Feeling better still a little sore and little hope for a rest day. Now back down to the canyons.
I started out on my descent and made it down to 8000 feet before stripping my outer layer of. Sweater and pants. I have my 90s gear underneath to make changing a snap.
I had two moderate climbs for going down hill. The wind had been picking up and creating a cross wind. At one point I was doing the speed limit 30 mph. I made excellent time averaging 8 mph for 30 miles. I arrived at Interstate 70 and then caught the 10 north. It was a series of hills and one moderate climb. The wind buffeted me with a stiff cross wind. Considering the hills and wind I was hauling ass.
Cross winds require technical skill and some elbow grease, while head winds consist of brute cycling force. To make things worse I am on a coal road. The Tandem 18 wheelers make the wind even worse by first blocking it and then drafting with a re introduction of that wind.
If the trucker is aware of this they can slow down and help out. If however they slam on the gas. Yikes you get yanked to one side while the truck blocks the wind, and then yanked back to the other side with the wind. Of course the draft gives you a gusting wind depending on direction. Pretty much anything with a longer wheel base creates this.
I spent an hour and half fighting my way. Normally I would stop and look for a camp site by now. Yet there is nothing. Press on. My only hope is to get to Ferron then head out to Millsite state park. I most likely won't make it there due to the unforeseen hill I know is there. This might be my first stealth camping. With the heat I should be able to sleep bag it and forgo the tent. No shade here and no where to hide.
I made into Emery just at noon I stayed for a couple hours and took a nap.
Thing about having no place to sleep is your not in a hurry to get there. In fact you want to time it so you go to sleep late at night and wake up early.
Emery was the last settlement by the Mormons in the 1880s. The SR 10 was paved in 1940. To bad since then they neglected to put shoulders on a trucking route. (A shoulder was added after Emery but south bound was tight so 15 milesof no shoulder so far) If they can build a tunnel for the irrigation canal (went 1500 feet)in the 1880s for there crops you think they could provide a means to travel on bike. From the looks of the town very tiny and dying. They moved the town 3 miles south to accomadate more people ha! They still built it on a hill. They could use a few more people who would stop after 40 miles of nothing. Car travel has all but killed rural Utah. Now comes 5 dollar gas. I can only imagine what will happen to them in five years. I have seen North Dakota dying with the consolidation of farms. Sure to happen out here.
Our leader built our nation on cheap oil rather than hard work. Our quick economic gains will revert back to the olden days. Hardship and poverty.
The rest area in Emery was functional with toilets, water, and shade. The latter two the most important.
I pressed on at 3 and the ride was smooth desert sailing eith a few more moderate climbs.
I made it into Fernon and stopped at the library where I found a couple of books to read for my trip. Iwent to food town for some liquds and now I am heading to Mill site shortly.
As I mentioned nice wide shoulder on my side and smooth.
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