Milestones

Miles Ridden Today - 108.1   Average Miles Per Hour - 13.00

Today was a day full of many milestones in our Ride Across America and a day in the saddle that I will not soon forget!  One of the biggest things that happened was I rode the most mileage in a single day that I have ever ridden in my life - 109 miles!  But more on that in a bit.

I awoke this morning at 4:00 (actually I rolled out of bed at 4:00, I was actually awake at 3:30) and dressed and took care of my bike and equipment issues as quietly as I could.  Knowing this was going to be a long day (and hot) I wanted to get out as soon as I could.

Since we were staying at a Super 8 (by the way, the NICEST that we've EVER stayed in so far) I availed myself of the free breakfast and loaded up on carbs.  I've gone from someone who virtually NEVER ate breakfast to someone who now eats a bowl of oatmeal, three cups of coffee, an English muffin, two glasses of orange juice and some fruit before heading out.  I think the poor guy on desk duty was left in a state of shock but I knew I was going to need it.  Sadly, there was no waffle machine like at other Super 8's or I would have had one of those!

I headed off into the sunrise with thoughts of the long day ahead combining with thoughts of Lisa's mother.  I was hoping she was doing well and I was a bit concerned since I hadn't heard anything about how the surgery had gone.  I slipped into my usual routine of reciting my rosary to begin my ride (after of course annointing both myself and Pearl with Holy Water from our friend Rita) and had just finished when two momentous events happend - my gears started skipping like crazy and I saw my first flattened fauna of the day.

The flattened fauna was sort of cool because it was a rabbit and it was still fairly fresh - it must have happened that morning - I took video of it with the idea that I would start keeping a video log.  By the end of the day I would change my mind.

It was the second momentous occasion that really had me worried.  The gears skipping only eight miles into a 100 mile with lots of climbs could spell disaster and I was rightly concerned.  I turned the entire bike over on the side of the road and played with the adjustment for about ten minutes before realizing I had done all I could do right now.  So it was back on the road.  I made it to Congress in pretty good time and my average mph was still at 15.00.  I ducked in to replenish my water bottles (I have learned to NEVER miss a chance to do that) when I fell into a conversation with a nice gentleman named George.  He and I spoke about Sunrise, about why I was riding to help the kids and he asked me which way I was headed.  I told him up 89 to Ash Fork and that's when I learned valuable riding lesson # 27 - ALWAYS LISTEN TO THE LOCALS WHEN THEY WARN YOU ABOUT THE TERRAIN!  He warned me that the hill I was about to climb was steep and that he (did I mention he was on a bicycle?  I very nice hybrid that had a nice looking granny gear) could only make it about halfway to the top.  He said we were now about 3000 feet (my GPS confirmed this) and it would top out about 4700 feet before I hit Yarnell, a distance of about nine miles.

I thanked him for his time and I shared a brochure about our ride with him.  Then I set out on the road.  Shortly after heading out another cyclist pulled out ahead of me.  I called out "on your left" and I passed him, surely thinking he would sit in my draft until I wore myself out and then pass me on his way up the hill.  I figured this was a local who knew the terrain and was going to let me just blow up and be amused by the whole thing.  Funny thing happened, I looked back about 200 yards later and he was falling farther behind and I wasn't even pushing hard.  I just found my groove and kept up the rythm that I knew I could handle.  The new saddle and tires were working great so far and I just kept at it figuring at the current incline of 4% how hard would it be.

And then it kicked up, and it started getting warmer!  The incline started jumping to 8%, 9% and then it settled in to a steady 6%.  Whew!  6% I could handle, since I did that the first day.  With that incline I knew what to expect and just kept pedaling away.  Before I knew it I was at 4000 feet and still going up.  4500 feet, 4600 feet and just when I thought I'd had enough I saw the little indication on the horizon that the road was about to dip down and I saw the first buildings of Yarnell!  I had made it!  Another milestone!  A steady 9 mile climb and I didn't crack!  And it was getting hotter!

Fortunately, according to my Adventure Cycling Association maps I knew that I was now going to have a steady decline for quite a while so I settled in to enjoy the ride - and filme some more with the Flip Camera Matthew had gifted us with on Thursday night.  The plan is for Sarah to begin editing these clips on a weekly basis so I can post here, on Youtube, and on Facebook for all to see.

This relative calm would only last me until about six miles outside of Wilhoit when I was caught by a peloton of riders who stayed with me for a while (a pity ride as it were) chatted with me and then left me as surely as I had left that rider back in Congress.  Humble pie for one!  I watched (and filmed) them ride away as I kept slogging along at my 15 mph pace.  I caught back up with them at a little store outside of Wilhoit where I stopped to refill again.  They were surprised I wasn't breathing heavy and wiped out since at this point I had ridden 35 miles.  And then I got the local knowledge again.  This time via the kind lady who ran the store where I stopped.  She told me it was 16 miles to Prescott and it was all uphill at about 6% the entire way.  Ooof!  Turns out she was right.

I followed my (dubiously) accurate maps and just kept climbing (see earlier post on "Just Keep Pedaling").  I just put it in the low gear and kept going and going, and every time I saw another hairpin turn or curve in the terrain I just put my head down and kept going as the elevation slowly creeped higher.  I finally got out of the desert scrub and found myself surrounded by vegatation and Pine Trees!!!!!!  And just when I thought I was going to explode, along came the Cavalry!  Amy and the kids came around the corner with that familiar blue tarp on top of the van and I knew that ice cold water and perhaps some food was at hand!  The only bad thing was I still had a good four miles of climbing left to go!!!!! 

(I'm HOW Far from Prescott?!?)

So I refueled and Amy told me that today was the start of Rodeo Days in Prescott, AZ  so they would have some fun there and then catch up with me later.  I started climbing again (by now the heat was starting to climb and it was only 10:00 in the morning) and Amy filmed some footage of me climbing for the documentary Phil Rosenberg is putting together for us.  She would film by the side of the road and then leapfrog ahead to catch more footage.  If I wasn't so concentrated on not falling over from exhaustion it would have been funny.  Eventually she and the kids headed off to Prescott.  And before I knew it I was at the top of my climbing for the day with a sign that declared I had reached 6100 feet!  And then a sign that declared Prescott as Arizona's Mile High City;

(5350?!?! - Where Did the Elevation Go?!?)

And in all of this climbing my shifting problems had come back which really didn't help matters at all.  I had resigned myself to just dealing with it when just on the outskirts of Prescott I came across Ironclad Bicycles!  I thought this was my lucky day as someone there could probably help me!  Unfortunately there was a sign posted on the door that said "Gone to Parade!  Back at 11:30".  As it was 11:20  I decided to take a break and wait.  While there I had a lovely conversation with Cindy about bikes, biking in Prescott, the area, how she originally came from Jersey City, NJ, our Ride Across America, Sunrise Day Camp, the heat, the elevation until we both realized it was 11:50 and it didn't look like they were going to make it back on time.  With 54 miles still to go I decided to suck it up and just ride on - but not before sharing a brochure with her.  I wish her lots of luck with getting back into shape and conquering the loop!

So I made my way into Prescott proper and found myself overwhelmed with cars, people in cowboy hats, and a lot of detour signs pointing me around the city if I wanted to keep following my route.  Eventually I got sort of lost but I ended up right on the door step of High Gear Bike Shop!  And it was open!  I was saved!  I walked in and was greeted by a cool, hip and funky establishment (they have lawn chairs made out of old bicycle rims!)  Their chief mechanic Steve put Pearl up on the stand and immediately saw what the problem was - the shifter cables and housing were old and binding, and the routing of said cables was causing problems.  He fixed both in a jiffy, I got some Jelly Belly Energy Beans, some Caffeine infused Gu, and some energy fruit chews and after spending $24 I was back on the road with some good advice, directions and I left a few borchures.  All praise and thanks to Steve and if you're ever in Prescott - go to High Gear Bike Shop!  And here is a clip of Steve fixing my ride;

I wish I could say that the rest of the trip was eventful but after another hour on the road (by now it was about 12:45) all I could think of was tucking my head down and keeping the pedals turning.  I saw more road kill, and a LOT of road.  Thank God there wasn't more huge inclines because I don't think I could have handled it.  Amy and the kids caught up to me once more to tell me about the incredibly cool parade, the fried bread they ate, how William his a sharpshooter with a suction cup crossbow, and how much fun they had watching all the events!  I wish I could have joined them but then I never would have made it to Ash Fork.  I had another 30 miles to go so after they refueled me I ducked my head and got back to pedaling.

But there were interesting to sights to see on this longest day yet.  For instance, I couldn't help but take a video of this amusing situation;

And then five miles outside of Ash Fork what I thought was potential disaster struck - I heard this sound that made me think my wheel was coming off!  I looked down and there was a piece of wire embedded in my tire that was hitting my brake every time it went around!  I REALLY did not want to ahve a flat tire on the side of the road in 110 degree heat!  I stopped and took out the wire and when the tire didn't immediately deflate I pressed on hoping for the best!  I finally made it in to Ash Fork with no deflation and realized I couldn't find the motel on my GPS!  I checked my messages and found that Amy had left me two decrying the disgusting conditions of the two places in town.  We had some decisions to make!

After catching up with them at the gas station we realized we couldn't stay here (even the lady in the gas station says no one stayed there unless they were snowed in) so we decided to drive to Williams, AZ.  This now left us with another dilemma - do I leave from Williams and cut out 17.5 miles from my journey, or do I wake the entire family at 5:00 in the morning and have them drive me back to Ash Fork so as not to skip any of the route.

And here is once again where I am so grateful to my wife!  Not only has she been the head roadie, tour director, PR officer, logistics expert, and so much more, here she became my main motivator.  As fried as I was, all I could think of was stopping.  She remnded me that I would not only feel guilty but that I would also regret not finishing what I started out, and that I couldn't let myself comprimise this early in the ride.  And she was right - as she always is! 

So we drove to Williams, cruised around to find the best (and most affordable place to stay) and ended up in the Motel 6 - RIGHT ON OLD ROUTE 66!!!!  WE'RE STAYING ON ROUTE 66!!!!!!  The kids were so excited and we headed off (after I cleaned 109 miles of road grime off of me) in searh of dinner.  We had intended to stop at one of the various kitschy places that has sprung up in Williams to cater to the Route 66 nostalgia hunters but intead found ourselves at Dairy Queen - a place William has always wanted to eat.  On the way we found this great statue that the kids just had to be photographed in front of;

After chili dogs, mile shakes and blizzards we headed back for a well deserved rest.  My road crew (James, William and Sarah) gave me a much needed message and we're now getting ready for bed - another early morning and lots to do before we leave - the kids and I are going to ride on Route 66 together!!!!!

FFR - 1 Rabbit, 1 Squirrel, 1 Coyote, 1 Deer, 1 Raven (finally, one of those things gets it), 1 bright bird (not sure w hat species), 2 UFO's, 1 Raccoon
RRL - 1 Toilet, 1 Cooler, 1 Cooler Lid (I think it may have been from the same one, only miles apart)

Stay well y'all, and I'll update from the road!

For another perspective on our journey - Amy's blog is http://www.crosscountrymama.blogspot.com/

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