I thought people in Utah were supposed to be nice

I’ve ridden my bicycle in a lot of places, and I can now say with confidence that drivers in Utah are the worst that I have encountered thus far. I have had better experiences cycling in the Middle East, a region not exactly renowned for the caliber of its drivers or (in the country I was in) it’s respect for human life.

But drivers in Utah are worse. Just - shockingly inconsiderate, reckless, selfish, and rude. And this assessment is not based on one or two isolated incidents. Drivers in Utah, across the board, are simply unwilling to deviate from their preferred path even if it would cost them nothing (no car behind them, no car in the oncoming lane, they are consistently completely unwilling to swerve even a little to give a cyclist the legally required amount of clearance).

At one point today I was on a narrow mountain road with no shoulder. There were 7 cars that came upon me at once. The first four (probably out of towners) gave me space but then an oncoming car rounded the corner so the next car could either:

• A. Slow down for half a second until the oncoming car passed and then give me a wide berth
• B. Not slow down and run me over.

This car obviously chose B. They did not slow down and honked at me insistently in a way that clearly conveyed get out of my way or I will literally kill you. I launched myself and my bicycle at the guard rail to get out of his way, and the two cars that followed him sped by. Because that all was normal.

Any time a car passed me and they didn’t endanger me, I looked at the license plate. Those cars came from all over! Nevada, Wisconsin, Florida. Anywhere but Utah.

At one point a car in front of me with Nevada plates stopped because there was a sheep in the road and the driver obviously didn’t want to run it over. An oncoming car from Utah just blared its horn and kept on trucking. I told this story to Mike and he witnessed the exact same scenario today, except it involved a cow in the road. A car with Nevada plates stopped rather than run over a cow and a car with Utah plates honked and flew by.

The whole time I was riding today I found myself wondering if vehicular manslaughter is just not a big deal in Utah. Maybe it’s more a slap-on-the-wrist kind of infraction? Maybe it’s just widely understood that the justice system would always find the (dead) cyclist to be at fault?

Unfortunately I now have to update my list.

States with people who are nice

• Wisconsin
• Utah

I have interacted with two exceptionally friendly people in Utah so far. The first person was from Arizona, and the second one ultimately tried to get me to sign up for a pyramid scheme. So.

For the non-harrowing parts of our ride: we basically climbed 5,500 feet straight up and then had a 32 mile descent. We went through Cedar Breaks National Monument. It was stunning.

Highlights

• gorgeous scenery
• not being killed

Lowlights

• constant fear of death
• insistent wind

Julie’s food

• Breakfast: oatmeal and coffee
• First Snack: Clif bar
• Second Snack: Clif bar
• Third Snack: Clif bar
• Lunch: bread and walnut butter
• Appetizer: chips and guac, pretzels
• Dinner: tacos (camp-stove cuisine)

Stats

• Total distance: 57.43 miles
• Elevation gain: 5,946 feet
• Weather: windy and dry, high of 79 degrees Fahrenheit