Winter is coming... across Wyoming and Utah

Autumn is definitely here. The magnificent colours, from bright gold to vibrant ruby, leave no doubt about it, even if one could think it is already winter when looking at the mercure. The (very) cold air and the intense wind kept me away from writing for a few days/weeks. My mind has also been very busy with sorting out my itinerary and other logistical details as I am now out of the comfort of an established route. As I am trying to only ride on gravel- and backroads, it takes a lot of time to figure out what connects and what doesn’t, what detour is needed to avoid main roads and what shouldn’t be missed on the way. But even then the reality of the terrain brings its own lot of surprises… which is all part of the adventure, and what an adventurous fortnight it has been ! It all started with my double attempt to hike in the magic, pristine and stunning Wind River Range. Yes, attempt, because seeing the weather, snow conditions and my inappropriate gears for it, I decided to turn around both times. I still camped out in 20 cm of snow with two nights below -10°C and managed to get a glimpse of what this epic wilderness has to offer for when I will be back to explore it. Once again people’s kindness helped me making this hiking project possible as a family in the Pinedale offered me to establish my base-camp and stay as long as I wanted with them ! It was amazing to have a home for a few days and the possibility to stay warm at night. But adventure was calling an I finally left central Wyoming after a week, making my way towards Utah, friends and hopefully nicer climate. Finding my itinerary was fairly easy this time and I had the opportunity to ride through some beautiful country of the Wyoming Range and high desert plateaus. One highlight was going up and over a massive pass in the night to make sure I would be on the other side of it when the next morning snow-storm would hit. Before I knew it, I was in Ogden, the last place that I have been before and where I have friends/family until Santiago ! I enjoyed some quality time there with my friends met in NZ and was hoping to take advantage of that week to write a lot but the logistics took all room when I was not just enjoying the moment. After six days it was time to hit the road again and start my 1000km adventure across southern Utah and into Arizona.I first had to get out of the very populated and smoggy rea of Ogden and Salt Lake City but an amazing bike path network made it fairly enjoyable. Then the real stuff began with a long climb up a steep pass and a freezing night. But I was still on the pavement and the gnarly strenuous but ho-so-enjoyable gravel exploration started the next day with some funny surprises. I ended up pushing my bike up some very, very steep hills and along very, very rocky trails. I also fell a few times trying to ride downhill sections that showed the limits of both my gravel-bike and my (inexistant) mountain-riding abilities. But overall I had so much fun and I had the chance to ride some unique scenery. In between the hard bits I found super enjoyable gravel roads winding through canyons. Having to work hard for those views made those moments even more blissful and worth the hardship and the cold. After five rough days and very cold nights, I treated myself with my first motel room of the trip to let my body recover before heading to the next section ! More deserts’ vibes, crazy landscapes and cold weather to come over the next two weeks. I am so lucky and grateful to experience all of it !