We woke up early, ready to explore the Grand Canyon some more. Though we had already seen a lot the day before, we had concentrated our walking and dinining in a relatively small area of this fantastic place. With our gear secured in the hotel room we were able to ride our bikes out to the canyon without having to take everything that we owned with us. With our camera in hand we set out into the cold morning. The downhill blast from our hotel room to the first outlook left us somewhat frozen, but we forgot all about that once we reached the edge. The sun was ascending and beaming through a haze that filled the canyon. Though the sky was not clear, the canyon was breathtaking.
After the first outlook we continued along the Southern rim heading west towards Hermit's Rest. The road was open only to the free Grand Canyon shuttle buses and to cyclists. We did not even have a single bus pass us, and the road was exceptionally quiet as it wound along the edges of the canyon. We would come around a corner or look through the trees and catch truly stunning views of what we were riding so close to!
Emily at Hopi Point:
The road we were on is paralleled by a walking and hiking trail. For parts of this ride we were able to ride our bikes on it as well. We were both excited to see this sign:
After over eight miles of biking along the rim of the Grand Canyon we arrived at Hermit's Point, and the end of the road. We enjoyed a cup of coffee and the scenery before heading back.
On our way back to the hotel we took full advantage of our "light" bikes. We took the opportunity to really cruise through the hills, curves, and descents during our return trip. It was exhilerating and a lot of fun for both of us. Though we had been doing a lot more biking than normal, it felt good to bike like this!
We made it back to the hotel, cleaned up, extended our checkout by an hour, and waited for the tour that would take us into Sedona later that day.
Location:Grand Canyon, AZ
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