Today’s 117 miles were ridden with the wind at our backs and smiles on our faces. Contrary to the weather reports, the winds never swung around to sting us in the face. We left the Rainbow Casino at 6:45 a.m. and arrived at the outskirts of Salt Lake City by 3:00 p.m. Not a bad time with breaks and lunch. We’ve covered more than 835 miles since leaving San Francisco 11 days ago. And tomorrow is a rest day- we don’t ride!
The scenic highlights of the day were the salt flats. **If you didn’t know where you were and what you were doing, you would have sworn that it was the white of a frozen lake sliding out to the horizon, punctuated by brown islands reaching toward the cloud speckled sky.** It was quite unlike anything I’ve ever scene. The Great Salt Lake, for which Salt Lake City is named is even more majestic. On the horizon, the wave flecked water meets the sky. Closer up, a dry salt bed meets the shore. People walked a few hundred yards on the salt beds to reach the shore of the lake. But we were warned to resist the temptation to ride our bikes or even walk on the salt beds. The slat is so corrosive it would wreck a bike or rot out the cleats of a cycling shoe.
The Comfort Inn, Salt Lake City Airport is quite nice. There was a manager’s reception (a cold beer tasted especially good today), and they’ve set out a hose and a box of old towels by the pool so that we can wash our bikes. My laundry is done, so tomorrow I can just rest (after I wash my bike) and maybe do some sight seeing in Salt Lake City.
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