Not Hot, but Windy

Coco service is slow. Perhaps it is a fine place to eat, but it did not open until 6:30. Barbie, Harry, Tom, George and as usual Mike who was running late decided to eat there. We ordered and then had to eat so fast that most of our food was uneaten.

Tracy called us and told us that it was our second work week. I told her she meant vacation week. Biking cross country is a different type of work than my normal Monday to Friday. Both are rewarding and fun in different ways. The constant is the people that you work with that make it fun and enjoyable.

After breakfast, our group started out from Flagstaff.

The wind was behind us and with the day off, we averaged 19 mph an hour. It was so good that Mike J flew by us. Mike - The SAG team congratulates you for picking up the pace. As I noted above, Coco service is slow and as such Harry could not properly warm up. His leg started to hurt him. At the SAG stop at around 41 miles, Tom D who is both riding and working with Cross Roads until Abilene, KS warned everyone to check their tires for potential steel threads from truck tires. Sure enough Willie and Chris got flats at the SAG stop. Me, I think the Cross Road folks threw them out to increase their tube sales.

We arrived at Winslow, AZ (there is that Eagles song about that corner). Here is that corner:


We decided to eat lunch in town. However, prior to eating lunch, Alec had a flat tire. It was fixed and we went to eat. We were the only persons in the tour that decided to do that. We are trying to take a lot of pictures and meet the locals by going to places that they hang out. It makes it a lot more enjoyable that way.

Apparently, one of the Eagles (people tell me Don Henley) is a bicyclist as well.

After lunch we we started on our way to the next SAG which was about 75 miles into the ride. Alec got another flat. When he inserted the CO2 cartridge the tube exploded. He borrowed another tube from Harry and we found the culprit. A small metal wire which was not detectable. We removed it and continued on our way to the SAG. At the SAG we met a girl named Isobel whose parents work at the store at the SAG. She has been coming out to meet the bike riders for many years. Harry did one of the nicest things I have seen in awhile. He gave her $20 to spend on what she wanted to do.

We then continued back on I-40. One thing that I have not mentioned is the amount of Interstates in California (I-10) and Arizona we have biked. There are a lot of debris (truck tires, bolts) on the freeway which cause a lot of flats. During our 15 minute route rap, Tracy highlighted that the afternoons were hot and windy. I do not know about hot, but it was definitely windy. Alec has nicknamed me buck forty (my weight). During the 15 miles of bicycling I turned to Alec and told him that buck forty is working against me in this wind as I was being blown to the left, We tried to stay together to block the wind, but it was pretty difficult riding. Some people were saying the wind was blowing 35 MPH, but I have no idea.

We finally made it to the hotel. Tracy had told us that 95 miles is considered a century by some bicycle organization, but myself, Harry and Karen decided (mostly at Harry's suggestion) to continue to bike until we reached a true century.

Flagstaff, AZ - Holbrook, AZ
Total Miles 100.34
Ave MPH 15,9
Actual bicycle time 6:19:32
Left hotel 7:23
Arrive hotel 4:20