Southern Utah Adventure (Part I)

Story by Jeffrey Sprague, Ph.D

Riding Across Southern Utah Yes!!

It was mid winter in Oregon, 2011 and my wife MaryAnne and I were “shopping” for a cycling vacation. We had concerns about the Euro/Dollar exchange rate and decided that the U.S. was a good destination. I scanned the ads in the back of Bicycling Magazine and the Adventure Cyclist also ran a nice article on a number of multi-day supported cycling tours in the U.S.

Riding from Moab to Cedar City is an amazing adventure through 5 national parks and several state parks. The route is fairly simple (go right or left at the national parks and mostly stay on Utah state highway 12.

The roads were lightly traveled for the most part and the scenery is amazing!

The DETAILS

Day 1: Arches National Park

We arrived in Moab (Famous for Mountain Biking) and began the trip with a Journey in to Aches National Park. 49 miles and 3900 feet of climbing. The weather was very hot on this day (nearly 100 degrees) and there is NO water in the park. I ended up getting some water from a National Park work crew. The views are amazing, and it seems there isn’t a flat spot on the ride!

(To be continued…)