A Tale of Three Rides

Miles Ridden Today - 64.38  Average Miles Per Hour - 15.59

So yesterday I wrote to you about the motel options we had in Ash Fork, Az - our original destination.  Thanks to the support of my wife (and the willingness of my children to see daddy do the ENTIRE Ride Across America) the entire family got up at 5:00 and drove me from Williams to Ashfork so I could hit the road by 6:00 - and thus began the first of my three rides for the day.

Remember that little lesson I supposedly learned from yesterday?  You know, the one about always listening to the locals?  Well, in my heat and mileage addled state yesterday I observed the inclines on the way to Williams and thought, "These aren't too bad, I did worse than this today" and that was the cocky attitude I had when I hit the road.  Boy was I stupid!  The lady in the Chevron station had warned Amy that the roads would climb 1700 feet in 17 miles and that there were sections that were fairly steep.  But I didn't listen.  I would come to lament my cockiness as my energy totally flagged at about eight miles.  I was just plodding along not able to understand why I didn't have any snap in my legs.  To top it off, at about eleven miles my computer battery died!  I knew the route was 17.5 miles but I had no idea how fast I was going, what the incline was or how far I still had to go.  I did see an FF (a coyote) and one of the most odd things I have ever seen - someone's box of Kitchen supplies laid out on the side of the road like it was a garage sale.  I kept looking around expecting someone to come and see if I wanted to buy something but there was no one there.  I took a video of it for Sarah's project and I pedaled on.

I finally rolled into Williams and briefly celebrated the fact that I was on Route 66.  I went to gather the family because all last night the kids were so excited about the prospect of riding with daddy on Route 66.  When I rolled up just after 8:00 (how's that for lousy average mph?) Amy had the kids all decked out in their Ride Across America jerseys.  We pulled off their bikes, got them all set up and then it was time for the second ride of the day -  off we went, the five mile loop of Route 66 around Williams, AZ.  And here we are;

After that ride we packed up the bikes and the kids headed off to the pool while I went back to the room for a power nap.  I had only ridden 22 miles today and yet I was totally exhausted and I wasn't sure how I was going to make the last 54 miles to Tusayan!  After about 20 minutes I refilled bottles, settled my gear and headed out the door.  Of course, I had to stop at Circle K to get a large hit of coffee - I NEEDED CAFFEINE!!!!

And then began the third ride of the day and one that I couldn't believe I accomplished.  Now when I started out I had to set the iPod to play John Mayer's cover of "Route 66" so I could cruise down the road to the proper motivation!  My computer (no fully recharged, thanks to the second ride and the power nap) showed my average mph to this point as 12.2 - hardly impressive in the least.  Actually, pretty sad.

Now I have been somewhat dubious of the maps that I have been using, not because of the route (although I have ridden on Interstates twice now, much to Amy's chagrin) but because of trying to interpret the elevation charts.  This one showed that from Williams to Valle would be a slight decline and then a slight steady incline from Valle to Tusayan.  FromWilliams to Valle I literally flew!  I was logging 24 mph on the flat and with 2% elevation!  I was breezing along and I couldn't believe the time I was making.  By an hour and an half into this ride I had reached Valle, my half way point.  And upon driving in I saw the Planes of Fame Air Museum at the Valle Airport with this parked outside;

and I knew I had to call Amy and let her know that she and the kids would HAVE to make a "Pit Stop" - and as I described it I could hear William "calling" it in the background!  It was also a chance that I might be able to beat them to Tusayan!  I had a lovely conversation with a family from Seattle that were on their way to the Grand Canyon and we talked about what I was doing and how far I had come.  They were very supportive and so I gave them a brochure.  I'm sorry I didn't get your names but I wish you well on your journey!  I hope the video your 15-year-old son is creating comes out brilliant.

And after a brief repast (where I found out its illegal to charge for ice and water from the fountain in AZ) I headed off to Tusayan.  I only had 26 more miles to go!  And my average mph had risen to 14.7!  It was time to crank hard! 

So throwing caution to the wind (and knowing that I had three full rest days coming up) I settled into a groove and tried to keep at least a 17 mph average speed.  The funny thing is that I didn't really see much FF or RR on this part of the journey.  I had seen a coyote early in the day and I saw two really cool bleached skeletons (one of which I filmed for Sarah's project) but that was pretty much it for 74 miles - weird, huh.

I was so pleased with myself when I realized I was a mile outside of Tusayan and the family hadn't caught up with me yet!  I was going to do it!!!  I was going to finally be in our ending spot before them.  And just as I was congratulating myself I saw them pass me - with half a mile to go!!!  So I literally followed them to the hotel cursing my luck the entire way.  My average mph now?  15.7!!!!  I had cooked the last 26 miles of the route!  I was feeling so euphoric!  Not to mention that tomorrow I will get to realize one of my lifelong dreams - to see the Grand Canyon!

We checked into the Red Feather Lodge and got ourselves settled in.  We relaxed for a while before heading off to Plaza Bonita for dinner - I had more Mexican food becuase we're not too much longer for this area.  Once we get out of the Pueblo, CO area I don't trust the Mexican food!

Well its time to get some sleep - we have a HUGE day at the Grand Canyon and we all need our energy to keep up.  We'll keep talking to all we can about Sunrise and handing out brochures to those who want to help us send the kids to Sunrise!

And the reports -

FFR - 1 Coyote, 2 Bleached Skeletons (UFO's of the Cool Variety)

RRL - 1 cooler (they're everywhere), 1 Box of Kitchen utensils laid out in an organized fashion by the side of the road.

Stay well and I'll update from the road!

For another perspective on our journey check out Amy's blog at http://www.crosscountrymama.blogspot.com/

To donate and help us get the kids to Sunrise go to https://www.wizevents.com/register/register_add.php?sessid=1809&id=1056
Check out our website at http://www.connorsarmy.org/