Day 33: Not so fast...

July 13, 2013

It was time to get out'a Dodge, or in this case St. Dodge, I mean St. George.

I needed to be at the airport by noon to pick up my car. And really, I wanted to be there by 11am.

It was a good plan, renting a one way car. I had originally planned to ride back to Grand Junction and take the train home, thus bringing the trip full circle, or at least oval shape. But you may recall Bubble-Gate, re my tire, so that put a wrench in the works. It is not easy finding convenient, cost effective, transportation from St. George, so I lucked out with the car. It will take me 2 days to drive home, and the price of the car is only $40 a day. Even with gas it is on par with the train, cost wise, and cheaper if I get a sleeper on the train.

But that still leaves the small matter of riding to the airport. And I think the people who planned the location of the airport are the same ones who designed the bike lanes. It was 17 miles through hot, dry, desert...

...I'll just keep going then...
...Is that the Arizona state line?...
...Yes, it is, but still no airport...

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh? What in the world does THAT sign mean?

...There it is, the St. George airport! WOO-HOOO!
Geez. Why don't you make it a little farther from town, why don't you?

After that it was simply a matter of turning on the satellite radio and stepping on the gas. I would be taking parts of the Extra-terrestrial highway, which is the route south of Highway 50 of Western Express fame. It was beautiful, actually. I really enjoyed the ride.

But the best part came in Rachel, at the Little A'Le'Inn restaurant. I had just pulled in when two touring cyclists were getting on their bikes!

Dave and Bethany have been on the road for 2 years(!), all over the world, and are now heading home to Alabama, and a normal life. They have Long Haul Truckers of course so they were clearly a class act.

We talked for a while. I asked about their trip, and the route and winds through Nevada, since I may want to ride the route someday. I gave them some tips on the Western Express, since I had ridden it 3 years ago.

They had spent 3 hours in the restaurant, cooling off, and were headed out, to the east, loaded down with water, with the plan to stealth camp in the night.

I wished them luck and drove off into the sunset...

The couple I met in Rachel, Nevada. They are heading home to Atlanta after 2 years on the road.

P.S. Dave and Beth's website is www.garthsontour.com

Today's ride: 19 miles (31 km)
Total: 1,420 miles (2,285 km)

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