Sea-to-Sea NA Day 21 Walter’s stop suddenly appeared around the corner, one of the many on the climb. We had been climbing steadily for about 10-15 km. The clouds were a blessing, rain threatened but held off. This was already 45 km into the ride for the day. Climbing out of camp, back onto Hwy 40 and a long downhill ending at a stoplight at the end of the reservoir we had camped on. From there we climbed with only a few breaks for the next 35km to Walter’ stop. One steep section had a lot of people walking, but we made it up in our lowest gear. Ed was not able to drive the entire route for the day in the winter because the pass was closed so we had no idea of what lay ahead. Loading up with water and after a quick bite to eat we were off again. Andy H., our riding partner for the day, was able to go faster on the uphill. Marty had tagged on behind us coming up to this stop but decided to drop back shortly after we started this second part of the climb. An hour and a half longer and we were approaching, what was to be the final top of the climb at 9458 ft above sea level. When you can’t see any more trees or you can see sky through the trees you think that is the top, but this was the third or fourth time that the top had eluded us. Pumping in the lowest gear for over an hour at speeds between 7.5 and 6.2 kph, each turn brought another disappointment. It really was time to reach the top. A lot of riders had stopped to take ‘pictures’. I can’t use that excuse (?) since I have the camera mounted on the front of the bike. The top, 3.5 hours after starting out, 3700 ft above the stoplight and only 58km into the ride, was a welcome sight. I put my rain jacket on in order to keep warm on the decent. Just after starting out there was a big bank of snow just above us. The next 30 km were covered in about ½ hour down a winding road. Other riders reported having to stop for sheep on the road but we didn’t have to do that. Andy got a flat near the bottom of the main grade. An 8% slope is steep enough to need some serious braking. I played the drag brake as required to hold the speed at 65-70 or slower if a corner looked sharp. Rita could sit up straight if needed to slow the bike and I did the same in several places and even used the calliper brakes a couple of times. Maximum speed was over 72 kph but the potential was much higher. A couple of more major hills and two breaks saw us within 30 km of camp and back on Hwy 40. The after burners kicked in at that point and we rolled along at over 40 kph and up to 55, Andy hanging onto my rear wheel for a good tow. A couple of riders we passed tried to hitch on too but with no success. We are camped in the town park of Duchesne tonight; the hall next door has one shower for the males and another for the females so the line-ups were rather long. I must mention the park and service yesterday. The walk was about a km from the eating area to where the tents were set up so the trip between the two took a lot of planning. The church service was held in the dining pavilion after the evening meal was provided by a number of people from several churches. It was an enjoyable evening. Every day this week will be a long ride but one. Tomorrow is supposed to be cloudy again so that will help with the sun exposure. There is much more I could write every night but time does not permit, I’m sorry.