moab long weekend (day 2)

The rain was just letting up Saturday morning as H headed off for the Moab Century Tour at 6:45 a.m.; the two-mile ride in the drizzle to the start guaranteed that he'd be wet for the entire ride.  I lingered in the motel room until about 7:30 a.m., then got in the truck and drove the short distance to Arches National Park.  Having a national park pass meant that it was feasible for me to drive in early, do the 3 mi. round-trip hike to Delicate Arch and get back out of the park before it got busy.  There were a few other people out and about but by the time I got to the arch, perched precariously on the slickrock, there was just one other hiker up there.  We'd seen Delicate Arch from a distance when we were in Arches in 2008; up close it's much more fragile-seeming.  The canyons surrounding it are just gorgeous: curved and swirling red rock.

Delicate Arch, Arches National Park

After that little hike, I headed back towards town and drove ten miles down the Potash Road, Scenic Byway 279, to the trail head for Corona Arch.  This was another 3 mi. round-trip hike, fairly gentle, which first followed an old road up to a gap, and then meandered up a cairn-marked wash to the red rock cliffs.  The canyon is just stunning, with the railroad tracks just barely visible below, and there are two arches up there: Bowtie Arch and the impressive Corona Arch (140 x 150 foot opening).  I hung out under the arch for a little while as the skies cleared and the sun came out, wondering how many more amazing natural features might be hiding in the neighboring canyons.

Corona Arch (there's tiny people in there, for scale)

I got back to the truck at 11:45 a.m. and started driving back to town, keeping an eye on all the cyclists as Potash Road was the second leg of the century, as well as the sum total of the 40 mile ride, when I realized that I recognized the jersey up ahead.  It was H, well ahead of schedule and almost done with his ride!  He flagged me down and asked me to bring shoes and dry clothes to him at the finish, so I hurried to the motel and then back meet him to get the full story.

The first leg of his 100 mile ride was to Dead Horse Point State Park and back (60 miles) and was completely fogged in the whole way - he couldn't see a thing.  He did learn, however, at the turnaround, that only three guys were ahead of him, so he went charging back down the hill and to the second leg, the out-and-back on Potash Road along the Colorado River (40 miles).  He ended up being the fourth finisher overall (out of 928 riders), with a blistering time of 5:18:56 - absolutely fantastic since he hasn't done any long rides all summer.  I was so proud of him!

100 miles later, still smiling

He was a little worn out, understandably, so after we had some tacos and beer as provided by the race organizers, we went back to the motel.  H vegged out for a little bit while I walked up and down Moab's Main Street, stopping in at Lin Ottinger's Rock Shop and Moab Coffee Roasters, and generally window shopping.  When I got back, he was starving and ready to go, so we strolled back down to the Moab Brewery for beer, fish tacos (me) and a big plate of pasta (H) and the Chile Pepper Bike Shop for MTB trail recommendations for Sunday and a new helmet for me.

It was an early evening, as you might imagine.  Back at the Kokopelli Lodge we watched the Utah Utes crush the BYU Cougars into smithereens before calling it a night.  On the schedule for Sunday: more mountain biking!