Day 16 - Green River to Fruita

I typed this entry a couple of days ago and lost it into cyberspace. We had little to no internet reception for a bit there so I'll try and get caught back up today!

Green River to Fruita was a long ride day and promised to be pretty warm so we started off fairly early. We were along I-70 the whole way which was good and bad. Nice wide shoulders and simple to navigate. Wide open country, far off views of mountains and Arches. Not much in the way of amenities however. We stopped at Thompson Springs after about 28 miles and that was the last outpost of civilization until we were well into Colorado. Our second sag stop of the day was just at an exit where they pulled the van under the underpass to give us some shade. A fairly uneventful ride but not a bad one. Another day of changing views as we moved from the desert to more lush suroundings.

Trying to get to the far blue mountains!

Near Thompson Springs

Fiona Thompson :)

The views are changing

A shot of me riding

After a fairly lengthy uphill climb we reached Colorado!

Looking behind us - last glimpse of Utah. After a bit more climbing we finally arrived at our richly deserved downhill portion. And then...

Front flat. Before we could finish the job, help arrived from America By Bicycle and we took off, swooping down the hill. Until...

Just a couple miles later, back flat. By then help had moved on so we took care of this one alone. And THEN, we got to zoom downhill and into Fruita. :) We stopped at a gas station before the motel to grab a drink. It was a hot thirsty day! We were just putting our bikes in our room when I turned around to find this.

Desiree had been in Vail and just decided to pop over to Fruita and surprise me. :) She brought gifts of Clif Bars as well and let us ride in her CAR. We drove through Wendy's to pick up a post-ride snack, giving Fiona her first sample of a Wendy's frosty, then drove along the base of Colorado National Monument while we enjoyed the food and AC. Thanks Desiree! She dropped us back at the hotel where we cleaned up and got ready for dinner. We had Chinese that night and my fortune said

which I thought was quite appropriate! Welcome to Colorado, our fourth state!