Tag: cycling through navajo reservation

Bicycling in the West – Kayenta to Towaoc

Bicycle Touring in the West – Day 14 – Kayenta to Towaoc

“Take a breath of the new dawn and make it a part of you.”
  ~ Hopi proverb

Today is a longer day for us, and we’re on the road before dawn. We’ve got a little over 107 miles to ride today, and if the wind’s not kind, it could be a long 107 miles. We feel confident that we’ll be able to find water every 25 or 30 miles, which puts our mind to ease that worse case, it’s just a long day.

At first we’re a little disappointed that we’re not on the road 30 minutes before we are because of the long day ahead of us. Riding east out of Kayenta, the landscape around us explodes into magical shapes and beautiful pre-dawn colors. As the sun washes across the mystical hills and rocks to our north, we stop often to take pictures of the breathtaking sunrise. By the time we’re 10 miles down the road, we realize how lucky we are that we didn’t leave earlier, or we would’ve missed a spectacular sunrise show.

Once again, I’m struck by just how much I treasure the early morning on a bicycle. The remainder of the day happens – sometimes good and sometimes less good. But dawn is universally spectacular, sometimes mind-numbingly so. This morning is one of those mind-numbingly beautiful mornings. Continue reading “Bicycling in the West – Kayenta to Towaoc”

Cycling Through the West – Tuba City to Kayena

Bicycling in the West – Day 13 – Tuba City to Kayenta

The desert flowers seemed to be in full bloom, and beautiful in the morning

 

 

 

“Time isn’t used, it’s experienced.”
~ Hopi Proverb

 

 

 

We’ve got an easy day ahead of us today – only 75 miles. Unless the wind is hard on us, we should get done in less than 8 hours. We take our time and enjoy breakfast, and meet some interesting folks as we’re walking out of Denny’s.

It’s a small group of folks – sounds like just 2 couples plus an extra person. They’ve got a truck with a trailer, and the trailer holds a couple of little Vespa-type scooters. The women ride the scooters along the highway, and the men follow along in the truck. When they get tired of “scooting”, the men pick them up and trailer the scooters. It’s a grand adventure for them. They’ve always wanted to take a trip like this along the highways of the Southwest. When they hit the high plains of Texas in a few days, they’ll just ride in the truck to avoid the heat.

I’m curious about why the little scooters rather than just everyone taking motorcycles? Well, a good part of the reason seems to be that the scooters are so much more fuel efficient. Plus, they’re cute. That’s important for sure… Continue reading “Cycling Through the West – Tuba City to Kayena”

Cycling Across The West – Sedona to Tuba City in Arizona

Bicycling Across the West
Day 12 – Sedona to Tuba City in Arizona

“What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.”
~ Crowfoot

Today I meet my friend Dave, and we complete the rest of the ride together. Our original plan was to meet at the Grand Canyon and ride from there. However, we’ve talked on the phone and changed our route a bit in response to concern over a section of road we were going to ride on. The road we’re concerned about is Highways 163 and 162 in Arizona and Utah, which takes us through Monument Valley. Dave’s experience on the road as he was driving down to his starting point was that it was very narrow, lots of curves, no shoulder, and lots of RVs.

We’re both fine with all of that – down to the RV part. My experience with the lack of safety and courtesy on the part of RV drivers so far on this trip has me pretty concerned about that section, and Dave feels the same way. So we modified our planned route, and I’m meeting Dave in Flagstaff this morning. From here, we’ll ride to Tuba City today. I’m clearly upset that we’re compelled – out of fear of our lives – to change our route because so many RV users are either incompetent or inconsiderate drivers. But it is what it is.

Riding through this upcoming section, the thing that makes bicycle trip routing difficult is the space between towns. There are only so many places where a motel exists, and we need to be able to fit a daily ride somewhat neatly between those spots. Our original plan, in fact, included a 140 mile day because of that difficulty. That’s a long day in the desert if the winds aren’t kind… Our new route keeps most of our days down to a little under 100 miles, though there’s one or two that go over 100 miles. Continue reading “Cycling Across The West – Sedona to Tuba City in Arizona”