Day 11 -- Wendover to Salt Lake City (UT) -- 121 Miles

Greetings from Utah! I sure am glad to be here -- it certainly was a challenge to get here. A fellow rider, Scott, described today's ride perfectly by referring to it as a "Jekyll and Hyde" ride. One minute we would be cruising, and next thing you know, we were getting blasted in the face by 35 m.p.h. winds (with gusts up to 58 m.p.h. -- according to the local news). It was pretty wild, but very rewarding to complete another century and change.

Once again, the majority of our ride was on I-80. I am told that we are done cycling on this crazy road. Although I referred to this interstate as "my new best friend" yesterday, I admit that I am relieved that those days are behind me!

The first 60 miles of our ride were beautiful. After crossing the Nevada/Utah state line, we pedaled along the Bonneville Salt Flats, and it was amazing to see all of the salt deposits, and was hard to believe that all of this dried up land was once a body of water as big as Lake Michigan.

After refueling at the first SAG stop, I re-entered I-80 and cycled away. The first 20 miles of this leg were fairly comfortable, and then the wind became quite a nuisance. I fought through it, until my first flat tire forced me pull over and do some repairs. A few other riders helped get me back on track, and I eventually made it to the second SAG stop -- 90 miles done, 31 to go.

The last leg was when the real Jekyll and Hyde wind showed itself. At one point we turned onto Highway 202, and we had to cross a bridge that went over I-80, just in front the Great Salt Lake Marina. I was shocked when I looked down at my bike computer to realize that I was pedaling 5.9 m.p.h. I realized that I was about 100 miles in at this point -- but, as Amy Poehler and Seth Myers would likely say, “Really, John? Less than 6 m.p.h. Really? You were on a bike going slower than most people run. Really?”

Two minutes later, I was doing 34 m.p.h. on a flat road, and was inching ever closer to the hotel. Take that, Amy and Seth! At long last, I ultimately found myself in front of the Comfort Inn, and I couldn’t have been happier (until, of course, I remembered that tomorrow is a rest day).

Please feel free to take a look at my photos from the day. Unfortunately, we did not cycle through downtown Salt Lake City, so I don’t have any photos of the area yet. I plan to take care of that tomorrow -- on my rest day. Did I mention that I don’t have a ride tomorrow?