After all of the stress of the previous night, we slept late by accident. We had to ride 400km through the desert today and we wanted to get away early before it got too hot. Best laid plans...
We ended up rolling out at 9:00am,and it was already 28 degrees.
Our target was a place called Kayenta, on Navajoe lands just near the Arizona / Utah border.
We spent the day battling the heat, it was in the 30's all day and peaked at 38 and a half at one stage. We made our way through the desert to Lake Powell, at one stage getting stuck behind a giant House boat on a wide truck. It was so big that the traffic on the other side of the road had to pull over to let it through. It had a police escort out in front - forcing the oncoming cars to pull over, especially the trucks.
After about 15km, we leapfrogged our way to the head of the queue, just behind the boat trailing pilot car. Eventually after a few attempts, a passing lane opened up in our direction, and although there was still no room for cars to overtake, we managed to sneak down the side to freedom!
We soon passed lake Powell, which had some of the bluest water I have seen (not sure why) and made a fuel stop. It was midday and we were staring down the barrel of another 160km in the highest temps of the day.
Megan and I already felt overheated, and were both on the verge of vomiting. We tried to drink as much water as we could, I had already drank the best part of 2 litres while we had been riding, but it was still not enough. We took on more fluids and some sugar at the fuel stop, and I really hoped we could knock over the last kms before it got any hotter. I decided that if it got to 40 or over, we would find somewhere to rest, with air-conditioning and cold drinks, and complete the rest of the trip after dark, or when the temperature had dropped to a bearable level.
A little after Lake Powell, we turned off the main road, and headed the last 100km on a different road. Luckily for us, the road climbed out of the desert floor, and the temperature started to drop from 38 to a more bearable 36. After another 40km, it had dropped to 32 and I was confident that we would make it without having to sit out the Sun.
We checked into our room and spent a good amount of time cooling down and resting.
Late in the afternoon we took a ride out to Monument Valley to check out the amazing rock formations. Riding through the burning desert was totally worth it, The views were stunning, and awe inspiring.
We ended up rolling out at 9:00am,and it was already 28 degrees.
Our target was a place called Kayenta, on Navajoe lands just near the Arizona / Utah border.
We spent the day battling the heat, it was in the 30's all day and peaked at 38 and a half at one stage. We made our way through the desert to Lake Powell, at one stage getting stuck behind a giant House boat on a wide truck. It was so big that the traffic on the other side of the road had to pull over to let it through. It had a police escort out in front - forcing the oncoming cars to pull over, especially the trucks.
After about 15km, we leapfrogged our way to the head of the queue, just behind the boat trailing pilot car. Eventually after a few attempts, a passing lane opened up in our direction, and although there was still no room for cars to overtake, we managed to sneak down the side to freedom!
We soon passed lake Powell, which had some of the bluest water I have seen (not sure why) and made a fuel stop. It was midday and we were staring down the barrel of another 160km in the highest temps of the day.
Megan and I already felt overheated, and were both on the verge of vomiting. We tried to drink as much water as we could, I had already drank the best part of 2 litres while we had been riding, but it was still not enough. We took on more fluids and some sugar at the fuel stop, and I really hoped we could knock over the last kms before it got any hotter. I decided that if it got to 40 or over, we would find somewhere to rest, with air-conditioning and cold drinks, and complete the rest of the trip after dark, or when the temperature had dropped to a bearable level.
A little after Lake Powell, we turned off the main road, and headed the last 100km on a different road. Luckily for us, the road climbed out of the desert floor, and the temperature started to drop from 38 to a more bearable 36. After another 40km, it had dropped to 32 and I was confident that we would make it without having to sit out the Sun.
We checked into our room and spent a good amount of time cooling down and resting.
Late in the afternoon we took a ride out to Monument Valley to check out the amazing rock formations. Riding through the burning desert was totally worth it, The views were stunning, and awe inspiring.
Ah! Lake Powell. My favorite lake on the planet. glad to hear you made it through southern Utah. Great pics & i cant wait to see them when you get back. Made me miss home something terrible. Hope the heat isn't too bad from there. New mexico will be mighty hot, but Texas you should pic up some humidity instead of absolute dry heat. Still bloody hot but you wont have to drink quite as much. wicked messa images. Cheers Utah
ReplyDeleteYou fuckin called it bro. Texas was wet as a... well lets just leave it there.
Deletethat scenery is amazing!
ReplyDeleteYeah it was fucking awesome. Would love to spend a whole day there exploring. There are loads of things to do there, treks etc.
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