Rambler

Southern Utah Self-Supported Bicycle Tour - Sept. 6-13, 2008
by Cheryl Soshnik
With the cost of gasoline these days, and with the push to environmentally “go green”, bicycling and bicyle
touring is becoming more and more popular. I guess the movement is finally catching up with me, as I have
been going on self-supported bicycle tours since the early 1970’s! I have toured in the USA, Canada, France,
Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, and this upcoming winter I will be spending 6 weeks biking and tramping in
Tasmania!
With bike touring increasing in popularity, I organized a week-long bike tour through Southern Utah this fall.
I opened it to members of both the Wasatch Mountain Club and the Bonneville Cycling Club and received an
overwhelming response from both veteran world tourers as well as first participants.
Our circular route began and ended in Torrey, UT, near Capitol Reef NP. We biked close to 300 miles, touring
through Fish Lake, Otter Creek SP, Bryce Canyon NP, Kodachrome Basin SP, Escalante Petrified Forest SP, Calf
Creek Recreation Area, the Burr Trail, and finally up and over Boulder Mountain to get back to our cars in
Torrey.
We had a fantastic time, and I am so very proud of the WMC members who made the journey with me: Carrie
Clark, Chris Winter, Tom Walsh, Barb Hanson, Mark McKenzie (newbie to touring but methinks he’s hooked),
Janice Tolhurst, Robert Turner, and Zig Sondelski.
If anyone is interested in bicycle touring, please let me know...we have formed a loose-knit organization called
the Utah Bicycle Touring Society, made up of anyone in Utah interested in bike touring, and we can get you
started. For the last two years, we have done weekend self-supported rides to Jordanelle State Park, and these
are great “break-in” rides for those new to bike touring. In 2009, we hope to organize several weekend and
week-long bike tours. Come join in the fun!
Setting up our final camp along the Burr Trail
~Photo by Robert Turner
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