DAY 27: UTAH!

140 km (86 miles) - total: 3871 km (2405 miles)

Montrose, Co to Monticello, Ut

Today I entered Utah, the 7th state of my trip. I ate a huge breakfast and quickly checked out of the motel and left Montrose at about 7.30 with lots of water and food supply on my back as I knew I was gonna cycle through some unpopulated areas, through the forest and a long strech on highway 141 with no services. Last night I walked to the local Wal-Mart to buy dry food for today's stage. As far as steep grades -with two climbs at about 9000ft- I knew that I had a long day ahead if I wanted to see the Utah sign before sundown. For most of the morning I rode through the Uncompahgre National Forest which afforded scintillatingly beautiful views of the Rocky Mountains. After 10 miles it got interesting as a long part of the road through the forest is unpaved so I had to walk the bike, I did not want to cycle on dirt and gravel for fear of a puncture. The walk there was incredible as I was completely alone and could enjoy the tall trees, the fresh air, the silence, the flora and fauna. While I was dragging the bicycle through the woods, I thumbed a ride from a local bee keeper, the only vehicle I saw the whole way in the forest. After a few miles we reached surfaced road and I was able to cycle again. I felt extremely good and kept on going strong, hitting an average of 28 kph before I had to climb one more time. Later I got a taste of what Utah is all about by riding on highway 141, where parts of the movie Thelma and Louise had been filmed. I think Utah is my favourite state. It is rugged, barren, hot, dry, romantic, dramatic, deserted, melancholy, hilarious, tender, acrid, lonely, magnetic.
I spent several hours riding in the Colorado wilderness and have been passed by a couple of big lorries that was it. The road was incredibly silent and the scenery was majestic. I do need time to let all this sink in. I have just entered Utah and now I know for certain that barring mechanical problems to the bicycle, I will reach my final destination, maybe even with a day or two to spare. My body feels in perfect condition, I don't have a single scratch on me and I cannot think of a single impediment that would get in the way- maybe the wind could frustrate my effort. I must say that I am growing in confidence by the day, as if between the road and myself a perfect harmony has been established, like two strangers who initially do not speak of words of their languages but after a very emotional event or an ordeal of some sort magically become inseparable and forever connected. I have been getting on the bicycle early every morning, I have endured blisters on my butt and on my hands, I have stood numbness in my toes, I have carried a heavy rucksack for a month while cycling, I have feared and dodged the traffic of the American road, I have fought the winds of Kansas and Colorado, I have climbed the Appalachians in the East, I have tamed the Rocky mountains in the West and I am right in the middle of the Wild West. I have cycled almost 4000 km to get this far, I relied on my legs, my heart and my lungs. Traveling on your own fuel represents a different type of means of transportation. It is an unusual feeling. It makes you vulnerable and invincible all at once. You own what you do. I feel I own this country, I own the West because I fought for every mile to get this far and I belong on the road, at least until I go back to leading an ordinary life. The road keeps calling me every morning with a different voice, because every morning is a different challenge.

Tomorrow I will be riding into the Natural Bridges Park and the day after I will turn my bicycle South to the Monument Valley. There I want to ride at night, I want to savor the late sunlight and possibly spend the night in the open. These are the dreams already dreamt, this is the life already lived, these are the places seen on TV and read in the comic books. I have never seen the Monument Valley but I know that when I see it I will have seen it already. I am in the slipstream!

I knew America when I was 20, now I am 35 and I am dreaming it all up again. America has changed since then, or has it? This is a country that it is trying to make good on its promises and yet it will always openly and unashamedly show its scars and flaws. The history of Utah embodies the lack of humanity and the ruthless treatment that the white man has bestowed upon the Natives, the black, the Hispanic, the minorities. Forget about being politically correct, the road has shown me that there isn't such a thing. Life here is about fighting to stay afloat. America doesn't show remorse. And why should it? You might get a chance or you might not. But it is not just about luck, it is also about how bad you want it. I am entering a twilit night of the soul on this country's byways, I can't see the end of the tunnel but light won't fade because there is compassion in America's everyday life, there is a can-do attitude and there are civic values submerged by cosmic pragmatism and resolution and yet they survive. I am fascinated by the muddled and unassuming decency of the suburban Midwest, from the warped, thwarted and banal ambition of the East to the sedentary and laid-back pace of the West, sentiments which I got to know on my bicycle. And then there is the unspoken. There is a sense of veiled despair in America, of vivid failure, possibly because of the Iraq war, a gigantic disaster that got people thinking that Vietnam taught nothing. The mood is gloomy, and silently bleak. People smile but communication is superficial. Behind the smile there is affliction, in the handshake there is tremor. The meaningful remains unsaid when promises have been broken. Riches are yet to be found along the American highway. What's next?

Now that I got this far I am gonna go even farther. I need to ask questions, I need those doubts. I need those big open spaces, under whose vast skies I know I will fail to come to terms with what, if anything, life in America is all about.



Montrose, early morning


Highway 91, pavement ends before the road reaches the Forest


Inside the MNF


The view from the M. Forest Pass


This is the scenery upon entering Utah


Exiting Colorado the road turns South and I can see the rugged land in the distance


Red rock, red clay of Utah coming up!


Past the state line the scenery changes dramatically


Classic!


This sign is just outside Monticello


Highway 491 ends in Monticello