Moab

I woke up at 3 am. I left for the airport at 4 am. I am in a true negative energy spiral. A lot of things have gone wrong and the trip has barely started. First, I almost forgot my camera batteries and memory card. That would have been bad. Next, I left my blank check in my other wallet. I hope they accept credit cards. I could also do an online transfer. Next, just as I was about to clear security, they halted the whole line. Someone breached security. Then, they decided to search my bag. My bag is often searched because it is over-stuffed. I was surprised by the number of people in the airport at 5 am. I barely made it to the gate for boarding. That is so unusual for me. I tend to get there very early. Did I mention that my duffel bag is falling apart? The strap is ripping off from the bag. I left my AAA card in my other wallet deliberately. I think I should have brought it. I hope I can get a hotel discount. I have two layovers. That will be slightly painful. All of these things happened before 6 am !!
I am on a plane headed toward SF. The next plane leaves almost as soon as I land. I hope that I make it.

The layover in SF was only fifteen minutes. In fact, it is the same plane that is taking me to Denver. I should be in Moab shortly. The plane is not full. I have space to stretch out. I have honed my traveling skills. I wear travel pants with lots of pockets. I wear shoe/sandals that are extremely comfortable. I pack everything into one duffel bag. I have a compact noise reduction system. I have all of my bathroom stuff in one small bag. I have my universal adapter and my battery power pack.

I am in Denver. I have a two-hour layover. I am almost there. Thank God. I forgot my check. That was the exact thing I did not want to do. I called Maggie of Magpie Cycling. She was reassuring. However, they charge 3 percent extra for credit card use.
I am riding on the smallest commercial plane that I have ever ridden. The seats vibrate. It gives me a kinky feeling. The take-off was scary. The entire plane shook. It is smoother now. The scenery is incredible - Rocky Mountains.
I have arrived in Moab. The "airport" is tiny. I am waiting for the cab. I want to go straight to the bike shop. The skies are blue and the rocks are red.

I made it to the Poison Spider bike shop. I am a little early. The cab ride cost fifty dollars. Outrageous! When I go on vacation, I feel as if I am being financially raped. Egypt was the worst. Taiwan was the best (in terms of cheapness).
I am in the motel. I forgot my AAA card. I did not get the discount. I met the other bikers and guides. I think it will be a good trip.
I am trying to get to sleep, but it is a cheap motel with paper thin walls. Moab is a one-street town. The scenery is beautiful. It is all about tourism here. I am planning my next trip. I am thinking about Hawaii - a multi sport adventure.

I woke up at 3 am. We have to meet at 8:30 am. Maggie is going to pick me up. I am excited about this trip. There are three guides: Mike, Sam, Eugene. A family of three will be going: Mike, Caroline, Alex. Eugene, a mechanic at Poison Spider, is going. Alex is a 12 year old kid. If he can make it, I can make it. It seems like a very well-prepared trip. This motel is a dive.

Maggie picked me up right on time. We drove to the Red River Canyon shop. We met everyone in the parking lot. We packed up our vans and headed out to the trailhead. We will be biking on the White Rim trail.
It was a twenty-minute drive to the trailhead. It was a perfect day for riding. Blue skies and 70 degrees. The views were fabulous. The first part was a steep descent. It had many switchbacks. The twelve year old kid was the strongest rider. He led the pack the entire time. It was tough in some spots. There were a lot of hilly parts. We ate lunch at the half way point. We saw the "goat island" of the canyon. We saw Musselman's arch. It is a bit scary. It is a narrow arch along the canyon. I walked on it and had my picture taken. Thank God that I survived. It would have been a long and painful fall. We saw the various bends of the Colorado River.
It is so quiet now. Not a peep of wildlife or mankind. Just a gentle wind. In our modern world, I do not think that I have ever experienced true silence. I am listening to pure silence. The ride was five and a half hours and 17 miles long. It was not bad, except my rear end hurts. I took a hundred photos. One of the riders, Eugene, is a strong rider. He is going on an extra eight-mile ride roundtrip to see the Colorado River. My only problem with hiking/camping in general is the bathroom accomodations. I have a weak stomach and often have to evacuate myself. It is difficult to do so while hiking/camping. Other than that, I love it. I love the exercise. I love the sense of accomplishment. I love the peacefulness of the outdoors and the beauty. I love the companionship. It really is an adventure. I am so happy when we are sitting together and eating dinner after a strenuous day. There is nothing better. I think that EC would have liked this experience.
What a dinner! Salmon and fresh burrito. Definitely an A plus meal. I am satisfied. It has been an incredible trip. The weather is awesome. The people are friendly. The food is fantastic. The scenery is breath taking. I am totally satisfied. It is 8:30 pm and I am tired. Sweet dreams!!

It is 1 am. I made a BR run. I feel so relieved. It is a perfect night: not cold, not windy, totally silent. I ventured out with my headlamp. I am nearly blind at night without contact lenses. It is so peaceful. Yesterday was the perfect day: great riding, great people, great scenery, great food. Mike is an entrepreneur who starts companies. It sounds like he is doing well. My rear end is sore. I hope I can make it tomorrow. Caroline and her family travel a lot. They spent 9 weeks in Africa. She recommends GAP adventures.
What do I seek?
I seek perfect days. I seek strenuous days of effort rewarded by the satisfaction of accomplishment and the joy of a meal and company.
It was a perfect day. I woke up at 7 am. We ate breakfast and packed up. We left camp at 10 am. We biked until 3:30 pm. We had the same lunch as yesterday. The trail was tough at times. I stopped quite a bit. The last part was hard: uphill on sand. We got to the camp and set up. Afterward, we went on a hike to a peninsula. It had great views. Throughout the day, we had spectacular views. Once again, dinner was superb. Sunset was 7:30 pm. I went to sleep at 8:30 am. It was an exhausting ride. At times, I was huffing and puffing. Overall, it was the perfect day.

I slept sporadically last night. I have a sleep problem. It is chilly, but not windy in the morning. No noise at all. I am happy to be here. I have realized that I like strenuous tasks with a definite ending. I do not like ambiguous ongoing events. I am thinking about making a bathroom run. The same negative thoughts have passed thru my mind: sa, ma, sr. I have to turn to positive thoughts: riding with awesome scenery, eating great food, companionship.
Today was the perfect day. It started off with a great breakfast: bagel and lox. Eugene Cathcart rode off early. He had to go back to Moab: 80 miles. The ride started with a long descent. Then, we hit a hilly part. Afterward, we hit five stinger hills: steep ascents. I made it up only one without getting off my bike. The final ascent was called Murphy's Hogback. It was very steep and long. I made it a quarter of the way up and then walked up. Mike the guide rode up all stingers and hogback without stopping. We had lunch on top of the hill. After, we rode down the hill. There were steep descents and good gradual descents. It was the most enjoyable day so far. We got to camp at 4:30 pm and walked around. We had another great dinner: falafel. The previous dinners were chicken and salmon. The food has been tremendous. We had a long chat session before dinner. The weather has been perfect: blue skies, seventies, no wind. The family I am riding with is awesome. They travel a lot and have great stories. They live in Vancouver. It has been an amazing trip from all perspectives. I am sad that only two days are left.
It has been very therapeutic to go riding every day and not have to think about anything else.

I slept pretty well last night. It is 6:30 am. It is cold, but not windy. I love this weather. It should be another great day. I cannot believe that it is the last full day of riding. My legs and rear end feel pretty good.
I read that one of the suspected killers of EC had a death in his family. His brother was killed. I had strange feelings about it. On the one hand, I thought it was cosmic justice. Now, he will feel the pain of losing a loved one. Does he feel pain? Does he have a conscience? Is rehabilitation possible? What is the proper punishment?
On the other hand, I thought it was just another senseless death of a young person. There is too much tragedy and injustice in this world.
It is great being in a desert for a short while. I have no tv or internet access. Every modern world problem is distant from my mind. I just want to bike, eat, chat with my fellow riders, and find a good bathroom.
It was a great ride today. Sam was the ride guide. We went for seventeen miles. There were a few tough spots. We had a tough ascent right before lunch. It was three inclines. The last one was steep. I had to push my bike up that point. We ate lunch on the plateau: hardscrabble hill. It was a hot and sunny day. Once again, there was a clear blue skies and mild breeze. After, it was tough in parts. We had one steep descent and a long stretch of desert sand at Taylor canyon. We ran across ten motorcyclists who kicked up the sand at Potato bottom. That was annoying. We arrived at Labryinth camp around 3:30 am.
We are chilling out by the van, in order to get shade. I made a small trip down to see the water. We are camped out on an overlook to the Green River. We made a couple of small side trips today. In the morning, we went to the Hogland slot canyon. Sam took us thru the narrow canyon by foot. It was fun. In the afternoon, we walked over to see an ancient Indian granary. We saw some artifacts. It was a beautiful day.
The camps that we stayed at were named Airport, white crack, candlestick, and labyrinth.
It has been an incredible day. We had a great meal: american bison!! We saw the international space station fly past in the sky. There are no clouds. The stars are visible throughout the sky. I am totally satisfied by the trip. I learned to do stemming in the slot canyon : horizontal position. Interesting story: Lin Ottinger used to park his van on Musselman's arch. It freaked out his passengers. The biking has been sensational: ascents, descents, views, perfect weather. Biking thru sand was painful, but that was the only downer. When camping, I expect bad food and bugs. But, we have had neither. The people have been great.

It was an incredible day. I cannot believe that I made it. We started off the day with a great breakfast. We chatted for a while. Mike tells great stories. We started riding at 10 am. It was a short ride today: 8 miles. We went through horse thief canyon. We saw the horse corral that Butch Cassidy used. The last part was tough. It was a 1.5-mile ascent. I stopped multiple times and mostly, walked my bike up the hill. Caroline made it all the way without stopping. I was the weakest rider in the group. I need to exercise more often. We met Maggie at the top. She was pretty cheerful to see us and I was happy to see her. We ate lunch. Maggie drove me to the airport and their family to Moab.
I am hanging out at the Canyonland fields airport. They have an incredible deep-seated sofa. I have a deep sense of satisfaction.

Ugh!! They charged me fifteen bucks to check in one of my bags. I am kind of angry about it because I was able to carry it on the previous flight. It is kind of a back-to-reality ending to my trip.
It has been a harrowing experience getting home. I thought I was going to die on the plane ride to Denver. The plane was shaking violently. There was a downdraft of wind over Denver. They delayed some planes. I landed at concourse A. I had no idea where to go to catch my connection. It turned out that concourse B is the United terminal. I barely made it. It is a good thing I checked in the bag because it would have been really heavy to lug around. We are boarding the plane.
I saw my bag enter the baggage compartment from the window of the plane. It is totally reassuring to know that it will not be lost. The flight is two and a half hours. I am glad that there was now layover time. That is usually painful.