Day #91: Payson to Delta (78 miles)
- chrisbentley349
- Jul 14
- 1 min read
It turns out Payson had a lovely historical center of town. Here it is at sunrise... Speaking with a older couple last night at a Mexican restaurant, they said that Payson had started primarily as a farming town, but in the last 10 years there had been a huge amount of new homes costructed, for people wanting to be out of the crush of Salt Lake City.
Today's ride was going to be long (almost 80 miles) and hot (almost 100 degrees F), so I packed LOTS of snacks and Gatorade and electrolyte water...
For the second time in the last week, I was accosted by an unexpected mountain... it turned out at about the 20 mile mark, I had to climb a steep pass. At the top, in Eureka, Utah, there was a gas station and lovely manager... we had a great chat about parenting, drugs, mental health and bucket lists. Then there was a long decline and then 50 miles to ride without any shade or gas station...
After I left Payson, I never saw another bicyclist... not going my way, nor in the opposite direction... Maybe this is a clue that I had picked the wrong path :-)
Stats: 78 miles, started 6:30am, ended 4:30pm, 9 hours actual riding:
Yes... I have to hand it to Disney, the depth of field is excellently done! That whole part made me laugh out loud as I was walking- the repeating backdrops giving it away XD glad you have lots of electrolyte water. It was cool being able to tell your traveling direction by the shadow and time of day!
By the way, everything has two sides, negative: no shade from the sun, positive: all truck drivers can spot you from miles away:-). Safe biking!
I was about to say “all roads lead to San Francisco”, then I realized that with 100 degrees under the sun, there must be other explanations about no other people biking :-). It only took a hundred years from riding horse to riding bike in the wide Wild West. Happy biking!
Chris, when surprise mountains and 100-degree heat are just part of the day—you know you’re deep into epic territory! 😄 That “no other cyclists in sight” moment definitely sounds like one of those “Is this brave or crazy?” moments… but Alex and I vote brave (with excellent snack planning)! Loved the sunrise photo ❤️and your chat in Eureka—keep the stories coming, we’re riding along with you in spirit!🚴🚴🚴