Roger and I registered for the Watchman 100 bicycle ride a few weeks before the September 27th event. The website says that the 100 mile ride takes place "in Southwestern Utah where the sun shines more than 300 days a year." As the weekend neared, it became clear that it was going to be one of those other 65 days. I made the case that we shouldn't even bother heading to St. George on Friday night, but we had already paid for the registration and the hotel. It was also possible that the weather wouldn't be as bad as the forecast. After a very late departure from Salt Lake and sleeping through the 5 am alarm in St. George, we made our way to the start line in Springdale as flashes of lightning lit up the western sky. "Look at the radar!" I kept thinking. Why was no one concerned? I decided I definitely wasn't going to ride. But then I decided to ride, grumbling my way to the start line.
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How did I get talked into this?
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The first 15 miles were lovely as we passed through Rockville and Virgin. The sun was out, lighting up the surrounding sandstone cliffs, and providing a dramatic contrast to the black clouds approaching us from the west. As we descended into LaVerkin, the storm let loose with uncomfortably close lightning strikes, gusty winds, and torrents of rain. Being outside, in the open, during a lightning storm is my least favorite activity in the world. We took shelter for about 30 minutes against a church building, then resumed riding through puddles and rain showers as the worst of the storm subsided. We had planned to ride the 100 mile route, but the constant rain and occasional sheltering from lightning slowed us down significantly. It also seemed like most people had abandoned the ride. We finally decided to ride the 70 mile route and made our way back to Zion. By the time we returned to Springdale, we were done. The ride organizers had great food and hot coffee for the people who endured the ride, some even completing the 100 miles!
Roger and I decided to walk up the canyon to check out the flooding that forced the closure of all roads in the park for the afternoon. Zion Canyon was wet and moody, and the Virgin River was raging out of its banks in a few places.
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| Virgin River flooding |
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| Virgin River flooding |
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| Zion Canyon in the rain |
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| Zion Canyon in the rain |
The sun was out on Sunday morning, so we decided to go for a hike before returning to Salt Lake. We walked around Kayenta Art Village for a bit and then headed up nearby Hellhole Canyon, a gorgeous wash with a terrible name.
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| Hellhole Canyon near Kayenta |
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| Hellhole Canyon near Kayenta |
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| Red Mountain |
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| Patterns in the wash from a recent flood |
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| Red Mountain Wilderness |
Despite the washout, I am looking forward to riding the Watchman100 again. It was a beautiful route with enough elevation change to make it a challenge. Hopefully the ride will take place on one of those 300 sunny days next year.
