A Big Update!

Sorry for such a long delay in posting, but I went through a large area of Box Elder County that has no phone or wireless service.

Panguitch to Cedar City: very long day, many hours of false summits and climbing but coming down through Cedar Breaks made it all worth it. One of the hardest days of the entire ride.

Cedar City to Milford: Easy day with a long steady climb and a tail wind. Great over night stay with friends Jim and Kathy Handley in Milford. Buster the dog did not like me at first and never got over it.

Milford to Delta: Marc and Pepper joined me for the next three days. 75 long flat miles. It's amazing how much easier the ride can be with friends. This leg took a little over six hours.

Delta to Vernon: The first part was fairly flat but the last part of the day was a long climb in the hot sun. That night we stayed in Boulter about 12 miles south of Vernon. Marc found a great camping spot about five feet from the railroad tracks. Five feet is not stretching the truth.

Vernon to Grantsville: Easy day, very flat. We rode fast that day to Rush Valley so we could stop for a cold Coke at the Country Store, and when we arrived it was closed.

JJ, the owner, was there and was nice enough to let us sit on her porch and have a drink. It did not take long before she brought out a sandwich and cookies for us to eat. She has moved her store to Penny's on HWY 36 south of Tooele. Stop by if you are in the area.

Grantsville to Oasis, Nev.: This leg proved to be too dangerous to travel on. I took the advice of the Utah Highway Patrol and Marc and rode in the truck this leg of the tour.

Oasis, Nev. to Grouse Creek: A long hot downhill leg. My wife was back in the SAG wagon and will finish the tour out with me. We camped next to an old railroad water spring. There was nothing in sight but the desert and a few trees. A very quiet night.

Grouse Creek to Park Valley: another long hot day in the middle of nowhere with a head wind. A very tiring long day.

Park Valley to Tremonton: I rode to the freeway then had to get in the truck again for the Interstate portion.

Tremonton to Lake Town: A very beautiful canyon but the most dangerous ride yet. There are parts of Logan Canyon that have sharp turns and no shoulder and I came very close to dying that day. I would never recommend anyone try and bike up Logan Canyon.

Lake Town to Evanston: Friend Kathie joins me for a day. We had a great night's sleep at Bear Lake in her summer home. We started late. The ride was easy and the weather was great. Less the 98 miles and I am done!

Resting in Panguich

Well, sorry for the delay in posting after the last couple of days with no cell or internet service (I won't say which plan I'm on). Speaking of the Torrey to Escalcante ride, the climb out of Torrey was brutal, but once I got over the top, it was spectacular. It was about 15 miles downhill going 30-35 mph to the town of Boulder with a couple of short climbs out to the top of the Grand Staircase National Monument. At one point the descent is 14%. I hit 49.5 mph on that one--the fastest I've ever gone on the bike.

Escalante to Panguitch was painful in the fact that I was not fully recovered by the morning, so I did not enjoy that leg much. I have an extra rest day in Panguitch because of a scheduling conflict with my support driver.

I need to thank my friend Jeff Graceffa for his support over the last week, both as the SAG DRIVER and for being a great support. Plus, he paid for a majority of the expenses while he was here. Please visit his restaurant, if you ever find yourself in Crested Butte, Colorado. The Secret Stash is a great place to grab a bite and relax a bit.

Joe

Safely to Escalante

Joe has been without great cell service and the ability to shoot photos up to the mothership for the last couple of days. He's doing well, though. Yesterday was a 14-hour marathon ride from Torrey to Escalante. Today he is moving on to Panguitch. He officially passed 500 miles yesterday. One-third of the ride is over! The countdown from 1000 started today. Keep it up, Joe!

Fry Canyon, Hanksville

Well, After two tough days on Hwy 24 southern Utah, I'm finally in Hanksville. It was hot and especially windy yesterday, today it was just hot. We stayed on a ranchers property in fry canyon, he is a WWII VET, and when he found out I was a vet as well, he allowed us to stay there. Very nice, that's how we vets are.

The climb in the Henry mountains just north of Hite (we stopped there to swim for about an hour), was a very steep two miler, that almost killed me, but I just kept spinning. As crappy as Hanksville is, it sure looked good today. Off to Torrey tomorrow, what day is it?

Joe

1st Rest Day

At the end of my first rest day, I'm feeling really good. I can't say I felt that yesterday. The Moab to Monticello route was a very tough leg in my journey. I have to thank My friend Jeff for being there the entire ride, seven hours on the bike! It was allot of climbing and very hot the entire day. As usual Marc (who is a liar, when it comes to telling you how hard or far a climb is) told me it should be an easy leg.



Joe

In Moab!

After 29 miles in the sun and two flats! The first I've ever had with this bike, thanks Tae for helping with the roadside repair. Both on the same damn tire. After the second flat, I just rode the sag wagon in for the last two miles of the day, and of course it was the giant down hill into town, or coastee as I like to call it. Damn. My friend Jeff will be here shortly, and he will be taking over sag wagon duties for a week. Big thanks to my wife Kristina for the great support during the first week. Almost forgot to mention ROLF at the Poison Spider bicycles in Moab, I busted a buckle on one of my sidi shoes on the Price to Green River leg, They had everything I needed to fix both the shoe, and my bike. Plus he gave me a couple of free things. Very Cool.

Joe

Headed to Moab

Joe Johnson and Bike 1500 for Vets made it safely to Green River yesterday evening. This morning they have started en route to Moab. Aside from some inconsiderate truck drivers, Joe says things are going smoothly. The 90+ degree temperatures made yesterday's seven-hour ride seem longer than the first three days. The heat will continue today as Joe heads for Moab.