Bryce Canyon National Park, UT to Zion National Park, UT — 100.3 mi, 4402 ft
Preface
Like many popular stories, the ending of this one, as evidenced by the title, is arguably the most interesting. I urge you, my dearest gentle readers, to avoid skipping to the end so as to experience a full and faithful retelling of the day and to be immersed in the bizarre events as sincerely as we were. Especially on days like this one and in its aftermath, I want to thank all of our supporters and the powers that be for keeping our team safe, happy, and on the road.
Chapter 1: Trouble is Brewing
Our team has quite the attachment to “Cars,” a genius franchise whose arid Arizona setting closely resembles the Utah scenes we rode by this week. So when Nate turned on Cars 2 the night before in his effort to spend some of his pre-driver day rest with his family, the event quickly turned into an “everyone except Drew watches Cars 2.” As Nate already mentioned, the later bedtime combined with some medical discussions in the group led to the team agreeing to move wakeup time to 7 am. Unfortunately, at this time, Drew was already asleep and missed the memo.
In the morning, I woke up at 7 am to a faint piano melody and a fully dressed and ready Drew. He was confused as to why he had not been told about the wakeup change, as well as the negative implications of the decision considering that a storm was supposed to cross the exact path we were riding on later in the day. Since he was already ready, he decided to do a quick breakfast (AKA shoveling half of the leftover birthday cake into his mouth) and get started on the ride. Apologies again, Drew, for the miscommunication.
Chapter 2: Gaining Momentum
For the rest of us, the morning continued like usual, albeit extra sad as we prepared to say our supposed goodbyes to the Mustafa family (hint: they showed up again at the first rest stop, so we didn’t have to miss them for too long!). We ate delicious bagels with cream cheese, finished up the cut watermelon, and packed our stuff in the car. Nunu decided that she would join Nate on his driver day due to continued medical issues from the night before, and the rest of us lamented about the century that was about to ensue.
The biggest change in the morning routine for me personally was the trauma that I carried from getting pepper spray in my mouth the night before. When I finished breakfast and checked on my pepper-sprayed bag in the washer after its SECOND wash cycle, I could still see pepper spray residue covering the inner lining, forcing me to handwash it for a second time. The taste of the pepper spray from the night before was so terrible and long lasting that I suddenly was painfully aware of everywhere I put my hands, and wanted to make sure I didn’t get it in my mouth again, or worse, in my eyes. In this vein, I asked Nunu to apply sunblock to my face, which ended up being an extremely cute and loving experience. My score: 1, life’s score: 0. With all of us ready, the four remaining bikers (Carmen, Aarushi, Caroline, and I) said our final goodbyes and set out on our adventure.
Only a few miles in, we were greeted by one of the most fantastic symbols known to biker-kind.
This segment quite literally flew by, feeling almost like a well-oiled roller coaster ride for bikes accompanied by gorgeous views. I felt like some elite biking squadron with the four of us racing through the downhill turns and biking through beautiful combinations of forests and canyons.
Chapter 3: Trinkets and Rocks and Storms
I have to say, this day’s rest stop line up may have been one of the best so far. Our first rest stop came at the end of our beautiful downhill, and it was a cute shop with FREE COFFEE (?!?!?!?!) and a bunch of awesome trinkets, as well as the MUSTAFA FAMILY AGAIN! Personally, I was far more excited to see the Mustafas again than to have the free coffee, considering it was plain and black, and I prefer my coffee as “lots of milk and sugar with a little bit of coffee.” To each their own!
Though I had been successful at avoiding my pepper-spray hands thus far, this rest stop tried to take me out through a new method. An unsuccessful water drinking and laughing combination led to a slightly comical scene of me choking on water. My score: 1, life’s score: 1.
After Nunu performed some amazing sunblock application to my face, our fantastic four squad said goodbye, rolled out, and headed to the next rest stop, which was a well-placed gas station. At this stop, our team began to uncover the concept of Caroline-speak. Caroline is one of the most loving and calm members of our team. She is impeccable with her words, and as such, we have developed a dictionary to translate some of her phrases.
Caroline says: “Guys, wait, let me have a sip of my matcha mango drink before I share it”
Translation: “SHUT THE FU** UP YOU GREEDY BIT**** AND LET ME HAVE A SIP FIRST”
Caroline says: “Guys, please, for real, start to get ready; we need to leave in 5 minutes”
Translation: “CAN YOU LOCK THE FU** IN AND GET READY YOU SLOW MOTHERFUC****”
It’s a very helpful and accurate dictionary, if I may say so myself!
We also quickly learned of the impending doom and danger of the storm that was supposed to roll through the area, as well as the next awesome rest stop of the ROCK STOP that we critically had to reach. I heard whispers that the Rock Stop was in fact shaped like a rock, and did in fact have “lots of milk and sugar with a little bit of coffee.” There was nothing that could stand in the way of me and this Rock Stop.
At least that’s what I thought… until moments after we began biking, we heard huge crashes of thunder and lightning strike in the sky around our route. The four of us were on a downhill from the gas station, with no foreseeable structures to shelter us from the storm. Instead, we decided that our best course of action was to ditch our bikes near the road and huddle under a bush nearby, listening to Aarushi’s retelling of one of the Heroes of Olympus books to calm our nerves.
In a few minutes, we noticed that most of the dark clouds had moved past our location and decided that the benefits of sitting at the Rock Stop rather than the side of the road heavily outweighed the minimal risks remaining of being hit by lightning.
When we arrived at the Rock Stop, it was everything I could have imagined and more! There were lots of rocks, trinkets, donuts, coffee, cats, goats, AND BIRRIA TACOS!! You heard me right. I was so excited to split my tacos with Carmen and to have my 15,348th “lots of milk and sugar with a little bit of coffee.” Caroline, Carmen, and I spent some time relaxing and eating random things to wait out the next wave of the incoming storm. Aarushi, Nunu, and Nate fell deep into their respective phone conversations. Drew, as we remember from earlier this morning, was already many miles ahead in the supposed “storm.”
Chapter 4: Yes Shirt, Yes Shoes, No Service
At some point, we realized that the storm was not really coming, and that our group should get moving, especially since Caroline’s family was going to be meeting us that evening and we still had 50 miles left in our day. A call and text from Drew that he had already passed the next rest stop and that there were some “lowkey tough trails” coming up reinforced a slight sense of urgency. We began the uphill towards the next rest stop, motivated only by the promise of a beautiful downhill for the last 20 miles and a yummy dinner of Chinese food cooked by Caroline’s grandfather!
With no great shock, at this point life tried to come for me again. As we made one of the big ascents, I felt my stomach begin to rumble, and a feeling of nausea overcame me. I called back to Aarushi and let her know that I needed a break and then proceeded to gag on the side of the road, unsure of what was going on with my body.
Throughout our entire trip, I have felt like there were days when I win, and days that life definitely wins. Days when I feel on top of the world, elated, and excited to bike. Days where I cry, struggle, feel exhausted, or simply don’t want to bike anymore. Honestly, it is very rare that I don’t experience both dichotomies in the same day. Bent over on the side of the road, with no service to call Nate and Nunu, I realized that the score had updated again. My score: 1, life’s score: 2.
Eventually, I decided that the only reasonable course of action was to get back on the bike, so Aarushi and I restarted our ascent. We passed by a field of bison and an American flag, which made me feel quite patriotic (I think Spokes has made me a minimum of 5x more patriotic lol).
As I was trying to take a photo of the bison, I also saw a bar of service finally appear on my phone, with an incoming WhatsApp call from Nunu. She informed us that they had left a package of supplies for Drew near the 83-mile mark at the end of the trail that he was currently on and were now returning to our upcoming rest stop pre-trail at mile 70.
At the rest stop, we made quick time, remarking that Nunu had officially overtaken Nate’s driver day, pumping my stomach with some Pepto-Bismol, and lamenting about our inefficient Annual National Park Pass. The pass requires the holder to be in the car upon entry, but considering that Nate and Nunu did not have Aarushi with them, they had to buy another $25 entry. RIP. At least we get to support the parks!
Chapter 5: Unbeaten Path vs Shuttling
When our squad of fantastic four reached the beginning of the trail that Drew was on, we miraculously regained service for a brief moment, just to see a text that read “I recommend rerouting” followed by “this sh** is taking forever.”
For those who know Drew, these words are seriously unheard of. He is both a skilled mountain biker (not as good as Carmen :P) and a generally adventure-seeking person, so when Drew said he recommended rerouting, red flags began to raise in my head.
The four of us tried to gain information on the situation, repeatedly calling and texting Nunu, Nate, and Drew on our single bar of service to understand what the best course of action was. Unfortunately, though we had one bar of service, they had none, so our questions remained unanswered.
Aarushi and Carmen also mentioned that the trail we were considering entering was not part of last year’s route. The 2025 team went on the main road through Zion instead and used the car to shuttle the team through a tunnel section that was closed off to bikes. Unfortunately, the 2025 blog from this same Bryce Canyon -> Zion day was missing, so Aarushi and Carmen didn’t have any further information on why last year’s team decided to shuttle. The two of them had made the decision to reroute us onto this trail so that we could avoid shuttling, but we hypothetically could backtrack and attempt to shuttle if we felt the trail option was not safe.
With slight desperation and fear beginning to trickle into our mindset, we decided to ask the nearby lodge for their opinion on this trail and hopefully connect to their Wi-Fi. As soon as we showed them the trail we were considering taking, the outdoor guides began to resoundingly tell us about how dangerous the trail was, how it turned into a hiking trail that was impossible for a bike to tackle, and how parts of it had recently been completely closed, as demarcated on the route itself. We knew that turning back was inevitable and began to worry about the fate of our teammate, Drew, who was now possibly stuck on this trail and had sent no new messages.
Though we now had service, Nate and Nunu still did not, so Caroline had the genius idea of calling her father, Forest, who was at the Airbnb. To our great luck, he had brought his bike rack on his minivan and had a great attitude about coming to rescue us and shuttling us across the tunnel.
Chapter 6: Ignorance Is… Bliss?
For the next half hour, the four of us got to experience a beautiful, majestic moment, zooming through the center of Zion on the way to the tunnel. The views were incredibly breathtaking, and we tried to convince ourselves that Nate and Nunu were already at the next rest stop or even all the way at the Airbnb with Drew, simply not able to communicate with us due to a lack of service.
We waited at the entrance of the tunnel for a bit until finally meeting up with Forest. He informed us that Caroline’s brother, Brady, had identified Nate and Nunu at a lookout on the other side of the tunnel “by their hair and hats,” but he had no idea what the status of Drew was.
After our efficient tunnel shuttle situation, Forest dropped the four of us off at the same lookout where they had previously spotted Nate and Nunu. Almost immediately, we received a call from Nunu that they somehow had picked up Drew? And they were on the way to the Airbnb? It was a relatively brief and ominous call, but we were relieved to hear that Drew had at least made it to the end of the trail safely. With peaceful minds, the four of us finished an incredibly speedy and gorgeous ride through the rest of Zion and the town nearby. For literally the first time in forever, I was at the front of the group, pushing the pace. I have to say, it was actually quite enjoyable, though I don’t foresee it happening again.
As we pulled up to the house, we were met in the doorway by a showered and relatively positive Drew, who exclaimed, “Guys! Have you seen my bike??” We looked around, expecting to see his bike either scraped up or covered in mud, when he deadpanned, “Yeah, you won’t find it; it’s at the bottom of a cliff.”
Chapter 7: Trail Closed, No Trespassing, $5000 Fine
While the four of us bikers had been enjoying Zion, Drew was on a completely different type of adventure. The trail he had begun to descend on first turned into a tough mountain biking trail, and then into a hiking trail that was impossible to descend using a bicycle.
After a few miles of walking his bike, the trail suddenly displayed a huge “Trail Closed, No Trespassing” sign. Having already spent 2 hours descending the trail, and with nightfall rapidly approaching, Drew was stuck between attempting to hike back uphill with his bicycle or completing the remaining mile of the downhill trail. He decided to press forward, moving with relative success until he came across a final set of switchbacks which were adorned with signs forbidding entry. The signs threatened a $5,000 fine and warned of recent trail collapses, but Drew saw no option other than pushing forward if he wanted to safely get off of the mountain.
Suddenly, with his bike on the outside of the damaged switchbacks, Drew felt the rocks below the bike give out, and a rockslide began under his feet. Escaping by a hair’s breadth, Drew was left at the edge of the cliff, watching his beloved bike tumble down out of reach with the rockslide.
For two hours after this, Drew precariously sat on the edge of the cliff, crying, praying, reflecting on his life, and seriously thinking about his own mortality. He knew that he had no option but to continue downwards, at risk of being stuck on the rock face in the dark. Eventually, Drew used the self-proclaimed “butt scootch” method to wiggle down the steep rock face, constantly fearing for his life and simply having faith that he would make it down.
When he got to the bottom, he realized that he was right next to one of the shuttle stops, and akin to a madman with twigs and mud caked across his hair and body, he desperately climbed on the next shuttle. He still had no contact with any of the team, so as any logical person recently faced with death, he jumped off of the shuttle when he heard that cheeseburgers were available at the lodge.
At this same time, Nunu and Nate were on the aforementioned lookout when they realized that over 4 hours had passed since they placed Drew’s supply drop at the end of the trail, and it was still untouched. They began to panic and tried to drive to where they thought he would be, until they were blocked by pesky “reservation and shuttle bus only” gates. This, however, did not deter the power of friendship, as they resolved the problem by explaining the situation and begging the security guard for the code.
By some miracle, Nate and Nunu pulled into the lodge just as Drew was finishing his cheeseburger, and he spotted the unmistakable orange camper top of our car. Drew ran to the car, extremely shaken up but beyond relieved to be reunited with Nate and Nunu.
Chapter 8: Safe and Reunited
After hearing Drew’s story and realizing how differently our day could have ended, our team was hit with a wave of emotion. Aarushi and Carmen expressed the responsibility they felt for making a route that put Drew in a dangerous situation, even though he did not blame them, and the team agreed that there were many factors that contributed to the day’s events. Some of our warmest hugs and silent tears were exchanged as our team experienced the gratitude of continuing as a team of 7, rather than a team of 6.
As it always does, dinner helped lift our team’s spirits, and Drew got to fill in some of the more intricate details of his adventure and emotions. Caroline’s grandfather made the traditional dishes of egg and tomato stir fry, hua juan (flower rolls with pepper corns), beef and potato stew, bone soup, cucumber salad, and string beans.
Our team discussed the plan for acquiring a new bicycle and gear, which involved some discussions of possible trips to Carson City, Salt Lake City, or even Las Vegas. We also began an operation to fundraise enough money to cover the unexpected costs. I guess you’ll have to read the next blog to find out what new city the team unlocked!
Eventually, overcome by mixed feelings of relief, consciousness of our mortality, and gratitude in our hearts, we all hit the hay, ready to keep on keeping on with the next day of Spokes.
With love and gratitude to the universe for keeping us safe,
Tatiana ❤
MIT Spokes 2026 
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