Bike riding the rim of the Grand Canyon

We had a wonderful breakfast together then parted ways, with Patty and Alan headed for a photo-taking day, and Ned and I ready to bike the rim of the Grand Canyon. We did a quick lap of the Visitor's Center, asked the ranger some questions and then headed out for our adventure. We decided to take the bus to the first stop on the Hermit Road rather than tackling the 6% grade. It was an absolutely gorgeous day in the mid 70s and perfect for a bike ride. To say that it was amazing is quite simply an understatement. It was hard for me to wrap my brain around the endless expanse and deep chasms. To continuously bike alongside this view for over 10 miles is an experience I'll never forget. In addition to the over the top views, we also really enjoyed meeting all the international visitors along the way. One of our favorite families was this sweet young couple from Quebec with their 9 month old baby. We had so much fun exchanging stories of how much we enjoyed visiting their city and hearing about their time experiencing the wild west. At every stop along the ride we were greeted with Italian, French, German and Chinese. How wonderful to share this common experience regardless of our nationality. It's days like these that you really do feel like we are all one sharing in nature's beauty. We met up with Alan and Patty at Bright Angel Lodge in the late afternoon and decided to have an upscale dinner at one of the myriad of lodges. We settled upon El Tovar, the grand old lodge on the rim. We wanted to make sure to have dinner over in time for the sunset over the canyon. I'm whipping off this quick blog waiting for the sun to set, with my belly full of salmon, exhausted from a good bike and fully appreciating how blessed I am. Click here for pics Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:The Grand Canyon, Az