September 2, 2013. Hanksville to Torrey, Utah. 50 miles.

We packed up and biked to the campground for breakfast, leaving our luggage at the hotel. The caterers were on their game again this morning. Here they are in front of their truck: Caldean, Thomas, and Jed. Jed's business is called Tater Cater, and he also owns the website bikeridewest.com. They are doing a fantastic job feeding 32 hungry cyclists and about 12 volunteers 3 meals a day!

On the way out of Hanksville we saw a yard full of metal sculptures, including this T. Rex.

We started out with a gradual climb. The surrounding terrain is impressive in its size and detail.

At about 14 miles into the ride we stopped at the Mesa Market bakery in the middle of nowhere! The cinnamon rolls were great, but I could not finish mine so I gave it to John from TX. He was thrilled.

I walked out of the bakery and found Robert and Lori. I asked if she had been reunited with her cell phone, and she had. She had told me last night that that particular phone was like a cat--it has 9 lives!

I met Zachary at the top of a hill. He is riding from St. Louis to the west coast, self supported (everything on the bike). I first met him and his traveling companion last night at the campground--Zachary's blog is blogbyzachary.

Below is Dianne coming up the hill where I was waiting for her. We try to keep each other within sight in this unpopulated area, but I am stronger on the climbs and she is faster on the descents so it's not a perfect plan.

The second rest stop was at the entrance to Capitol Reef National Park. Just before the park entrance there was a sign stating that there were scenic views in the next 14 miles. We laughed at that since this whole tour has been one scenic vista!

 While in the park we stopped to see the ancient Fremont petroglyphs high on a sheer wall.

We noticed throughout our ride this morning that things were greener--there were even some cattle grazing in several fields. We came upon the historic town of Fruita, where there were orchards and farms.Our lunch stop was at the Fruita campground, a veritable oasis in this desert.

Dianne and I stopped at the Capitol Reef Visitor Center after lunch. She found a fellow magnet collector in Casey. He is very proud of his 3-D Utah magnet!

There were several climbs after lunch, and we both struggled with them. I had to stop and control my breathing a few times, and Dianne had a serious knee problem. But we kept on pedaling! The photo below is looking back at the hill we had just completed climbing.

We stopped at Chimney Rock but did not hike up to the top!

We both finished the ride--this is remarkable because it is the first day on this tour that we finished the entire ride! We walked to the campground for another delicious dinner, and a long talk by Les about tomorrow's ride--the hardest day of the tour. He then introduced Bruce (the nurse) who talked a little bit about proper hydration and nutrition during grueling days like tomorrow. Yikes!