Before today, I'd never heard of the Tour of Utah. Apparently, it's a grueling race of nearly six hundred miles across Southern Utah; today's stretch was a mere 130 miles, from Panguitch to Torrey. That would be challenging enough on a flat plain, but there is some truly aggressive terrain in the Utah desert. One resident told me the bikers would gain 10,000 feet over the course of the day - so not only is it a long bike ride in the hot desert sun, it's an uphill bike ride. Needless to say, it's professionals only.
I brought my camera with me, thinking I'd be able to get a couple of decent shots as the athletes pedaled by. As a series of cars that preceded the bicyclists drove by, I tried to get my camera calibrated and ready to go. When the first pack of cyclists appeared, I was ready and immediately started taking pictures, but I had to stop and fiddle with the zoom because I wasn't close enough. The pack flew by, and all I had for them was 3-4 pictures, none of which were decent. I sighed and prepared to wait for the next group - but there wasn't one. To my surprise, all of the riders were bundled into a single enormous group. I had expected them to be spread out, maybe in clumps of 3-4 at a time. Nope. They were already gone.
So with a sigh, I stuck my camera back in my pocket and wandered home, buying some chicken sandwiches from a street vendor on my way.
The pack on its way into town!
