Day 16
Day 16
September 3rd
I woke up in my car this morning in No Name, Colorado. It was a bit chilly in the morning and I didn't have the best sleep of my life, but it worked and wasn't sketchy. If I do that again, I really gotta remember to disarm my alarm before starting the car. I hope I didn't wake everybody else up this morning.
I got back on the road and it was early, so I hit up Donnies. I70 is beautiful during the day and I realized this morning that it would have been silly to do that drive at night. I made the right move by pulling over for a snooze. I got a McGriddle and a coffee from Donnies and continued on to Moab - my destination today. I thought maybe I'd ride Slickrock a little bit and then find a hotel in Moab for the night. Or maybe I'd camp at Slickrock.
Moab was crazy hot and that ride took a lot out of me, so camping was out of the question. I luckily survived the practice loop at Slickrock. I was under the impression that the "practice loop" would be a piece of cake and a nice way to get my feet wet. It was about 1.6 miles long and I've heard it described in the following way: "This short loop lets you test your skills before you go on to the real deal.” Cool, I thought. Well, let me tell you... the ride was absolutely exhausting and at one point I pictured myself just collapsing out there among the rocks in the hot sun.
I'm sure a bike with suspension would have helped, but some water and fitness would have gone a long way. I'm hella out of shape and this was realized less than 10 minutes into the trail. I had some water in the car and I drank plenty before heading out, but I stupidly forgot to buy an extra bottle to bring with me on the trail.
I stopped for a couple breathers, but somehow survived and made it back to the parking lot. I got to the car and I cranked the AC and chugged any beverages I could find in my car. The now-hot iced chai tea was absolutely disgusting and I gagged a little bit. I noticed many hotels on the way in to Moab. I looked around for a deal, but there were none to be found. I decided to get back on the road and drive further west. I figured I could find a cheap hotel in Vegas, so that's where I was headed. It was about 6 hours away from Moab. That would put me in Vegas right around 9pm. I didn't factor in that I'd be changing to another time zone, so that actually gave me an extra hour of daylight. I think I fucked the AC up in car somehow because it was super weak some hours later as I was driving to Vegas. This was fine in the mountains, but it was pretty hot in the desert. Around 9pm, my car said it was 100F. Insane, I thought. I drove the whole way with the windows rolled down. The views were insane and I was just taking it all in. I wasn't too concerned about the AC, but it was a little strange and definitely a bummer.
It's Monday morning now and I'm typing this up in a really bougie Las Vegas hotel/casino called SLS. I booked it through one of those priceline express deals where you don't know the name of the hotel until you book it. Kinda funny that the name ended up being something work-related. It was cheap, about $50 a night. One of the cheaper hotels I've booked so far. I booked it for 2 nights so I could sleep in and have a little time to plan my next move. It looks like I'm not too far from LA, so I think maybe I'll head that way.
I think today I'll walk around and explore Vegas a little bit, but from what I've seen driving around last night, this place is like Time Square except with hotels and casinos. It's mayhem, and not at all like the places I've been so far on this trip. I hope my car is safe in the parking garage and I hope that the AC is okay. I'm a long way from home.
September 3rd
I woke up in my car this morning in No Name, Colorado. It was a bit chilly in the morning and I didn't have the best sleep of my life, but it worked and wasn't sketchy. If I do that again, I really gotta remember to disarm my alarm before starting the car. I hope I didn't wake everybody else up this morning.
I got back on the road and it was early, so I hit up Donnies. I70 is beautiful during the day and I realized this morning that it would have been silly to do that drive at night. I made the right move by pulling over for a snooze. I got a McGriddle and a coffee from Donnies and continued on to Moab - my destination today. I thought maybe I'd ride Slickrock a little bit and then find a hotel in Moab for the night. Or maybe I'd camp at Slickrock.
Moab was crazy hot and that ride took a lot out of me, so camping was out of the question. I luckily survived the practice loop at Slickrock. I was under the impression that the "practice loop" would be a piece of cake and a nice way to get my feet wet. It was about 1.6 miles long and I've heard it described in the following way: "This short loop lets you test your skills before you go on to the real deal.” Cool, I thought. Well, let me tell you... the ride was absolutely exhausting and at one point I pictured myself just collapsing out there among the rocks in the hot sun.
I'm sure a bike with suspension would have helped, but some water and fitness would have gone a long way. I'm hella out of shape and this was realized less than 10 minutes into the trail. I had some water in the car and I drank plenty before heading out, but I stupidly forgot to buy an extra bottle to bring with me on the trail.
I stopped for a couple breathers, but somehow survived and made it back to the parking lot. I got to the car and I cranked the AC and chugged any beverages I could find in my car. The now-hot iced chai tea was absolutely disgusting and I gagged a little bit. I noticed many hotels on the way in to Moab. I looked around for a deal, but there were none to be found. I decided to get back on the road and drive further west. I figured I could find a cheap hotel in Vegas, so that's where I was headed. It was about 6 hours away from Moab. That would put me in Vegas right around 9pm. I didn't factor in that I'd be changing to another time zone, so that actually gave me an extra hour of daylight. I think I fucked the AC up in car somehow because it was super weak some hours later as I was driving to Vegas. This was fine in the mountains, but it was pretty hot in the desert. Around 9pm, my car said it was 100F. Insane, I thought. I drove the whole way with the windows rolled down. The views were insane and I was just taking it all in. I wasn't too concerned about the AC, but it was a little strange and definitely a bummer.
It's Monday morning now and I'm typing this up in a really bougie Las Vegas hotel/casino called SLS. I booked it through one of those priceline express deals where you don't know the name of the hotel until you book it. Kinda funny that the name ended up being something work-related. It was cheap, about $50 a night. One of the cheaper hotels I've booked so far. I booked it for 2 nights so I could sleep in and have a little time to plan my next move. It looks like I'm not too far from LA, so I think maybe I'll head that way.
I think today I'll walk around and explore Vegas a little bit, but from what I've seen driving around last night, this place is like Time Square except with hotels and casinos. It's mayhem, and not at all like the places I've been so far on this trip. I hope my car is safe in the parking garage and I hope that the AC is okay. I'm a long way from home.