August 30, 2013. On the way to Utah

When Dianne and I plan trips together there is always a lot to plan--this time was a little more troublesome... I just got cleared a couple of weeks ago to ride bicycles again, and did not book my flight until then. Then the bike tour company we booked the Utah trip with lost all of the applications and we had to resubmit them. We were plenty worried about the LAGBRAU by that time! But this morning I flew from Detroit and she flew from Tampa; we met in Denver airport with just enough time to catch our flight to Durango.

 

We deplaned on the tarmac and walked into the terminal not knowing what to expect. We had originally been told the shuttle would pick us up at 3 PM. Then yesterday I got an email telling me the shuttle driver would meet us at 11:30. I quickly emailed that our plane was scheduled to land at 12:41, and had not gotten a response as of this morning!

In a few minutes we started to see people with bike boxes, including Dan and Anna, above. We also met Ze'ev and Eli, Mike, Doris and her niece Sarah, and Vance and Janet. Soon enough (3:00, imagine that!) our shuttle was there and we were on our way to Blanding, Utah. Below is our driver, John, in his Clutch Cargo  hat. (Few of us were old enough to understand why he calls it that!)..

After a couple of hair raising hours on the road (roads here are much more interesting than those where I live) we were at Blanding, the beginning of the Legacy Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Utah (LAGBRAU).

This is a camping tour with a hotel option. Dianne and I opted for the hotels since it was such a reasonable price. The campers set up at Blanding City Park. A catering truck and crew follow the tour and prepare all the meals for us. Supper was plentiful and delicious, and they promised us they would never run out of food!

After supper John dropped us off at the hotel, 2 miles from the campground. We put our bikes together in the parking lot; mine went together well, but Dianne had some trouble attaching her rear wheel. It seemed to be a problem with the rear derailleur. We met Lori and Robert when he offered his assistance. They are on LAGBRAU also. He was able to get the wheel on, and when the tour mechanic looked at it he pointed out that the problem was caused by a steel adjustment screw on the aluminum derailleur. At any rate, it's rideable. We are on for tomorrow!