Well, when you ride from a place called Monument VALLEY to a place
called BLUFF, you know you will be climbing. And climb we did. We
had three leg screamers today, two right at the end. But to add
insult to injury, we started the day at 5,725 feet, and ended it at
4,350 feet. Yes, there was obviously some screaming down hills as
well.

First we had to climb out of Monument Valley. As the angles change
on the buttes, you get an entirely different perspective. We ate
lunch at Mexican Hat, which is not much of a town, unless you are a
rafter. From the general store/restaurant/campground I learned that
rafter drink a lot more beer then cyclists.

Bluff, Utah! Perhaps one of the quaintest towns we have yet seen.
Beautiful Cottonwoods trees litter this town that is surrounded by
vertical wind sculptured cliffs that Southern Utah is known for. The
remains of Fort Bluff, the original Mormon settlement of this town
are still maintained.

Tomorrow is statistically one of the toughest days of the tour. We
have to climb u to Monticello. But as of today we have ridden 762
miles, and climbed 39,250 feet.

And not back by popular demand, comments from the other riders.

Gail: "The terrain keeps changing. Yesterday Susie and I had a
field day taking pictures because it was a short day on the bike, 29
miles. The rock formations are spectacular, and we have lots and
lots of wild flowers along the roadside. She and I also experienced
our first camping of the trip, we prefer the motels. We had a
wonderful campsite overlooking Monument Valley. All was well, until
the icy cold showers, not a drop of warm. Regardless of the cold
shower, I really did enjoy the evening under the stars, and the
sunrise, but would like to keep the camping to a minimum.
Today was not as easy, up, up, and up some more, however the scenery
keeps coming, wow, this is great!"

Martin: The bugs are gone and have been replaced by beautiful wild
flowers, like Globe Mallows.

Bonnie: On the very first day of the tour Eric called me
a "stickler for the rules" when I insisted that we actually
go INTO Tijuana. So, in that vein, I have a confession to make –
I did NOT get on my bicycle today! Yesterday I rode 50 miles from
Kayenta to Mexican Hat where I was whisked away by my dear friend
Rick from Santa Fe who took me on a 6-mile cross country hike into a
beautiful canyon filled with Anasazi ruins. That, some R&R at the
Recapture Lodge, and another cross country hike to petroglyphs today
were a Mothers' Day present from him…thank you, Rick. And,
yes, I missed 20 miles of the route but it was worth it! I'll
catch those 20 miles the next time I'm here.

Ken: Another day with mostly tailwinds—what would we do if we
faced headwinds? Just ride it, I'm sure. The 50 miles flew by. We
had lunch at Mexican Hat, named for a weird vertical stone butte
that looked like an upside-down sombrero. People we meet (many
foreigners enjoying the unique geology) are curious about us, and
usually impressed with our progress. The people in Blythe were less
impressed with the fact that we started in San Diego than the people
in Utah. Three states and counting. . .

The Susie butt report: On the scale of 1 to 10 today was about a 5.
Gail and I reached for the Aleve just in time for the worst climb of
the day. Ken said the grade was about a 17 when I told Gail we had
just climbed a grade 17 she said she didn't think it could be a
17. My answer was let's just say it was….. Tomorrow is a new
day especially since Bonnie and I made use of the Jacuzzi. The
landscape is so beautiful it partly makes up for the aches and pains
of the day. Having fun…sus