One of the reasons I stopped in Kanab was that a fellow, Rick, who I met at Bryce Canyon lives there. I called him after I got in yesterday and left a message, but he didn't get it. This morning, I rode through town looking for breakfast and supplies for today's trip. The only thing open at 7 AM on Sunday was the grocery store - Supplies! As I rode back from the grocery store at 7:30, I saw a place that was serving breakfast. I parked my bike, went in, and was immediately surrounded by a large group of Brits. This motel had a tour group staying there and they were all eating at 7:30. After I told the staff that I wasn't part of the tour group, they wanted to serve me a complimentary breakfast. Then I told them I wasn't staying at that motel either <grin> and they were still gracious and quick about getting me breakfast!

As I rode back to the cheaper - too cheap in this instance - motel where I was staying, someone called out to me. It was Rick, out on his morning ride! We rode on to my motel and visited while I packed. Rick is just getting into bicycling at 60, but he seems well on his way to a serious addiction. A good guy.

It is easy heading south to Arizona from Kanab because you are heading downhill. Unfortunately, once you get to Fredonia, about six miles south of Kanab, 89A turns east and starts to climb towards the Kaibab Plateau. I was reasonably lucky today in that the wind was from the north at five mph or so and thus made a good cooling wind as I climbed. Fredonia is at about 4500 feet.You climb about 2000 feet in the next 15 miles getting to the edge of the Plateau, at about 6000 feet. Then 89A climbs steeply (8%?) to 7000 feet. Then, in the last nine miles riding across the Plateau, you climb an additional 1000 feet for a total of well over 3500 feet .

The view ahead isn't very pretty when you are riding towards the Plateau, but the view to the north and to the west is quite nice. You can see Vermillion and White Cliffs off in the distance. There is a Viewpoint at 6700 feet on the way up the Kaibab Plareau from which you can see Bryce Canyon as well as the various other 'Cliffs" which are the eroded edges of plateaus. The view from the road, looking back, as you climb is just as good as the view from the viewpoint.

The weather, which was fine on the plain, looked bad on the Plateau. The bad weather was good when I was climbing the steep section, since it kept me cool, but I was worried that I would end up riding in the rain when I got to the top. I didn't, although I did ride on some wet roads. Instead of rain, I found ten miles of very hilly riding as I crossed the Plateau from west to east. I was quite tired when I finally reached Jacobs Lake about an hour after I reached the 'top' of the Plateau. Then it started to rain. I decided that I would stay at Jacobs Lake Inn for two nights, if they had a room for me, and ride, unloaded, to North Rim tomorrow. It was kind of a pain dealing with Jacobs Lake Inn - they do not have their act together - but, eventually, I got a room for two nights and a decent lunch. I retired to my room (half a cabin, actually) to rest, clean up, and work on web pages. After working for a couple of hours, I took a nap from five to 7:30 (!) and then worked till 9:30 when I went to bed. and slept soundly till 8 AM the next morning!