in Chinle for 2 days without cell service. Then when I rode on to Kayenta I expected I would get cell service again but wouldn’t know when this problem would arise again.

An exhausting day with a disappointing cell service problem. On the other hand, my body had handled a very hard day so that was encouraging.

Day 9: Sep 26 - Chinle, AZ [13.3, 1:35:22, 8.4 mph, 30.3 max, +679', -663']

The restaurant opened for breakfast at 7 am so I got there a few minutes early and they were open. I had their pancakes which were fine. More importantly, everything was done efficiently and I was done by 7:30. So I felt confident I could eat breakfast here tomorrow and be on the road around 7:30

After breakfast I rode my unloaded bicycle with a few essentials to the Canyon de Chilly National Monument. I stopped at the Visitor Center and picked up a map. There was a north rim and south rim. The south rim had more overlooks so I figured that was the best choice. It was a 500-foot climb or so to reach the first overlook. Then I continued on to the next two overlooks which were all nice scenery. Unfortunately, the climbing was a bit stressful on a day that was supposed to be a rest day. After the third overlook it was a ways to the next overlook. I decided I had seen enough and didn’t want to risk turning my rest day into something else. So I turned around and coasted home.

Unfortunately, at some point I realized I was missing my lightweight jacket. I had removed it as it got warmer and tied it on to my duffel bag on my rear rack. Obviously, I hadn’t tied it down right and it got loose and flew away somewhere. That was rather disappointing since it wasn’t obvious I could get a replacement for a while although I could get by without it.

Back at the ranch I had another couple of chat sessions with tracfone about my cell phone problem. At the end of the first session the guy said he was going to text me some steps to follow after the session. I replied that messaging wasn’t working so he couldn’t text me. He assured me as the service provider that he could do that. Of course, no text ever arrived.

When it was obvious the text was not forthcoming, I started another chat session. I finally got something useful out of a chat. This guy could somehow see my phone’s signal strength and he pointed out that it was very weak. That raised the question whether it was so weak that my cell phone couldn’t get service. In other words, a coverage problem, not a cell phone problem.

After this session I queried the motel’s attendant about cell phone coverage and she noted it was weak. When I said I had a tracfone she quickly said tracfone didn’t work here. She said AT&T and T-Mobile usually worked but Verizon sometimes had problems. So, I concluded this was likely the problem although it wasn’t clear why tracfone would be more affected than the other carriers. Since tracfone has to use the network of one of the other carriers maybe that somehow makes them second class citizens.

In the afternoon I did some shopping. I stopped by a Navajo Arts place that had some clothing, hoping they might have a jacket but no luck. I picked up a few things from the grocery store. Then I cleaned my bicycle’s chain and pumped up the tires. And I made a motel reservation for tomorrow in Kayenta.

There was a Subway next door so I got a foot long subway and ate half for lunch and the other half for dinner.

Day 10: Sep 27 - Kayenta, AZ [67.0, 7:27:38, 9.0 mph, 33.4 max, +2,087', -1,624']

Again, I got to the restaurant a few minutes before it officially opened at 7 am and was first in. I had the same as yesterday - 2 pancakes and bacon. Again, it was good with the pancakes fairly large. I was in and out in a little less than 30 minutes.

When I left at 7:30 there was a traffic jam. I think it was because traffic was held up at a school crossing. I had to wait a few minutes before I could get on the road. It was mid-40s temperature and I could have used my lightweight jacket but I was okay with my long sleeve jersey over my short sleeve jersey and wearing tights.

It was much better heading north out of town. Unlike coming in from the south where there was no shoulder and the white line was a rumble strip, going north there was no rumble strip and there was a good shoulder. That’s good because there was a fairly steady stream of traffic coming into town from the north. I presumed they were people coming into their jobs in town. A little after 8 the traffic eased up.

It was an easy 14 miles to Many Farms where I would turn west on Navajo 59 to Kayenta. I didn’t need food when I got to Many Farms but it was the last services until Kayenta, 51 miles away. So I grabbed an egg sandwich and chocolate milk.

There was a fair climb at the start heading west but then it was about a 10-mile 2% grade to Rough Rock. And it was amazing scenery for most of the rest of the day. I had no idea it would be that scenic. There was some red rock next to the road and then there was a gray/white wall that paralleled the road much of the rest of the way. I took more photos today than the previous days combined. It got to the point where I was a little afraid I might not make Kayenta unless I stopped taking photos.

Near noon I was looking for a place for a second breakfast. Then there was a guard rail that I like to use to stand up my bike and to sit on. In this case there was a little tree next to the guard rail that provided a little shade. I had my usual cereal and a honey bun.

Rough Rock was just ahead but a little off the road so I couldn’t see what it was like. There was some more up and down the rest of the way and more fantastic rock walls. At one point I rode around the corner and suddenly there was a red and white rock wall formation on my side of the road. There was one fairly long, maybe a mile, climb of 6% but most the road was good riding.

Navajo 59 ended at US 160 and I turned left to ride the 8 miles south to Kayenta. Unfortunately, the rumble strips appeared again on the shoulder. When there was a steep descent, I moved into the traffic lane as I hit 33 mph. A group of motorcyclists came up from behind and the lead rider slowed down and he and his rider gave me thumbs up. A couple of the other motorcyclists also acknowledged my presence.

Then the downer - a flat tire. It happened suddenly to my surprise so I assumed it was a typical flat. I spent a fair amount of time fixing the flat. I couldn’t release the brake to get the tire off so I had to get my tool out to release the cable. Then I pulled out the tube but couldn’t find the flat. I also checked the tire and couldn’t find anything stuck in the tire. I ended up putting in a new tube and I was good to go.

When I got to town I stopped immediately at a Speedway because I knew they had pizza slices and I could get something quick. Like in Chinle, I got 2 slices for $4 and a cold drink. Then I rode to the other side of the road where I had a reservation at the Kayenta Monument Valley Inn. They gave me a first-floor room as I requested. Then I mentioned that I hope it had good WiFi access. That’s when I was dumbfounded to learn that there was no WiFi access in the rooms, only in the office area and the attached restaurant. When the receptionist asked me if I wanted to cancel, I said I was stuck and made it clear I was unhappy. This was clearly deceptive advertising. I’ve never had a motel advertise WiFi and then say it wasn’t available in the room.

When I got into my room, I immediately checked my failed tube for a leak using the wash basin. I quickly discovered there was a slow leak where I had previously patched a leak. I could have almost certainly just pumped up the tire on the road and made to town where I could have fixed the problem more conveniently. I repatched the tube and waited to see if it would hold.

Then I checked my cell phone and saw I was still out of service. However, it had been in service at some point during the day, maybe the high point near Rough Rock. I knew that because I had 2 pending text messages that were sent and I had a couple of new text message from a couple of friends. This all happened right around 1:38 pm whereas I was near Rough Rock right around noon. Very strange why I would get service out there but not in town.

After cleaning up I treated myself to an ice cream cookie and cold drink at the food mart next door. Later I headed to the office and took care of planning for tomorrow including a motel reservation in Mexican Hat.

Day 11: Sep 28 - Mexican Hat, UT [45.6, 4:31:44, 10.1 mph, 36.0 max, +1,115', -2,431']

The motel’s restaurant opened for breakfast at 6:30 and I was first in line. This was a good time where I could eat breakfast and still get out by around 7:30. Service was slow so it was good I was there first.

After breakfast I packed up and stopped by the office to drop off my key and to get a receipt. Then things got interesting as it took a long time to get a receipt. I assumed there was a computer problem of some sort but when I got my receipt it was for about $36 less than what I was expecting the bill to be. I suspect what happened is I made enough noise about expecting compensation for not having WiFi in my room that they redid my bill. Last night I used the WiFi in the restaurant for my Internet needs and then I asked the front desk for contact information for the manager. Maybe all of that got their attention.

When I left near 8 am it was already around 60F, which was about 10 degrees warmer than it has been the last few days at that time. It wasn’t long before I removed my long sleeve jersey and just used my short sleeve jersey with my sun guards.

Scenery was fantastic and the route was pretty easy for the 23 miles to the Utah border where there were some services. Unfortunately, the place with services was a mile off the road and I didn’t want to ride that. However, there was a Navajo Welcome Center right by the road. It had a water fountain inside and I filled up my regular water bottle since that gave me reasonably cold water for my cereal using powdered milk. There were restrooms in a building next to the welcome center and there were picnic tables in the shade. I took advantage of that for my second breakfast and to get off my feet for a bit.

When I left heading north, I met Adam, a touring cyclist coming from the other direction. Adam was an Englishman who started in Alaska and was riding all the way south to the tip of South America. We had an interesting few minutes of conversation before he moved on.

The road then climbed about 5 miles at a 3-4% grade up and past the iconic Mitten Buttes. Then there was a descent which brought me to Forrest Grump Hill. This is where Forrest Grump ended his cross-country run in the movie and where lots of folks stop to take photos at this spot. Likewise, I stopped and took the obligatory Forrest Grump photo.

After that Monument Valley was left behind and it was only 10 miles to Mexican Hat, my destination. This involved some serious descending over 5 miles with 6%, 8%, and 10% grade sections. I managed to hit 36 mph on the 8% section. However, I was a little leery of this descending because my rear brake was out of adjustment and I really only had my front brake. So, I feathered my way down the 10% section Mexican Hat where the road did a 90 degree right turn at the San Juan River.

A short while later I stopped at a convenience store that was just across from the Mexican Hat Lodge where I had a reservation. I checked in right around 2 pm and got a small room on the second floor. It took me 3 trips to get my bicycle and gear up to my room. Interestingly, even though this room cost significantly less than my room in Kayenta it had 3 things the Kayenta room didn’t - WiFi in the room, a small fridge, and a microwave. The Kayenta room was much nicer inside but sometimes the basics are more important than looks.

Next door to my motel was the Mexican Hat Grill. It opened around 6:30 pm. They had a one-page menu but only about 7 real dinners. I had their hamburger steak with beans and salad. It was a good basic meal.

Day 12: Sep 29 - Blanding, UT [50.3, 6:36:47, 7.6 mph, 37.6 max, +3,412', -1,621']

For whatever reason I slept very well last night. I bought 2 egg sandwiches and a cinnamon roll yesterday so I heated them up in the microwave and had a quick breakfast.

As I was leaving at 7:15 two guys in a car with kayaks were turning down to the San Juan River but saw me and pulled alongside me to find out what I was up to. We chatted for a few minutes then they took off for the river.

Just after leaving I spotted the iconic rock formation that looked like a Mexican hat. Scenery was great again with lots of red rock scenery. After some initial climbing and then descent there was an 8-mile climb. There was also re-paving going on and there was a one-lane road where a pilot car carried my bike 2-3 miles through the construction area.

After the long climb there was a steep descent where I hit 37 mph. Then there was the climb through a notch in the Comb Ridge, an 80-mile stretch of sandstone layers, that I remembered from a previous ride. Then a few more miles brought me into Bluff which I reached around 10:30. I stopped at a convenience store for 2 pizza slices and a cold drink. While I was there a local queried me about my route and was surprised that I was riding to Grand Junction since he said it was all up hill. However, I noted that I wasn’t going all the way to Moab, only to Monticello where I was detouring to Dove Creek.

Then the ride to Blanding began with a steep climb out of Bluff. I wondered why I was struggling until I looked at my cyclocomputer and saw a 9.5% grade. Fortunately, the rest of the way wasn’t this steep but it was mostly uphill, gaining 1700 feet on the way to Blanding.

I was dragging somewhat when I saw a mirage, a convenience store in White Mesa that I was unaware of. I stopped for a cold drink and a pack of vanilla wafers and rode on.

In Blanding I stopped at the first convenience store and had 2 slices of pizza and a cold drink. A little further I stopped at the Four Corners Motel where I had a reservation. I got a first-floor room, the room right next to the office, as requested.

After cleaning up I walked a short distance to a Mavericks and got a small, personal pizza and cold drink. That made 8 slices of pizza for the day.

After having no cell service for several days, I noticed I had cell service in White Mesa. However, I expected to have more cell service issues in the coming days so I had a chat session with tracfone on why my WiFi Calling wasn’t working. As usual, the chat person was not very helpful. He seemed to not know much about WiFi calling and appeared to be consulting as the chat session progressed. At the end there was a question of whether my phone was compatible with WiFi calling even though I had enabled it. There was a place on the tracfone website where I tried to check for this but after entering my phone number I was supposed to get sent a code and I never got it, even after trying twice.

The wind had been kind to me on this trip but the wind was supposed to get very strong over the next couple of days. My original plan was to ride from Blanding to Dove Creek which meant riding north to Monticello and then east to Dove Creek. With a strong wind out of the south, I decided to ride only to Monticello and not fight the wind riding to Dove Creek. There was also a question whether I needed a rest day after today’s hard ride. Breaking up the Blanding to Dove Creek ride into two days might effectively accomplish a rest day.

Day 13: Sep 30 - Monticello, UT [21.9, 3:23:15, 6.5 mph, 38.1 max, +1,972', -1,001']

The motel had breakfast but it didn’t start until 7:30. Normally, that would be too late for me but since I planned a short ride to Monticello, I took advantage of the motel breakfast. It was pretty good for me except their choice of cereals seemed to be meant to appeal to kids. So instead of a single bowl of cereal and a single bowl of oatmeal I had two bowls of oatmeal, 2 packets in each bowl. They also had small pastries and bananas. So I was able to make a pretty decent breakfast.

However, the breakfast room was in the office and had only one table, which was already in use when I got there shortly before 7:30. Also, there was no coffee. Someone showed up later to make coffee while a line of people waited. Not very nice to show up and not have coffee ready.

I left at 8:15 which was about an hour later than usual. It was 21 miles to Monticello on a mostly uphill route with a view of the Henry Mountains on the left. Leaving town, the road continued uphill like yesterday for a few miles and then had a short descent. This was followed by about an 8-mile 3-5% grade climb. After about 13 miles the road reached its peak and descended for about 3 miles and then a gradual descent most of the rest of the way.

Around 10:30 I stopped to remove my long sleeve jersey. I noticed there was a bit of tail wind. And then the tail wind was approaching 10 mph just 20 minutes later but the forecast was for the wind to really assert itself in the afternoon.

I rolled into town around noon. I found the Monticello Inn and checked in but was told my room wouldn’t be ready until about 2 pm. So I headed off to look for food and to run some errands.

I got into my room a little before 2 pm. I immediately started checking the weather and wind forecast for the next couple of days when the wind was expected to continue to blow hard. It wasn’t ideal weather but I decided to ride east the 21 miles to Dove Creek tomorrow, hoping that starting early would avoid the worst of the wind. So I made a reservation at the lone motel in Dove Creek.

Since I wanted to get an early start tomorrow, I bought a couple of egg sandwiches and a cinnamon roll that I could heat up in the morning in my room. Later I ate at a Mexican restaurant next door and had a pretty good burrito.

Later the WiFi was a fiasco. It was basically unusable. I complained to the front desk and the WiFi was reset but that didn’t help. So much for the motel sign that said high speed Internet.

Day 14: Oct 1 - Dove Creek, CO [25.9, 3:25:43, 7.6 mph, 23.0 max, +951', -1,211']

I heated up the 2 egg sandwiches and cinnamon roll I had in the fridge. Then I checked the WiFi and discovered it was working again but slowly.

The big issue today was wind. It was projected to blow 20-30 mph with possible gusts to 40 mph from the south. The day’s destination was Dove Creek, 25 miles away due east. It was mostly flat with rollers. Because of the wind I wanted to get out early to avoid as much wind as possible. However, it started raining and I wasn’t able to get off to an early start. It rained off and on and clouds didn’t appear to be getting better looking south although they did look better looking east.

Eventually, I donned my rain gear and headed out at 8:20, about an hour later than I wanted. It drizzled off and on from the start but then got better the further east I went. The wind started picking up around 9:30 and then started getting serious around 10:30. The big issue was avoiding getting blown by the wind into the traffic lane. This was complicated by the rumble strips on the shoulder. The shoulder was schizophrenic. Sometimes the rumbles were 6 inches wide and other times they were twice that width. Then sometimes they were next to the white line and other times they were in the middle of the shoulder. And the shoulder width varied quite a bit. At times I rode inside the white line and moved to the shoulder only when there was approaching traffic.

I crossed into Colorado and then I rolled into Dove Creek just before noon. There were 2 service stations and I checked them both out for food. One had its grill closed, possibly because it was Sunday. The other was a grocery store with a deli.

Since I figured it was unlikely I would get my room at noon I backtracked to the only cafe in town. Since it closed at 2 pm on Sunday I stopped for a bite to eat. Then I stopped by the motel at around 1:30. There was one person at the motel and she was cleaning rooms. She was not in a good mood when I called the number on the sign at the office. She was supposed to get the day off so was not very happy. I was not going to be happy when I was told my bicycle could not go in the room. But then she relented and put me in room 11 which she said already had some carpet damage. However, room 11 was pretty far from the office and I was afraid WiFi would be poor. When I first tried connecting I got a failure notice on both my tablet and my phone. Then after a couple more tries they both connected. The WiFi signal was weak but it worked.

Once the WiFi appeared okay, I went shopping for breakfast. The cafe was closed on Mondays so it was out of the question. I ended up getting 2 egg sandwiches from the place with the deli.

Next, I checked the weather and wind predictions. Tomorrow’s ride to Naturita headed north and northeast so the predicted 10-20 mph southwest wind looked okay but there was some early rain possibility. Nevertheless, I made motel reservations in Naturita.

Day 15: Oct 2 - Dove Creek, CO – rest day

I heard thunder several times during the night. I knew there was a chance of rain early but I was surprised when I saw the current weather forecast that the rain was forecasted to last until late morning. This combined with the cool temperature in the 40s and the 15-25 mph wind made the day looking uninviting for riding.

After I heated up the 2 egg sandwiches that I had the deli make for me and the cinnamon roll I had, my breakfast needs were satisfied. Then I began thinking about the day. I had been thinking that I maybe I needed a rest day and a bad weather day is a good excuse for a rest day. I already had a motel reservation in Naturita so if I took a rest day I needed to stay another night in Dove Creek and move my Naturita reservation out a day.

The motel had coffee in the lobby at 7 am so I stopped by the office then and had no problem staying another night. When I called the Naturita motel, I discovered their office opened at 8 am. So when 8 am arrived I called again and had no problem moving my reservation out a day. I was relieved that was all set and took a nap for an hour or so.

There was no coffee shop in this town of 650 but there was coffee and seating in the deli so I walked to the deli for coffee. While not a coffee shop per se, it had seating so it was effectively a coffee shop. I brought my kindle along where I was reading “Cheap Land Colorado” about the inexpensive land in the San Luis Valley which I have ridden through a couple of times. Ted Conover was a journalist who spent a considerable amount of time in this land and described the inhabitants who were not typical folks. People who lived here had a variety of reasons in addition to the inexpensive land.

After close to a couple of hours I retreated back to the motel. Then I researched the Gateway area for accommodation. There was a resort there but a room cost at least $310 and that was too rich for my blood. There was also a BLM area where you could free camp but I wasn’t too wild about that. However, there was glamping which was a form of camping involving accommodation and facilities more luxurious than those associated with traditional camping. This seemed like a reasonable compromise between free and an exorbitantly expensive room.

This place in Gateway had 3 yurts/tents that could be rented out starting at $110. When I checked to see if I could get a reservation, I learned these yurts were actually Airbnb-s. I was able to reserve a yurt but I also had to become an Airbnb member. This didn’t sound so hard except I had to provide a photo copy of an official ID. I chose my driver’s license but getting a clear photo copy, front and back, proved to be a challenge.

I used my tablet’s camera to take the photos but when I tried uploading to the Airbnb site nothing happened. After multiple tries I finally got an error message saying the photo was too large. So I edited the photo and cropped it to the essential card and that reduced the size enough to be acceptable. But when I uploaded the photo a message from Airbnb said that the photo was not clear enough. I repeated the photos and they finally got accepted. I thought for a while that I wouldn’t be able to reserve a yurt because I couldn’t get an acceptable official ID photo.

In the afternoon I went back to the deli with my kindle for another coffee and reading session. I also bought a honey bun for breakfast. When I looked for coffee I saw a set of coffee cups that said free coffee. When I paid, I only had to pay for the pastry and the coffee was indeed free but I don’t think it was supposed to be free coffee. After I paid, the deli person put the free coffee cups away. I suspect they were meant only for the morning coffee rush hour. I also ordered 2 more egg sandwiches for breakfast.

Back at the motel I took care of a couple of monthly bills. I discovered my credit card and cable/Internet bills weren’t due until after I returned home so I put off paying them. However, I had to pay my gas bill and my city’s water/electricity bills which were due on Saturday when I was returning home on Amtrak.

There were 2 service stations across from the motel. I went back to the service station that had a grill (not the deli one) and found a sandwich and chips that made an okay dinner for a rest day.

This turned out to be a decent rest day because the grill served as a coffee shop so I wasn’t stuck in my motel room all day.

Day 16: Oct 3 - Naturita, CO [62.6, 6:36:02, 9.5 mph, 37.9 max, +2,753', -4,111']

I heated up my 2 egg sandwiches and a cinnamon roll for breakfast. At 7 am I went to the office to get a complimentary cup of coffee.

I left just after 7:30 when the temperature was 36F. I was dressed for this and had no problem with the temperature. I backtracked almost 2 miles and took the turn north on CO141 to take me to Naturita, 62 miles away. The route was an up and down route. It started at 6,789 feet, climbed to 7,414, descended to 5,493, climbed back up to 6,592, and ended at 5,431. The first 15 miles were on a plateau that was followed by a steep descent of 6 miles at Slick Rock Hill. There were signs every mile warning truckers of a 7% descent and there was a runaway ramp which, strangely, was a descending runaway ramp whereas most runaway ramps are ascending.

Then there was a ride through the Disappointment Valley, which was anything but a disappointment to me. (The valley got its name when the Mormons were migrating west and settled in to the beautiful canyons hoping to call it home. They were disappointed however, when they tried to farm and nothing grew.) The route crossed the valley looking for an out. There was an out that required a little climbing that entered the Big Gypsum Valley. After this valley the route entered the Dry Creek Basin. All of these were scenic. Finally, the last 15 miles descended through hills on a 2% grade that I was able to cover at 15-20 mph with easy pedaling.

When CO141 junctioned with CO145, I took a left turn to follow 141 a few miles into Naturita. I found my Rimrock Hotel but rode on a little further to see what else this small town of 851 had to offer. There was a convenience store where I had a cold drink and a slice of pizza. Then I went back and checked into my room. When I made my reservation over the phone (no online booking available) I asked for a first-floor room. However, I was told the price I was getting was for a second-floor room but only required 4 steps. So I went with that figuring how hard could 4 steps be to save a few dollars. Well, the 4 steps turned out to be two sets of steps, the first had 8 steps and the second had 14 steps. Worse, these 14 steps were steel grated and a little dangerous in my view. I took 3 trips to get everything to my room.

The hotel had a restaurant but it was closed. They suggested the drive-in/cafe just down the street where I had a plain chicken sandwich. They also served breakfast but didn’t open until 7 am, which was a little too late for me. After eating I walked back to the convenience store that had a grill. They said they were open at 5 am which was plenty early for me but it was a little further than I wanted to walk just to pick up a couple of egg sandwiches in the morning.

So I walked further to the grocery store and got a pack of Jimmy Dean’s egg sandwiches and some cereal since I was about to run out.

Back at my room I discovered I had no cell service which was no surprise. However, it was a surprise that my WiFi calling was not working. With a sigh, I started another chat session with tracfone with little hope that it would be useful. This time I was informed that the network did not support WiFi calling, which begged the question why the tracfone website detailed how to use WiFi calling. Tracfone uses the networks of the other cellular companies. And since Verizon bought tracfone about a year ago tracfone, of course, uses the Verizon network where possible. The chat person claimed the Verizon network didn’t support WiFi calling which could be true but I didn’t trust anything coming out of these chat sessions. The good news was only 2 days away from Grand Junction when this would all be a moot point.

It turned out to be a great day for cycling. The rest day rejuvenated my legs and it was a scenic route.

Day 17: Oct 4 - Gateway, CO [51.5, 5:31:12, 9.3 mph, 30.2 max, +1,220', -1,867']

In what has become a habit I heated up the Jimmy Dean egg sandwiches and cinnamon roll for my breakfast.

It was a chilly 39F when I left the motel which showed no vacancy at 7:45. Unfortunately, it was overcast so the sun didn’t shine through to warm up the day for nearly 2 hours. I was dressed the same as yesterday but I was chilled until the sun finally poked through.

It was 51 miles to Gateway on a gradual downhill except for one moderate climb. There was some head wind in the afternoon but not really a bother.

It was a scenic day. The road went through a winding valley with hills dotted with junipers. After 10 miles or so the scenery changed to red rock hills that were effectively a wall on both sides of the road. Then the hills moved closer in to the road. Then the road wound through the hills for quite a while like a side winding snake, taking whatever the terrain allowed.

Around 10 am there was a point of interest that had some large rocks so I stopped for my second breakfast.

During the morning when the sun broke through there were trees that blocked some of the sun light when I would have preferred the sun light. When the red rock hills started the trees stopped and it was all sun when at times I would have preferred shade. Finally, there was a spot along the road with a little shade for a small bush so I stopped for a break because my legs were straining. A 15-minute break helped to restore my legs.

Nearing 50 miles I finally saw evidence of civilization - some buildings. I rode around a curve past the resort which would have cost me $310 for a room, which apparently was the off-season rate. Continuing on further I stopped at a convenience store for a cold drink around 2:30 pm. The yurts, actually an Airbnb, were conveniently located just across the street. Check in was 3 pm so I made my way there. There Jacob showed me to my yurt and explained how things worked where this place was off the grid. There were no electrical outlets for customer use and there was no potable water.

I walked back to the store and picked up some supplies including a gallon of drinking water. I had a turkey wrap sandwich and some chips and then walked back to my yurt. There was a communal restroom with a shower so I cleaned up.

The place used the WiFi of the nearby library which lasted until 9 pm when the library closed. The WiFi was just strong enough that I could connect. However, I had to use it judiciously because I couldn’t charge my tablet or my phone.

Incidentally, a local noted that AT&T and Verizon worked in the area but I still had no cell service even though tracfone presumably used the Verizon network. I also googled Verizon WiFi calling and everything suggested Verizon supported WiFi calling, unlike the chat person who claimed Verizon didn’t. It’s hard to believe the chat person didn’t know this.

A very scenic day but the Unaweep Divide was the big climb tomorrow on the way to Grand Junction.

Day 18: Oct 5 - Grand Junction, CO [54.9, 7:13:38, 7.4 mph, 30.1 max, +3,143', -2,930']

I slept fine in my tent which had a heavy blanket. There was a propane heater in the tent but I didn’t use it. I had my cereal breakfast and a cinnamon roll.

When I left at 7:45 it was in the mid-40s, warmer than the last couple of days. The Sun was out and heating up the day. Today was a challenging ride over a BIG hill, the Unaweep Divide. It started at 4,677 feet, climbed to 7,051, and descended to 4,647.

It was 51 miles to Grand Junction. The real climbing was in the first 11 miles. Initially the climbing wasn’t that steep but then it increased and the last 5 miles of these first 11 miles were typically 6% but parts were 7%, 8%, and a short section of 9%.

The best scenery was the uphill part. Here the hills were the “normal” color, not red rock like yesterday. Then the middle part was a scenic ride through a canyon with fields along the canyon. The descent was not quite as scenic but it had its moments, like a view of the Grand Valley. Then as I was approaching a curve a guy in a car coming from the other direction stuck his arm out and pointed. I thought this was some kind of thumbs up acknowledgment for my ride. Then I rode around the curve and I noticed a blur of activity. It was a bunch of big horn sheep. A couple were on the shoulder and one just effortlessly jumped up from the shoulder nearly 10 feet to a rock. I stopped and moved to the other side of the road and counted 15 big horn sheep. They were gazing at me. I gazed back for a while and then moved on to not disturb them too much although they were probably used to the attention. A short distance later I saw 3 more big horn sheep.

Finally, after 43 miles I reached the intersection with US50 and turned left to Grand Junction. I was staying at the same Super 8 as last year. Unfortunately, it was on the north side of town near the airport so I had to cross over from the south side to the north side. Google Maps gave me a route of 29 Road, Patterson Road, 27 ½ Road, and Horizon Road. All of these had bike lanes except for a mile section of Patterson. This was just a little more than 7 miles.

There was a convenience store at the junction with 29 Road so I stopped for a milk shake. When I left, I noticed my GPS cyclocomputer was blank. I had noticed last night that the battery was lower than I would have liked but I had no electrical outlet to recharge it. Unfortunately, I forgot I was carrying a power pack that I could have used for recharging. Fortunately, the device saved the day’s ride information as it ran out of juice. Later, I used data from RideWithGPS to fill in the route details to my motel.

After checking in at the Super 8 I got a foot long sandwich from Subway for dinner.

It was an exhausting but scenic day. After 3 days of riding and today’s hard ride I needed a rest day. Tomorrow would be a rest day and then I had an Amtrak reservation to go home for the next day.

Day 19: Oct 6 - Grand Junction, CO [27.1, 2:55:11, 9.3 mph, 30.7 max, +417', -358']

I knew from last year that this Super 8 had a good breakfast and it was still good this year. Even though I had no need to rush, I didn’t sleep well so was up early and the first in line. Strange that two of my worst sleeps came after a hard day.

I would have liked to do a more challenging ride today but my body wasn’t up to it. I chose to ride the river front trail east of downtown to 33 ½ Rd. I picked up the trail at 29 Road which meant I backtracked over the same route as I used yesterday to get to my motel. The trail was paved with concrete. It was good concrete but each slab of concrete had a separator and that was a bit of jolt riding over every one of those joints.

There weren’t that many folks out early but most of those who were out were walking their dogs. Most dogs were well behaved or their owners were responsible dog owners. As I approached one woman on my right with 2 dogs on leashes it looked like they were okay. However, just after I passed the woman, her large dog, which was something like a St. Bernard, at least in size, lunged at me. I noticed this out of the corner of my eye and turned slightly to see this brute seemingly trying to attack my head/neck since he was elevated. Probably the dog wasn’t lunging at my body but the woman yanked hard on the leash and that forced the brute up into the air on his hind legs making it look to me like an attack. In any event it was a scary incident.

When I reached 33 ½ Road, the end of the trail, I turned around and rode the path to downtown. There was a section where there was no path and I had to ride on C ½ Road for a mile or two. Once I was near downtown, I knew my way around well enough from last year that I made it to Main Street. Since I wanted to replace my lost lightweight wind jacket, I stopped at a couple of bike shops but they didn’t have anything. The second shop suggested trying The Bike Shop on North Ave that was on my way home. They had some jackets but not in my size. This wasn’t a big deal since I would only have used the jacket tomorrow morning.

I ended up at the Kiln Coffee Bar downtown where I spent some time last year. I killed a couple of hours drinking coffee and texting and Internet surfing. When I got back to my motel, I did a load of laundry. For lunch and dinner, I had a couple of slices of pizza at the convenience store across the street.

I spent the rest of the evening preparing to leave in the morning.

Day 20: Oct 7 - Amtrak, CO [4.3, 0:29:05, 8.8 mph, 14.6 max, +26', -151']

Interestingly, after a very easy day I slept well, as opposed to yesterday when I slept poorly after a hard day. This was the second time on this trip that that happened.

I got down to breakfast right at 6:00 am when it opened and was surprised to see a bunch of people. There was a group of about 10 Amish people. They apparently decided to get a jump on things and it is probably just as well. It takes 3 minutes to make a waffle and they were all making waffles. There were two waffle machines and they were just finishing up so I didn’t have to wait too long. I had my usual waffle and oatmeal.

I finished packing the few things that were still unpacked. I left for downtown at about 7:15 just when it was light enough. There was little traffic this early on a Saturday morning so the ride was easy. When I got downtown, I stopped at the Main Street Bagels because it was the only thing open for coffee at this time. The other coffee places didn’t open until 8 which was surprising.

In addition to coffee I also had a pumpkin muffin which was very good. The Amtrak station didn’t open until 9 am so I hung around until it was time. It was less than a half mile to the station so it didn’t take long to get there. I was first in line to get in the station when it opened. Part of this was likely due to the fact that the train was scheduled to leave at 10:23 and the schedule was now 10:55 so some folks probably delayed showing up at the station. I got my bicycle tag and then packed so one of my front panniers was empty and I stuck the empty pannier in my duffel bag.

When the train finally arrive near 11, I had to roll my bicycle to the front of the train to put it in the baggage car. Then I had to walk all the way to the back of the train for my coach seat, lugging a duffel bag, my 2 rear panniers, and my other front pannier to stick under my seat. There was plenty of space in the carry-on baggage area. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a window seat or, more importantly, a seat row to myself which I cared about because it made sleeping much easier.

The route to Denver was very scenic as I knew, having ridden this route several times before. We didn’t make up any time but didn’t lose any more time either.

I spent some time reading my kindle and some time in the observation car. Then around 8:30 I tried to sleep as best I could under uncomfortable arrangements.

Day 21: Oct 8 - Naperville, CO [1.8, 0:12:31, 8.6 mph, 21.7 max, +75', -49']

I didn’t sleep very well and I didn’t expect to in a coach seat with a seatmate. So I got up about 4:30 am and went to the observation car where it was convenient to write my trip notes for the previous day at a table. Then I waited for the cafe car to open at 6:30 where I got an egg sandwich and coffee.

I spent most of the rest of the day in the observation car, reading my kindle and eavesdropping on conversations. Most of the time I don’t really eavesdrop but every now and then it is impossible to not eavesdrop. Today there was a guy who just had that loud voice that carries. He was 3 seats away from me but might as well have been right next to me and I couldn’t help listening in. He was returning from a retirement party for his brother in Omaha, having taken the train to Omaha from Chicago on Friday and now returning on Sunday. His wife also had had cochlear implants that restored her hearing until passing away recently, which was a blessing because she got to hear her first grandchild. And, without his wife around, he was planning his daughter’s baby shower with an expected 65 invitees. But there was a question whether he could get Melissa to help with the arrangements. Those were the most important notes but there was more to learn in another conversation with another couple later on, mainly the guy’s recovery from two knee replacements.

The Amtrak train was initially scheduled to leave at 10:23 yesterday but was about 35 minutes late. Today the lateness built up to at least an hour and a half but the train made up time traveling through Illinois and was only about a half hour late to Chicago Union Station. This was fine because there was no Metra commuter train back to Naperville until 4:40 pm.

When I disembarked from the train, I had to carry 2 rear panniers, a front pannier, and a duffel bag the length of the train from the last car to the baggage car which was right behind the 2 engines to retrieve my bicycle. It looked like I arrived just in time. It looked like they were about to transport my bicycle to the baggage area. I attached the panniers and duffel bag and rolled the bike to the terminal. Then I needed to get to the commuter tracks for my 4:40 trip to Naperville.

Union Station is a very large station and has often been confusing to me since I don’t visit very often. I saw a sign that I thought directed me up some stairs to get to the Metra ticketing which would situate me where I knew how to get around. The steps were out of the question but the escalator wasn’t, I thought. Starting up the escalator I stumbled with the bike and it fell on me. One foot was under the bike and the other was kind of wrapped around a pedal and I couldn’t move. Fortunately, two fellow travelers bailed me out by holding on to the bike and I eventually managed to extricate myself.

Unfortunately, the escalator led to the outside street level. So I was now outside the station and needed to get back in, hopefully without retreating down the escalator. I walked around the outside of the station and never found another way to get back in at the right level. So I bit the bullet and went down an escalator, a shorter one than the first escalator. I partially lost control but was able to pin the bicycle against the side of the escalator. That along with applying the front brakes allowed me to do kind of a controlled skid down to the bottom.

Having learned my lesson, I did a more diligent search for an escalator since I knew there had to be one. I got pointed in the right direction by a food attendant in the food court and then safely ended down on the right level. Since there was no 3:40 train there was a fair crowd waiting for the boarding on the 4:40 train. Today was also the Chicago Marathon so there was probably an additional crowd of people riding back to their suburban home.

I needed a little help again to get my loaded bicycle up the steps into the train. Once in the handicapped car where bicycles are allowed, there were other cyclists who were returning home. My loaded bicycle was almost as wide as 3 unloaded bicycles. However, 3 other cyclists were able to use another part of the handicap section. Then another cyclist showed up and he was able to place his bicycle alongside mine.

However, two of these guys were not prepared to secure their bicycles. Shortly after the train left the station one bicycle fell over. I had to come to the rescue using a couple of my tie straps.

The train was about 10 minutes late but I was able to get my bicycle safely off the train and I rode the slightly less than 2 miles home, getting home just after 6 pm.

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