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

Resting in Flagstaff

As it is a rest day, 1 photo and 1 video. Sorry about the video as it is a little difficult to see through the flip while you are taking a self-portrait. Sun shining on face is distracting, but hopefully you can see it is me.

A picture of the map which is placed in the hotel each night. When you see this map you know you are at the right hotel. I you click on the photo and look closely at the black line you can see how much we pedaled this week.

The videos take a long time to decompress so by the time I return from breakfast we should be good to go.

I love California

Last night, Tom Ryan gave me a high five. The force re injured my shoulder and wrist.

One of our riders, Darrell (see below) is leaving tomorrow morning., He is riding from Los Angeles to Flagstaff. He is a neurologist. He is from Tennessee. I feel a little sorry for him as everyone is asking him questions about their ailments. Darrell told me he would like to ride parts of the tour each year. Today is his 28Th wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, Darrell's chain broke today and he could not complete all of the ride. Tonight we will go out to say good-bye to Darrell.

Last night I slept for 7 hours which is the most on this tour. Today we gathered at the hotel entrance around 7:00. Unfortunately, Hank could not ride today as he had chain problems and a new chain could not be located for him. I have heard that they have located a new chain for him and he will be able to ride on Monday.

Most of today's ride was uphill.

We started out and proceeded to ride about 13 miles. After a 1.2 mile climb we reached Sedona.
Apparently, Sedona has raised very unusual pigs.

And below is probably the reason.

After Sedona we biked to Flagstaff. This is a mostly 15 mile ride which is uphill. During this time, Harry screams "I love California". Harry - You do know we are in Arizona ? The last 2.2 miles are 4 level of switchbacks. I left my team for awhile as my bike is a little heavier and once I gain momentum I do not like to stop. Below is a video and a photo of me at the top after completing around 35 miles.

We rode another 10 miles to the hotel.

Cottonwood, AZ - Flagstaff, AZ

Total Miles 46.637

Ave. MPH 11.3

Actual riding time 4:06:051

Let Hotel 7:15

Arrive Hotel 2:20

I told many people who asked me whether I could do this ride to check after the first week. I have rode every mile so far. (Harry even made us go back to where we took the picture of the pigs as we had walked our bikes to the restaurant from the pig picture and he wanted to make sure we rode all of the miles.) My answer now is so far, so good. However, I will say that I have learned of all different body parts that I never knew existed that could be hurt besides my legs.

Tomorrow is our first rest day. We have 5 of these days. I am not sure whether I will update the blog.

Alec likes Fig Newtons !!!

Today we had a late start as we were not to leave the hotel until 9:15. For those of you who know my sleeping habits that meant I was up by 4:30. I went to the hotel and read some of the other persons on the trips blogs. Willie has a blog that Yuko enjoys reading. Yuko even posted a comment on his blog. She did not even do that for me. In honor of that, I offer a picture of Willie and I after we completed the 7023 ascent to Mingus

Now to the beginning of the trip. We left the hotel and after about 6 miles we reached another false flat. It was about 7.3 miles. We stopped a little before completing the flats and started eating our SAG snacks. I offered Alec one of my fig newtons and he accepted(much to my chagrin as I wanted to eat both). A breakthrough as Alec usually does not eat much at the SAG. After that he raced up the hill. To give you an idea of the hill we climbed, below are Harry and Karen climbing that hill that I took at around 6,600 feet.

We then continued to the top which was at the 25 mile point of our ride (same place as picture of Willie and I above).

After that it was mostly downhill and bumpy. As I do not like going fast on downhills I went around 20MPH. Jack R must have passed me going at least 30 MPH. We all continued to the cit of Jerome which was at the 34mile mark. Another bicyclist from Florida named Nancy joined us for lunch. See if you can guess what I ate:

After lunch we bicycled another 5 miles downhill and then continued into the hotel.

Prescott, AZ - Cottonwood, AZ
Total miles 43.929

Ave. MPH 12.9

Actual bike time 3:22:22

Left hotel: 9:15

Arrive hotel: 3:40

Tomorrow is supposed to be a long uphill ride.

Power of Gu

Last night I hurt my shoulder and wrist some as I removed the tire and tube from the bike.I found Rick this morning and he was gracious enough to help me putting on the tire and the tube.

Each day the flat tire team meets at the start and leave the hotel together.

Today was mostly uphill. We bicycled around 5 miles and then for the next 7.3 miles we climbed. It started out as a false flat. Although it looks like you are on flat ground when you look behind you you can see that you are climbing. When I was training , I sometimes biked on Ventura Blvd. I noticed when I went east I was going downhill, but when I was going West it seemed flat. It was similar to that feeling. That continued for awhile until we started a climb. My wide tires enabled me to climb fairly well. That took us into the SAG stop at around mile 24.

Mile 24 to 37 had some small uphills and downhills. It was fun and not too strenuous.

Al Newman from Michigan (Ronda - he is a Wolverine) joined our group today. Al was not feeling well yesterday and was taken to the hospital. Everything checked out fine and Al was at it today. He was no worse for the wear and did well.

Miles 37 - 43 were false flats. There was a "corner" grocery store where we purchased some liquids and sat on the bench outside. We knew that the next 15 miles would be mostly climbing and wanted to rest.

During our rest stop I was speaking with Mack who works with CrossRoads. I was telling him how when I took GU (carbohydrate supplement) my stomach did not feel too good and I crashed as the GU wore off. Mack told me that the benefit is to take it about 5 minutes before you will start an climb. I took the Gu before we started the ascent and I left the rest of the group behind. I kept on looking back, but no one was there. The Power of GU:

After I waited at the 4 mile mark for the rest of the group. There was one more relatively steep climb. Below is a picture after completing that climb.

At around mike 53 we found the elevation.

At around mile 57 we stopped in at a local bike shop. As I needed a tube, I purchased one just in case.

We made it back to the hotel and there were no flats in the group !!!!

Another surprise awaited as we do not leave the hotel until 9:15 tomorrow. Hopefully I can sleep until 7:00.

For anyone posting comments, thanks for your interest. I may not answer, but I am reading them.

Alec mentioned how Burger King helped him through the day yesterday. After our ride I went to Jack ion the Box for the first time in 20 years. It will be the last time.

Wickenburg, AZ - Prescott, AZ

Total Miles 59.746

Ave. MPH 12.2

Actual riding time 4:54:11

Left hotel: 7:15

Arrive hotel: 2:20

The Trouble with Harry

The flat tire team had only 3 flat tires. All 3 were with Harry's tires. One before he started out. One during the first SAG at 32 miles and the last less than 500 yards from the hotel.

I have encountered a new problem - Hot foot. My foot just gets hot. At each SAG I pour water over my shoes and this solves it. My shoulder and wrist are improving each day.

Alec (sorry I referred to him as Alex yesterday) has discovered the power of Burger King. He had it today and bicycled very strongly.

Harry took us out at a very slow pace today as there were some slight uphills of 7 and 9.9 miles. Not that difficult at that pace.

We crossed our first state today.




At mile 55 we passed an interesting sign (read into it what you may)

At the 66th mile SAG stop we re hydrated and probably averaged 19 miles per hour for the next 23 miles. We stopped at the last SAG stop at mile 89 and then continued on to the hotel in Wickenburg (probably spelled that wrong).

There were two people that were taken for IVs at the hospital yesterday, Fred and Chris. Chris rode today and Fred took the day off. They are both fine. Apparently, Chris took too many electrolytes and Fred too little.


Blythe, CA - Wickenburg, AZ
Total miles`115.63 (my first back to back centuries)
Ave. MPH 14.3
Actual time rode 8:04:31
Left hotel 7:15
Arrive hotel 5:40

Tomorrow we bicycle around 60 miles. Apparently, all uphill.

P.S. I got a slow leak in my front tire. I fixed the leak and will deal with the rest tomorrow morning.

The Stick and the Ace Bandage

Now the truth can be told. When I got back to the hotel after my accident I could not move my wrist and could not move my arm above my shoulder. I thought my trip had ended before it began. Peter gave me some ibuprofen to ease the swelling. He also brought back some ice and I iced my shoulder while I laying in the bathtub. I went out to dinner with Glenn and his boyfriend, Mark.

I have known Glenn since 1987 when we worked in internal audit. In Japan, there is a go-between person who introduces prospective person to each other. I always say that Glenn was that person. When I asked Yuko out, she spoke to Glenn in Japan. Both claim this story is totally made up in my mind and it probably is, but it is a nice story.

Glenn lives in Palm Springs now and he is doing well. A little hot this time of the year. He says hello to Yuko.

At dinner, Mark and I discussed how to make me heal better. He suggested icing for my shoulder every few hours and I asked him if we could get a good ace bandage that immobilized my wrist. After dinner we went to Kmart and he found a good ace bandage. I put it on and almost immediately I felt better. The next issue to solve was my shoulder. I iced at 9:00 and woke up a little before 12:00 and got some more ice for my shoulder. I slept until 3:30 and then I got the stick. I massaged my shoulder for 2 hours. By the time that breakfast started I was able to ride without pain.

Below are the hero's of the day, the stick and the ace bandage. I could ride !!!!

Today we started on an uphill climb of 11.3 miles. It was a relatively flat climb, but it was hot. At about the 20 mile mark I met up with the flat tire team (minus champ). Harry, Karen and Alex. Harry is from Liverpool and I can honestly say that I do not understand half of what he says. He is a very considerate rider. He always checks to make sure that all the riders are within range and will slow up to make sure we stick together. Karen is the navigator and makes sure that we are going in the right direction. Alex did hardly no training, but he is a very strong rider.

The desert is very hot and I drank allot of fluids and some of the fizz drink. It worked well. I kept very hydrated and Peter loaned me a water bottle that I used to pour water over my head.

The group of people are good riders and as you exit a SAG you see other riders entering all exit.

Barbie joined us at the SAG and I asked her if her ride on the back tire was a little bumpy. She said no and at mile 87 I heard Alex from behind say flat tire. We fixed (primarily Alex and Harry). However, when we put the new tube and put air in it I got another flat. We then put another tube in and my problem was fixed. Alec went back to his bike and his back tire was flat. We fixed that tire and Rick and Tracy from Crossroads came back and pumped Alec's tire with air. We continued on our way and at mile 95, Karen got a front flat tire. We fixed that and continued back to the hotel. Below is a picture of us at the hotel after completing our ride:

Indio to Blythe

Total miles 100.53

MPH 15.6

Actual ride time 6:26:22

Tomorrow we ride around 115 miles.