Day 54, Milton to Baker, Nevada, 84 miles

Having retired early, we managed an early start. This was a bonus, as the road to Nevada was marred early by two punctures (one each). This trip we've found bike complications come in threes; so we were almost relieved when later in the afternoon Matt busted a spoke.

Following Matts' roadside mechanic wizardry, we hit the road out of Milton. As we left, a curious local stopped us to ask about our travels. He had returned to Baker from California for the long weekend, to celebrate his 54th highschool reunion; Die Hard with Avengence! Our route took a lonely highway surrounded by shrubby desert, which a signpost declared 'Your Utah Public Land'. Ahead we had rugged mountain views; as scenic as they were disconcertingly unavoidable. So we cycled onwards and upwards for quite a few hours in the heat (our plan to beat the heat had failed along with my inner tube.)

After a few unremarkable miles, free of any kind of traffic, we were pleased to greet an oncoming cyclist. Daniel was a friendly San Francisco native who takes to the road for 'no more than 14 days' every now and then, to keep fit. He seemed happy to have some company, so the three of us pulled up by the roadside for a while. Daniel gave us all kinds of tips for our remaining journey towards 'Frisco, with the instant-friend status we have found amongst touring cyclists this trip. As such, he left us with his contact details and an invitation to stay in his San-Fran home; 'I'll stay at my girlfriends place and you guys can have my cottage for the night!' Ordinarily such an offer might seem forbodingly generous coming from a 'stranger'; but such is the commeraderie of the touring cyclist that we took it in our stride/pedal. We wished eachother happy travels and parted ways, happy for the encounter amidst an unchanging landscape (over, as fate would have it, the aptly titled San Francisco mountains!)

Sadly, the landscape did change; it went 'up.' After descending from the San Francisco mountains into the Wah Wah valley, we started the long climb up to the Wah Wah summit (with Jimmy Hendrix ringing in my ears.) Very few cars passed so we could snake our way up and up... Until our second puncture of the day and resulting lunch break. With bagels in our tums and air in our tyres, the uphill continued.

A further hour of climbing later, we reached the Wah-Wah summit and enjoyed some downhill. Sadly this meant losing all our elevation to start over again, this time bound for the intriguingly titled 'Mormons Gap'. Thankfully the arid mountain scenery and our pumping playlists helped us power up the third pass of the day.

Three mountains down, we finally enjoyed a long gradual downhill followed by a flat stretch. Cross-winds prevented us from having it too easy, but at 75 miles we were rewarded with the border into our 8th State; Nevada. From the state line it was a nice rise up to the town of Baker; incidentally the first sign of civillisation since leaving Milford in the morning.

Having located 'the' store and campsite, Matt put our recently purchased seminal work, 'The Outdoor Cooking Bible' to admirable use. It's truly amazing what you can do with a roll of tin foil, some rocks, a lighter and newspaper... Jamie Oliver eat your fancy-cooked heart out

Day 53, Cedar City to Milton, 58 miles

The curse of the motel; that comfortable bed and conveniently placed-bathroom dictates a late start. And so it was that we only hit the road after kick-out time of 11am. From there we made it as far as the supermarket to top-up the rather inadequate 'Complimentary Continental breakfast' (or to put it another way; a plastic-wrapped dohnut and cupcake each; with expiry dates in 2014). From the supermarket we hit the highway proper. Thanks to it being Monday of Labour day weekend, we encountered very little traffic. Our route passed through rugged looking agriculture (for tough cows); landfill and desert expanses.

After two hours of fairly unchanging landscape, we happened upon a cyclist sat in the ditch to our right. While we never caught his name, we learned that 'old mate' was likewise San-Francisco bound and was suffering a blown-out tyre from overuse. Matt was happy to offer the spare tyre he's been lugging on the trailer, which Old Mate happily accepted. We cycled on, feeling like Matt was that guys' Fairy God Mother.

We progressively gained elevation, but the incline was gradual and the wind fairly considerate... As such we were able to easily eat up the same mileage as yesterday and felt compelled to press-on. That said, Matt's inclination to stay near a stocked grocery store won over my ambition to soldier onwards into an 84 mile stretch 'sans' services. So we pulled up at Milfords' city park. This was a dedicated caravan camping area with water and sanitation dump, intended for RV's (camping-Americana) not 'primitives' like us. We cased the joint and made our way over to the covered bbq area, hoping to bunk out under the shelter and thereby save ourselves on camp-dismantling in the morning. Sadly the Sheriff took time out from his third lap of the block to inform us that only 'The City', not himself, has the authority to permit camping outside the designated area. We thanked the not-long-enough arm of the law and retreated to the designated area.

Given the lack of other entertainment, we languidly shopped for tomorrows' groceries, when we will ride onwards into Nevada. The next few days mileage feature very limited services as we will be cycling the famed "loneliest road in America.' Nothing but desert, made up of basin-fault,-range, basin-fault-range and so on all the way across to California. We don't want to sound ungrateful; the ranges have a wild, rugged beauty of distinctly different vegetation coverage and exposed mountain rock (says Matt.) Welcome to the romance of the desert, looking forward to the bright starry nights and wild campfires a long way from any RVs...

Day 52, Panguitch to Cedar City

Eager to max-out our time with Brooce and Candace, we texted them out of their cosy motel to meet us for a Subway breakfast. Being good sports, they accepted our glamorous suggestion and met us at our campsite. Predictable but pretty good, we enjoyed our six-inch or foot-long breakfasts and my 22 ounce bucket of coffee almost made me feel human (after a lousy nights' sleep.) Having further considered their 7,000 mile road trip itinerary, Brooce suggested we may cross paths again- a few weeks from now, in California. Here's hoping!

We parted ways with those guys after Candace came to my rescue with some deep-heat for the pain in my neck (its' a real bonus to be able to turn your neck in the direction of passing traffic!) Brooce has one week left at his job in Phoenix before he and Candace hit the road across the USA. We wish them well (and slightly envy their air conditioning as we brace ourselves for the Nevada desert!)

The road out of Panguitch was long and unforgiving in its' consistent elevation-gain. Bent over our bikes and tuned into a dubious 'Rock Legends' playlist on our mp3 players, we continued to battle headwinds for over 4,600 feet. As it is Labour Day long weekend, we passed recreational petrol-heads of all sorts; speedboats and jet-skis on Lake Panguitch; youths on quad-bikes in the hills; SUVs and Harleys aplenty on the roads. They were all hares to us tortoises (only unlike the fable, they will beat us time-wise.)

Finally, we crept up to the summit of 10,600 feet and were rewarded with an unexpected and awe-striking view of Cedar Breaks. It was simillar to Bryce Canyon but with more forest, less hoodoos and no camera-toting tourists. Well worth the 4 hours of uphill riding! Somehow more uphill followed the 'summit' (go figure)-but only for another half an hour. Thereafter, it was smooth down-hilling for 18 miles. All that was required was gentle peddling and fierce steering through the switch-back turns. It was difficult not to be distracted by the fantastic scenery that surrounded the motion-blurred road stretched out before us (but self-preservation kept our eyes on the road -mostly.)

Literally rolling down into Cedar City, we quickly located our pre-booked motel; 'Valu Inn' (so cheap they had to save on letters!) At $36 and thereby only $3 more than the nearby campsite, it was a no-brainer. However we do hope at that bargain price that (as Brooce put it) 'the bed is free of wildlife'. On that note, I will retire (above the bedcovers, just in case.)

Day 51, 'Brooce' Canyon Day Off

We awoke to greet Brooce and Candace; first at about 2am due to a car alarm mishap -then more civilly at about 8am. Those guys secured Legend Status by braving the long-weekend traffic chaos out of Phoenix, Arizona, to drive 7 hours to meet us in Panguitch. They arrived at our campsite after midnight and slept (barely)- in their newly aquired station wagon. Soon to embark on their own epic travels (a 7000 mile circumnavigation of the US)-this reunion trip was a bit of a test-run for Bruce and Candace. By breakfast they had already learned that sleeping in the car is not a viable option; and outside of Arizona Brooce might require a jumper.

Once we were all in-character we headed over to the local diner for breakfast; which Bruce kindly treated us to (reasoning it was as close as possible to having us as guests at their place.) It was awesome to catch up with an old mate and finally meet his lovely wife, Candace, whom we have been hearing about for years. We finished up breakfast (and Matt finished up what those guys couldn't)-then hit the road for Bryce Canyon. The local supermarket provided us with the makings for what we assured a dubious Brooce was the lunch of champions; coleslaw, cheese, mustard and bread.

It felt decadent to be cruising in a plush air-conditioned car and easily conversing without getting short of breath. After an insultingly effortless and swift journey, we were parked up at Bryce Canyon National Park to gawk at its' uniquely weathered spires of sandstone (hoodoos).

Our cycle past Bryce National Park yesterday had only given us a brief glimpse of what we now enjoyed exploring with Brooce and Candace. Matt got into Navigator mode (Matt-Nav)-and directed us to a couple of short trail hikes around sections of the vast National Park. At lunch time we grabbed the sandwich stuff and headed off down a trail for some al-fresco dining. Just a few hundred meters down the trial, thunder and rain set in. Brooce valiantly lead us to shelter below an overhanging boulder, where the four of us cowered to assemble our lunch. Soon the rain became hail, which we all watched with some trepidation as we munched. Luckily the hail then rain stopped as abruptly as it had started, giving way to a bright blue sky. So back down the trial we traipsed.

The 4 mile walk took in lots of views of the surrounding canyon walls, pine forrests and wildflowers with just a bit of heavy uphill, ensuring we each deserved beer that night. After a satisfying little hike, we piled back in the car and drove up to the famed lookout which perches over the most dramatic end of Bryce Canyon. We were not alone; tons of tourists jostled for Kodak-moments along the fenced pathways. The view is utterly breathtaking and unique; Matt and I both felt grateful to share it with friends (having enjoyed eachothers' exclusive company now for over 50 days!)

The drive back to Panguitch was enjoyable as we continued to relish the familliar company and fun banter. Brooce is one of those people who enviably sees opportunities where I see only obstacles; ensuring ever-enlightening conversation. Candace in turn was able to educate us on some Americanisms we have puzzled over, in her sweet Southern twang.

Back in Panguitch, we unanimously decided to skip showers and head straight for boutique beers from the Liquor store. More laughs ensued back at the campsite over beer tasting. Matt then lead the four of us on a lengthy hike to a Saloon he had spotted on his morning run (yes, the man goes on a morning run on his day off cycling...nauseating.) Sadly in his haste, Matt had failed to notice the 'Forclosure' sign over the bar entrance. We could almost laugh it off.

On the lengthy walk back to town, a dog limped beside Candace and I.  Sharing a sweet-spot for big dogs, we both took his paw and looked for the source of his ghetto-limp. This attention made Matt and Brooce cringe, especially when the dog then decided to follow us back to town. I wish someone could have taken a photo of the four of us as we all tipsily piled behind a street light in an attempt to lose our four-legged friend. Thankfully, some kids rode by on bikes and he limped after them in the opposite direction.

Saloon-less, we settled for the 'Cowboys Bar and Grill'; which happened to be the only non-drivethru eating establishment. Luckily it offered live country music, which we were vaguely aware of as we drank more beer and ate fried food. Conversation was starting to unravel by the time we left the Cowboys'. Brooce and Candace left for their motel room while we retreated to our tent; happy and full of beer, food and kinship.

Day 50, Escalante to Panguitch, 67 miles

Matt woke early as usual and we dismantled camp in half-sleep. Having thrown down a few bagles a-piece, it felt good and proper to be back on the bikes after a day off. On the outskirts of Escalante we passed two galleries and speculated on what an arty, sporty town this is. Matt has us living here in ten years; him working for Steves' cycle business and me being 'all arty'. We enjoyed pipe-dreaming as we passed the pink coloured hills and pygmy pine forests; one by the name of 'The Petrified Forest'-which sounded worth a night hike!

More elevation gain but today it was respectably gradual. Furthermore the sky was overcast and we weren't even sweating profusely on the uphills; cash-back! So we chortled on, our only exchanges the likes of 'Whoa look at that rock formation' or 'dude - check out the donkey!' At one 'Scenic Overlook', an information board assured us that we were in prime-dinosaur fossile-spotting country. Essentially- Jurrasic Park-life. Ever changing, ever-impressive scenery kept us keeping on despite some extensive climbs.

We passed Bryce-Canyon, which we look forward to exploring with Bruce and Candace tommorrow. It was quite a bonus to casually cycle-by such a 'must see' spot; knowing we will return at our leisure tommorrow. We were able to enjoy its' beauty on-the-fly, without feeling the need to absorb it fully before it passes into the history of our ride.

Coming down from the plateau of Bryce, we were treated to a 10 mile bike path which skirts along Red Canyon, running parallel to the road but quite secluded. We do love a bike path; being able to ride alongside eachother and dash around at precarious speeds. Good times.

Tom foolery aside, we were back on the highway 89 for a further seven miles of first-class tail-wind. At 20+ mph, we were in Panguitch before Matt could spell it. We easily found our RV park and owners Jodie and Randy were happy to stash our bikes in their garage and direct us to the showers and Laundrette.

Fresh as daisies, we hit up Panguitch to buy some 'essentials' (not really) from the Thrift store. Fatally, the woman at the counter told us we could fill a bag for a dollar... So we walked out of there with 3 t-shirts, a can opener and a gem of a 1970's cookbook. A few feet down mainstreet we hit up the 'Cowboy Museum/Shop.' After chatting with the lovely lady of the store about our trip, she insisted on photographing us - in obligatory cowboy hats- in their manequin saloon corner. We left their emporium of all things wild-west to buy dinner; but have since convinced ourselves that we both desperately need cowboy boots. This would be the most obvious Mid-western souvenir and a sound investment all-round.

We emerged from the supermarket with various, optimistic frozen foodstuffs and a roll of aluminum foil; spurred on by the 'Outdoor Cooking Bible' we picked up at the Thrift Store (like I said; 'Essentials'.) Matt took some time, energy, wood and smoke to get a fire going but get it going he did. Aluminum-foiled pizza; burritos and chocolate bananas followed at intervals and were all bang-on. Overly-replete and smoke-scented, we headed off to bed.

Day 49, Escalante. Day trip along the Escalante River Gorge (17 mile trek.)

Despite an agreed 'rest day', Matt woke at his usual unholy time and so we found ourselves ready to go by 8am. For a change however, our tent remained pitched and bikes locked; this was our planned day-hike along the Escalante river.

We stopped by the store to see Michelle but she had been replaced by an equally cheerful colleague. After discussing possible alternative routes, we departed for  our original hike along the river (via Subway for breakfast; obviously.) Somewhat guiltily, we consumed our takeaway subs in the Escalante graveyard just by our hike trailhead -it was the only shady spot and we stayed clear of actual graves. Ambling along the river, we stopped to let three cowboy-types on horseback overtake us (one tipped his hat; nice.) Our trail meanders by the waterside but we found it easier to simply traipse through the low river in sodden trainers. And so we continued, for 15 miles. At most points the river was more a trickle, still we encountered countless tiny toads; two small snakes and a few startled deer. It was all very Huckleberry Finn at low-tide.

For hours we crossed between sandy track and through the low river; with expected results on our wet, clumpy trainers. We passed under gorge walls which towered above us and changed in colour like a kaleidoscope. A lucky tip-off back at the store helped Matt discover some petrified dinosaur footprints in an exposed layer of sandstone (which we would never have recognised as such without a heads-up!) Towards the end of the trailhead we saw the famed natural arch and bridge in the mighty rock above us. Utah loves its' natural bridges; they decorate every license plate here.

Afer hours of rambling (seven)-we reached the roadside and cleaned the diabolical quantities of mud from our shoes. Now all we needed was a ride back to Escalante; 14 uphill miles. While I was anxious, Matts' friendly Brit-abroad ambiance (small shorts?)-ensured that a dread-locked hippie dude soon stopped to pick us up. He was on his way to deliver chainsaw oil and supplies to one of the arboricultural teams working in the gorge. They are on a tireless quest to eradicate non-native, invasive tree species. We learned from our right-on driver that the teams of eco-warriers worked 6-week shifts to protect the local forests. In his beat-up car, we swiftly burned up the hills it has taken us so much sweat and determination to cycle up the day before.

In Escalante, our saviour-dude insisted on leaving us a brand new water-filter (if we had to rely on streams for hydration)-and delivered us to our campsite. What a legend. Within an hour, we were back at our campsite with grocery-bought food and beer; marveling at the great views and people we seem to meet at every turn.

Day 48, Capitol Reef National Park to Escalante, 76 miles

Milestone: We hit 3,000 miles today; that's 4,800 km on day 48 -which has a nice ring to it!

The upside to staying at what they call a 'primitive' campsite (meaning a patch of grass with proximitiy to a 'droppy'/dunny and a spigot)-is that it spurrs early start. We were on the road at the mild hour of 8am. Sadly headwinds don't seem to wait for any particular hour, and the first 12 miles of the day were brutal uphills into the wind. We were both privately prepared for a tough day by the time we rolled into our first town, Torrey, for breakie. The map informed us that now we had passed some foothills, we had a mountain over 7,000 feet to climb. So we entered Subway to prepare for battle.

We returned to the road with our weapons of choice under our belt (Matt; a foot-long sub and coffee, Sal; a 6 inch sub and more coffee.) On the upside (mind the pun)-the climb out of Torrey was gradual and scenic before hitting the mountain switchbacks. As we gained elevation, the craggy rockfaces and desert landscape was replaced with 'pygmy' pine forrest (what's on the tin; half-size fir trees). By the time we reached our first mountain pass of the day we felt like we were back in Colorado; surrounded by mountains and trees. At a 'scenic overlook', we sat on a log for some peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. A car pulled up and three Asian-Americans piled out to take photographs from all angles. One guy asked Matt incredulously 'Hey man, did you ride up here?' (full of sandwich, Matt nodded and tried to smile whilst chewing)-the guy responded; 'That's awesome!' Sometimes its' nice to be apreciated. Especially when we had another mountain to climb (and their car looked awfully comfortable.)

After a bit more uphill, we descended upon Escalante National Park... And what a descent! The steep gradients and turns were hair-raising and the scenery was distractingly jaw-dropping. We were glad to roll into the bottom of the canyon with hair and jaw intact. Just in time for a brutual uphill. It was hard but the odometer said we only had 17 miles to go, so we crawled on up.
After a long climb, the route took us along an impressive ridge almost a road-width wide with dramatic canyons on either side. What made the ride even more exciting was the complete lack of barriers; you snooze you lose! So we hurtled down the slippery slope feeling like we were playing a driving computer came. Luckily there was no Game Over.

Finally we reached the sweet town of Escalante, found a General store/RV park and introduced ourselves to the pretty lady at the counter. Apart from being a charmer at the front-desk, Michelle is a reporter for the local newspaper. She wanted to know our blog and might just feature us at some point. Michelle had other customers so we told her we'd be back once we'd secured some groceries. On our way back from the store, a couple of guys shouted at us from their varandah on the oppostie side of the lonely road. To shorten the ensuing interchange, they asked us where we were headed and Matt responded 'San Francisco'. They then asked where we were staying tonight, and we pointed to the store/RV park up the road. They laughed and the older guy on the left called out 'How'd you like to stay for free -tell 'em that Steve says so' -while the other guy added 'He owns the place!' We laughed and told them of our 3,000 milestone today, to which they charged their glasses. 'What friendly characters' we thought, as we cycled back to the store to settle up and set up camp.

When we returned to Michelle, she greeted us smilingly 'So Steve says you can stay for free, isn't that great?' -Somewhat taken aback (we thought the guys were joking!)-we established that no money was to exchange hands for camping and so we graciously set up camp. Two glorious showers in log-cabin washroms later, we sat by our campsite enjoying beers, camp food and wi-fi. An older gentleman sidled up who we quickly recognised as Steve; our generous host. Steve joined us at our table for a beer and told us of how he came to be the owner of the campsite, and of his business-plans for the future. He was in his 60's and owned 30 businesses; his next venture is a cycle-touring business based from his home. Steve had recently sponsored his neice to complete a Trans-America cycle of her own, and soon invited us to his nearby home for a guided tour.

Half an hour later, we were strolling through Steves' converted garage (future cycling-tour office)-and additional shed full of his own favourite bikes. Steve then welcomed us into his home, with its' ultra-modern interior despite its preserved 150+ year exterior. We talked art; looking at Steve's impressive print collection and he handed us a brochure for the Art festival he organises each year. Steve introduced us to the legend of Everatt Ruess, a Utah pioneer of old, and the muse for his own ventures. We exchanged contact details, promised to read up on Ruess and finally left Steve to prepare for his flight to Japan tommorrow. Never a dull moment for this retiree! Matt left starry-eyed at the idea of working for Steves' cycle-touring business some day.

Tired yet inspired, we managed to hit up our store/rv park/restaurant for a few beers and some live music. We soon retired to our tent, hoping to return to Escalante before too long.