High Plains
Monday May 20, 2019. Flagstaff, AZ to Holbrook, AZ. 95 Miles
Ascent +1,177 feet, Descent -2,886 feet
Tuesday May 21, 2019. Holbrook, AZ to Gallup, NM. 94 miles
Ascent +2,412 feet, Descent -1,122 feet
Wednesday May 22, 2019. Gallup, NM to Grants, NM. 67 Miles
Ascent = Descent. (I don't know the number of feet
because I lost my cue sheet with the data, but
the elevation of Gallup and Grant are equal
Cumulative = 802 miles
Well I haven't achieved daily blogs yet, but the past 3 days have had much in common. About 80% of the past 3 days were spent biking along the breakdown lane of I-40 East, and most of the rest was spent biking along the original Route 66, which in the pre-Interstate days was the major highway between Chicago to LA. We also have had unseasonably colder and extremely windy weather.
During our rest day on Sunday we became aware of the weather we would be encountering, and none of us had packed biking clothes adequate for these temperatures. Fortunately, since it was a rest day and we were in a city with 31,000 undergraduate students, there were multiple bike shops, and an REI, all open on Sunday, so we spent more than half the day walking around Flagstaff procuring what we felt was necessary for the cold temperatures and precipitation.
Everything we bought was needed as it was 36 degrees when we departed at 7:00 AM in a light rain, which quickly became hail or a heavy sleet. Whatever it was, it was painful as it hit our faces.
We were able to out run the precipitation but there was an ugly dark cloud visible in our rear view mirrors all day that looked like Dorothy and Toto might drop on us at any moment. We learned later that there was indeed a small tornado in the Flagstaff after our departure.
Although we did see a few snow flakes and some hail briefly as the day progressed, we were fortunate not to really get wet. Wet and cold= hypothermia. We were much more fortunate to be blown along by ridiculously favorable tailwinds. I averaged 19.8 mph for the 95 miles, which I have never done before nor expect to do again. Unfortunately, most of our group experienced flat tires, some multiple flats, so had to stop to repair a flat or help someone else as the ugly dark clouds gained on us. I did not have a flat until Tuesday. More about flats in some future post. So we lucked out in a major way and arrived relatively unscathed in Holbrook in the early afternoon. Arrival temperature= 49 degrees.
Tuesday was another 90+ mile day, this time with a balmy 40 degrees tart. We had more strong winds, mostly tailwinds as we spent another day on I-40 with one diversion into Winslow, Arizona
so that I could be standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona while a girl in flat bed Ford slows down to take a look at me. Back on I-90 to another early afternoon arrival due to tailwinds.
The milestones for the day were crossing our second state line from Arizona toNew Mexico, and our first time zone change.
Wednesday we crossed the Continental Divide at 7,275 feet. We also had some pay back for all the favorable winds as we cycled the final 20 miles into a steady 20 mph headwind with gusts above 35 mph. It was withering, exhausting, demoralizing and more, but since it was a shorter day we again had a relatively early arrival.
I should mention the landscape which I described as high plains. I don't know if that is strictly true, but after days of climbing, our route was pretty flat, with very little that would not fall under the "gently rolling countryside" category. All the while there were spectacular vistas with mountains and mesas always in view. Truly beautiful country.
A short note about Interstate highway biking. It has been much better than I expected. Cars and especially big trucks have been courteous and the shoulders have generally been 10 feet or so wide with ruble strips to help keep the bikers and larger vehicles separate. The quality of the "pavement" on the shoulder varies wildly and fairly frequently ,with surfaces ranging from excellent to almost impassable.Fortuately very little of truly awful conditions. Aside from constantly checking traffic in our mirror, we have to be always on the lookout for all the stuff on the shoulder that might cause a flat. The most common culprit are little wires that are remnants of thousands of shredded steel belted tires.
That's all for tonight
Ascent +1,177 feet, Descent -2,886 feet
Tuesday May 21, 2019. Holbrook, AZ to Gallup, NM. 94 miles
Ascent +2,412 feet, Descent -1,122 feet
Wednesday May 22, 2019. Gallup, NM to Grants, NM. 67 Miles
Ascent = Descent. (I don't know the number of feet
because I lost my cue sheet with the data, but
the elevation of Gallup and Grant are equal
Cumulative = 802 miles
Well I haven't achieved daily blogs yet, but the past 3 days have had much in common. About 80% of the past 3 days were spent biking along the breakdown lane of I-40 East, and most of the rest was spent biking along the original Route 66, which in the pre-Interstate days was the major highway between Chicago to LA. We also have had unseasonably colder and extremely windy weather.
During our rest day on Sunday we became aware of the weather we would be encountering, and none of us had packed biking clothes adequate for these temperatures. Fortunately, since it was a rest day and we were in a city with 31,000 undergraduate students, there were multiple bike shops, and an REI, all open on Sunday, so we spent more than half the day walking around Flagstaff procuring what we felt was necessary for the cold temperatures and precipitation.
Everything we bought was needed as it was 36 degrees when we departed at 7:00 AM in a light rain, which quickly became hail or a heavy sleet. Whatever it was, it was painful as it hit our faces.
We were able to out run the precipitation but there was an ugly dark cloud visible in our rear view mirrors all day that looked like Dorothy and Toto might drop on us at any moment. We learned later that there was indeed a small tornado in the Flagstaff after our departure.
Although we did see a few snow flakes and some hail briefly as the day progressed, we were fortunate not to really get wet. Wet and cold= hypothermia. We were much more fortunate to be blown along by ridiculously favorable tailwinds. I averaged 19.8 mph for the 95 miles, which I have never done before nor expect to do again. Unfortunately, most of our group experienced flat tires, some multiple flats, so had to stop to repair a flat or help someone else as the ugly dark clouds gained on us. I did not have a flat until Tuesday. More about flats in some future post. So we lucked out in a major way and arrived relatively unscathed in Holbrook in the early afternoon. Arrival temperature= 49 degrees.
Tuesday was another 90+ mile day, this time with a balmy 40 degrees tart. We had more strong winds, mostly tailwinds as we spent another day on I-40 with one diversion into Winslow, Arizona
so that I could be standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona while a girl in flat bed Ford slows down to take a look at me. Back on I-90 to another early afternoon arrival due to tailwinds.
The milestones for the day were crossing our second state line from Arizona toNew Mexico, and our first time zone change.
Wednesday we crossed the Continental Divide at 7,275 feet. We also had some pay back for all the favorable winds as we cycled the final 20 miles into a steady 20 mph headwind with gusts above 35 mph. It was withering, exhausting, demoralizing and more, but since it was a shorter day we again had a relatively early arrival.
I should mention the landscape which I described as high plains. I don't know if that is strictly true, but after days of climbing, our route was pretty flat, with very little that would not fall under the "gently rolling countryside" category. All the while there were spectacular vistas with mountains and mesas always in view. Truly beautiful country.
A short note about Interstate highway biking. It has been much better than I expected. Cars and especially big trucks have been courteous and the shoulders have generally been 10 feet or so wide with ruble strips to help keep the bikers and larger vehicles separate. The quality of the "pavement" on the shoulder varies wildly and fairly frequently ,with surfaces ranging from excellent to almost impassable.Fortuately very little of truly awful conditions. Aside from constantly checking traffic in our mirror, we have to be always on the lookout for all the stuff on the shoulder that might cause a flat. The most common culprit are little wires that are remnants of thousands of shredded steel belted tires.
That's all for tonight
Hi Jeff, just called Kathy to check on you:). She passed along the blog. Thanks for keeping us informed, I love reading these updates. What an incredible adventure. You have worked so hard at your training. Keep rolling. Donna
ReplyDeleteThat tailwind sounds great! Technically I think it's all downhill from the continental divide! Or not. Hope it warms up a little. Steve S
ReplyDelete