We woke up at the usual time, 6:00 AM, got packed up, and got ready for 90 mile trek to Duchesne, Utah. Today, the breakfast was sponsored by Bob Vael, a father of a former JOH cyclist. In fact, many of the meals and the hospitality of lodging were generously provided by Mr. Vael. The ride to breakfast was roughly 10 miles away from Bob’s house, the lodging for the night. We definitely earned our breakfast as we had a few lengthy climbs.
Breakfast was donated on behalf of Bob, by Joe’s Country Store, which served us steak-and-egg breakfast burritos. The meal gave us the perfect amount of energy to help complete our ride.
After Breakfast, we took off to Duchesne. Today, Bob rode along with us. Now, I have never met a man his age so excited about cycling. Even through the entire adventure of Park City, you could tell that Bob wanted us to see it all, never being satisfied. All though he was a little eccentric and jolty, you got to respect the guy for everything he provided the team, and his constant support for our trip. I had the pleasure of riding with Bob and learned some interesting and equally embarrassing about his Son and Daughter (Oh parents…you gotta love them). Bob works for a natural gas company, and I had an interesting conversation about the oil industry. I’m definitely interesting in working in the industry after graduation so he was a great person to meet and network with.The scenery towards Duchesne started off gorgeous. It reminded me of the song, “Country Roads” by John Denver. It was just amazing to see all the green color reflected across the Duchesne River…you just had to be there. As we departed Park City, the scenery started to become a little more arid, and by the 50 mile mark, it reminded me of Nevada’s desert openness that extended for miles.
Mile 60 was the placement for lunch. Today, lunch was provided by one of the cyclists, Jeff’s, parents. They donated some juice and icecream drumsticks, which were a tasty treat for all the hard work we’ve put in so far.
After lunch, we coasted most of the way down to Starvation Lake. Overall, the ride wasn’t bad at all, except for the long climb to the top of the summit half way through the trek. At the end of the ride, we met another sponsor, also named Bob. Bob was kind enough to take his boat out to the lake and let us go tubing and water skiing for a few hours. I’m a big fan of water sports, so I was a lot of fun and great way to end a nice ride, to get thrown of an inflatable rubber tube at 20 mph and fly in the air for a few seconds before smacking into the water. It was a blast.We took quick showers at the facilities near the lake, and drove to lodging, located at Duchesne High School. More or less, all of us passed out immediately after a long and tiring day. After an hour or so, we got ready for dinner, and walked to a nearby park, where we were greeted by locals, who provided us an amazing dinner. I know I say this a lot, but this meal was by far the best so far, and had hands down, the best dessert yet…oreo pudding cake. After out filling our bellies full of barbeque pork, cheesy potatoes, and fruit, we headed back to lodging, which felt a lot tougher of a walk back. Once back, we called it a night, where I headed to the store, picked up a few groceries. After I came back, I lied down on my sleeping pad, and gave my body what it was craving: rest.
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