White Rim, Canyonlands, Utah...The trip was fabulous: gorgeous weather, beautiful sunrises, sunsets, sleeping under starry skies, and biking. I had the opportunity to handcycle the first 15 miles of the trail with my road bike. This consisted of miles on a nice rolling hard-packed gravel road, down a steep bumpy 4-wheel drive road with hairpin turns and dangerous drop-offs, and down a flat road until I got STUCK in a sandy part of the road. We stored the bike in my truck for the next few days until we reached Musselman Arch. Then I had the opportunity to ride the handcycle over the arch, TWICE. Since the rocks on one side of the arch were impassable, I had to return over the arch the way I came.

Near the sandpit

Murphy's Hogback

The two French people on the trip, Ben and Flo, did great! Ben managed to keep up with Bryan most of the trip. Flo, not very experienced with mountain biking, hung in there for the whole 100 miles of biking. Shari, a friend of mine, who decided spontaneously two days before we left to go with us did great. She also wasn't too experienced with mountain biking. She ended up biking a hell of a lot more than she was planning on. Jan, a Dutch friend, living in Canada joined us for the trip as well. It was great hanging out with him again, catching up on everything.

Musselman Arch

On the way back, I-70 was closed because of snowy roads and an accident. We ended up sleeping at a Holiday Inn, falling asleep to David Letterman. Fortunately, we stopped in Glenwood Springs and had an incredibly delicious authentic Mexican meal at Jilbertito's beforehand. The next morning was winter driving over Vail and Loveland Passes and slow going, but we made it back home to Boulder.