MRC01
Major Contributor
- Thread Starter
- #21
Yesterday I returned from this trip. My friend drove down from Boulder and I flew in from the Seattle area. Summary:
- After a delay waiting for morning overcast to lift, the route was mostly clear with fewer forest fires and less smoke than I've seen in the past 10 years.
- Two areas had TStorms I had to give a wide berth & navigate around - south-east of BYI VOR, and between KPUC and Moab. This added another hour to my trip.
- The bicycling was epic. I've done some of the toughest rides in the world, like La Ruta and OTGG. This one was even harder, one of the most beautiful yet physically challenging rides any serious cyclist can do. The challenge of 100 miles and 8000' of climb across rugged desert terrain on a fat tire mountain bike carrying the food and water you need all day because there is no support, is impossible to describe. This was a bucket-list ride that I'll never do again.
- The day after the ride, we took a scenic flight around the White Rim Trail we rode, about 2000' AGL. Absolutely stunning.
- On the flight back home, more diverting around TStoms around KPUC. Otherwise nearly CAVU the whole way, and no headwinds so I made it back with just a single fuel stop again at KGNG.
- My AI gyro died along the flight back. Vacuum pump & DG gyro are fine. I just had this AI gyro rebuilt about 500 hours ago. Not required for day VFR, so I've got it placarded inop and no more night flight until I get this fixed. The gyro dying was the excuse I was waiting for to go all-electronic AI & DG and eliminate the vac system. Either uAvionix or Garmin.