The First Seventy Years: 125 - Into Utah
After a long hot day cycling through the Arizona desert Eric Biddulph rode on into Utah.
Eric’s book The First Seventy Years can be obtained for £10 by contacting http://mary@bike2.wanadoo.co.uk or telephoning 01484-658175.
All the cash raised by the book goes to a water aid project in Malawi.
I checked out of the hotel and rode along the East Rim route with Graham before dropping off the plateau down to Cameron, a large Indian trading station some 100 kilometres distance. Booking into the motel I again shared a room with my riding companion.
Riding across the desert the next day we arrived at the Colorado River after 110 kilometres. Marble Canyon was the location for our next stop. As always I kept Graham out of sight whilst I booked into the motel. On this occasion I was given a room with a single bed. The floor presented no big deal for Graham.
The desert presented a challenge with a 'false flat' persisting for many kilometres. Graham had left well ahead of me and I was somewhat baffled why I could not sight him in the vast expanse I was now seeking to transverse. The heat built up considerably despite it still only being early May. The only shade I could find in this three hours marathon across the desert floor had been created by a man-made sign at the side of the road. This served as a sheltered lunch stop.
The afternoon saw me meeting the challenge of a 20 Km climb to regain the height I had lost two days before. Fifteen minutes riding; five minutes for rest and drink. By the time I had reached the wooded North Rim of the Canyon I had had enough for the day. Why had I never made contact with Graham? Because he'd cheated and accepted the offer of a lift with a pickup truck; that's why! He'd already set up camp in the woods. I was in no frame of mind to be under canvas that night.
The State of Utah beckoned. Another long descent and we rode across the state line out of Arizona into the small town of Kanab. We booked into the youth hostel for 9 dollars a head. Bunk beds in a pretty rustic building. We cooked a meal together in the kitchen. The warden, upon learning that Graham was broke, offered him some work tidying up and general oddjobbing. It looked as though we would soon be parting company. The cost of the night's bed was pretty reasonable but when I found myself at breakfast devouring fruit; cereals; hashbrown; toast and coffee all inclusive I am left speechless. Bidding farewell to Graham I look forward to meeting his family in Chicago.
