July 11 - the long day. (400 miles)

 It was going to be hot in Salt Lake City so if I was going to do 400 miles then it had to be early to beat the heat.  I got up at 4:30 am and was on the road by 5:00 am.  It was a beautiful morning.  Still dark with a 3/4 moon and clear skies.  It was also 65 degrees!  Perfect.  Once down the road it dropped to 61 degrees but still very nice.  There was little traffic and a totally relaxing ride.  At 6 o’clock the golden sunrise was peaking over the mountains or plains and I could see well down the road to watch for potholes and animals.  You couldn’t ask for a better setting to ride in at the right temperature.  It stayed in the 60’s for 4 of my 6 hours on the road with 1 hour of breaks for breakfast and lunch.  It started to heat up to the upper 80’s as I approached Salt Lake and the traffic became much more crowded.  I arrived right on time at 12:08 and it was great to be back at Ray and Shauna’s house.  I was going to leave on Saturday but decided to take a rest day and leave Sunday morning.