Tuesday, Sept. 30th

Taos, NM to Raton, NM  94.9 miles

Yesterday was a rest day in Taos. Dave Harris, a good friend from college who lives in Colorado Springs, came down to spend the day. After looking around Taos, we drove to Santa Fe and had lunch and looked around. Great place if you are interested in art galleries and jewelry. 

Once again, it was very chilly this morning(37 degrees), but I warmed up quickly because we went right into an 18 mile climb up Taos Canyon. About an hour and half later we reached the top(9100'). The 25 mile descent was some of the best scenery yet. The fall colors of the trees and the mountain stream that bordered the lightly traveled road was absolutely spectacular. Soon after lunch, we had our first introduction to the Great Plains. It was quickly learned that Great Plains also translates to great winds. As the day wore on the wind intensity increased substantially. For the last 25 miles it was blowing at 15-20 mph from about the 11:00 to 1:00 position without relenting whatsoever. For those of you that have never ridden in these types conditions, you cannot fully appreciate how fatiguing it is physically and mentally. To think that next seven days are going to be like this will be a real challenge in all aspects. 

Sunday, Sept. 28th

Pagosa Springs to Taos, NM  144 miles
Today was billed as the epic ride of the trip and indeed it was. We were on our bikes at the break of dawn and rode for an hour before we saw the sun. It was particularly nice to see the sun since the temperature was a cool 37 degrees. The first 71 miles was a continuation of the day before, rolling hills through the mountain valleys that were filled with aspen trees in full color. At the 71 mile mark, we started our 9 mile ascent at an average grade of 6-7% over the summit of the San Juan mountain range. Since it was sunny and in the low 70's, I just wore my short sleeve biking jersey and shorts. By the time I reached the summit(10,500'), it was very heavy overcast and rain looked like a strong possibility and the temperature was 41 degrees. Minutes later it started to rain and then hail with the wind blowing in my face. I had no choice but to press on and hope that hypothermia did not set in. I was totally soaked and I could feel my body temperature rapidly dropping. What seemed like eternity, but it was probably only 20-25 minutes before the support vehicle showed up with my extra gear. By the time I changed clothes, the rain had stopped and I continued on. 144 miles and 10 hours later I pulled into Taos, NM. Average speed: 16.1 mph.

Saturday, Sept. 27th

Durango, CO to Pagosa Springs, CO  63.3 miles

I reached the 1000 mile mark within the first couple miles of today's ride, which puts me almost a third of way. Today was another relatively short day with only 63 miles covered. This is in preparation for tomorrow's big ride, which is the longest(140 miles) and the hardest(over the Continental Divide 10,500' and total climbing elevation of 8743'). The bulk of the ride followed the rolling terrain through the  mountain valleys from Durango to Pagosa Springs, but we did encounter several challenging climbs. Despite the intermittent light rain and temperatures in the lower 50s, the scenery was still beautiful with the aspen trees in full color, the occasional mountain stream and horses and cattle grazing in big pastures. The long descent into Pagosa Springs allowed me the opportunity to reached my top speed of all time 46.8 mph.

Friday, Sept. 26th

Cortez, CO to Durango, CO  44.3 miles

While today's ride was only 44 miles, it consisted of two significant climbs, the highest being 8200'. In between the climbs, we passed through a mountain valley and encountered our first rain shower of the trip. Things got a little chilly since it was only 57 degrees, but it only lasted 20 minutes and as soon as I started the next climb, my body heated up quickly. The long and steep decent into Durango was a real adrenaline rush. The road's shoulder was in great condition and the wide sweeping turns allowed you to let it all out. At times I found myself racing the semi trucks. I could keep up on the steeper portions since they had to keep their speed in check, but I lost out on the flatter sections. Top speed was 41.3 mph. We reached our hotel by 11:30 am and had the rest of the day to explore Durango, do laundry, take a hot tub, etc..

 

Thursday, Sept. 25th

Mexican Hat, UT to Cortez, CO  104 miles

The beginning portion of today's ride continued through the spectacular Monument Valley. Some of the rock formations appear to defy the laws of physics and are truly baffling on how they maintain their position. The early morning sun helped accentuate the colors of the different layers displayed on the formations. Within an hour and a half, the beauty was a distant past and it was back to the nondescript landscape but with a lot of large rolling hills. To compound the situation, we faced a steady headwind. At the 60 mile mark, we crossed into Colorado. At 104 miles, we reached our hotel in Cortez, CO. Some of the riders stated they thought today's ride was the hardest to date and I attend to agree. This was my first back to back century rides. Tomorrow it is a short 44 mile ride to Durango where we will have an opportunity to regroup and enjoy this quaint mountain town. 

Tuesday, Sept. 23rd

Grand Canyon to Tuba City, AZ  miles 86.6 miles

The first 26 miles closely bordered the east rim and we stopped multiple times at various vantage points. It is amazing how the canyon takes on a totally different appearance at each viewing area. For those of you that have never been here, you have to make it a high priority to come visit this truly incredible work of nature. The best verbal descriptions and the best photographs cannot fully capture the visual sensation... you just have to physically experience it.  Upon leaving the Grand Canyon, we had a very long decent that provided phenomenal views of the area known as the painted desert. With a 100 mile visibility and so much to view, it made it challenging to keep your eye on the road. Unfortunately the beauty ran out at about the time we stopped for lunch. The gentleman that I rode with had 4 flats, so we ended up being the last into Tuba City, AZ, the capital of the Navajo Indians. 87 miles, average speed 17.5.

Tomorrow it is onto Mexican Hat, Utah.

Wednesday, Sept. 24th

Tuba City, AZ to Mexican Hat, UT  118 miles

The first 70 miles were wide open, nondescript landscape. Thank goodness for the ipod to help pass the time and distract my potential boredom. The beauty of the  remaining 48 miles made up for it. We entered the area known as Monument Valley. The land would be flat and then randomly scattered would be these amazing rock formations that would be several hundred feet high. You may recall several years ago, one of the auto makers had a TV commercial with a vehicle on top of a large rock and was viewed from an arial view. There was a scene from Forest Gump when he was running across the US that was taken from the road we were on. Today's 118 mile ride was my longest ever, but I was still able to manage 17.2 mph. Tomorrow it is onto Cortez, CO and another 100 miles.

Saturday, Sept. 20th

Kingsman, AZ to Seligman, AZ  84.7 miles

The directions for today's ride were real simple. Turn left out of the hotel parking lot on to Route 66, go 84 miles , turn left into the Historic Route 66 Motel in Seligam, AZ. The landscape consisted of high plain desert and we only passed through one very small town. While the cooler temperatures were much more ot my liking, there was a very stout crosswind the entire ride. At times, it was so strong that you literally had to lean into it so you wouldn't be blown into the road. Despite the wind, I was still able to average 16.1 mph over the five hour ride. Tomorrow's 108 mile ride takes us to the Grand Canyon, which I am really looking forward to since I've never been there. Another incentive is Monday's a rest day to enjoy the sights and surroundings of this magnificent area.

Sunday, Sept. 21st

Seligman, AZ to Grand Canyon  108 miles

With 108 mile in front of us, we were pulling onto Route 66 at 6:45 am. The first 30 miles continued to be high plains desert, but shortly after turning onto I-40, the landscape quickly changed to foothills and pine trees. There was a great deal of climbing before we stopped for lunch at a very scenic lakeside park. The wind gods blessed us with a strong tailwind that enabled us to cover the remaining 60 miles of rolling terrain in under 2.5 hours. Average speed for the day was 18.2 mph with the maximum speed of 44.9 mph. Needless to say, we reached the Grand Canyon so far ahead of schedule that our rooms were not ready.  

Monday, Sept 22nd

Rest Day-Grand Canyon

After riding 8 consecutive days and covering approximately 700 miles, I was looking forward to a rest day. I spent the morning hiking about a third of the way down the canyon to a thin pinnacle that provide an absolutely incredible panoramic view. Being my first time here, I found myself mesmerized by the sheer beauty and the magnitude of its size. The visibility was approximately 130 miles. After lunch, I spent hiking the rim trail. So much for resting on my off day.  

Thursday, Sept. 18th

Parker, AZ to Lake Havasau, AZ  43.4 miles

After taking a punishment the last couple of days, today's ride was a 44 mile recovery ride to Lake Havasau. Since the intense heat still existed, we were on our bikes heading out of Parker by 6:45. For the first 18 miles, we rode next to the Colorado River, working our way up to Parker Dam. Surprisingly, there was a lot of development on both sides, especially with RV parks and very ugly vacation home developments. It also surprised me how narrow the river was and how congested it must get with boaters on the weekends. The scenic rock formations got better with each mile. Parker Dam is a very small version of Hoover Dam, in which you are able to ride your bike across the top. The remaining 26 miles into Lake Havasau City were rolling hills and easy trekking by comparison to previous days. By arriving mid morning, gave plenty of time to do laundry, attend work issues and go check out the original London Bridge, which was brought over brick by brick and rebuilt. Today's temperature was 104 and when we were walking back from dinner at 8:30, the temperature was still 93.

Friday, Sept. 19th

Lake Havasau, AZ to Kingsman, AZ  87.9 miles

The first part of today's 88 mile ride was uneventful until we reached I-40, at which point, we had to ride on the shoulder for approximately 10 miles. Fortunately, we had a favorable tailwind and the terrain was flat with some occasional downhills, which enabled us to average 28 mph. It made me very uneasy having semis and cars flying by me at 75 mph, so I had a little extra incentive to put the hammer down. After existing, we turned onto the famous Route 66 and stayed on it until we reached our hotel in Kingman, AZ. Lunch was set-up in the old mining town of Oatman, which is known for wild burros that roam the streets. On previous Trek trips, they have been known to be very aggressive in trying to eat the food out of the support trailer, so extra precautions were taken. Right after lunch, we began our first major climb over Sitgreaves Pass 3500'. The scenery was spectacular and I had some great music going on my ipod, so it really was not that painful. Today's total climbing elevation was 8273'.        

Sunday, Sept. 14th   

Santa Barbara, CA to Valencia, CA  78 miles 

After ceremonial pictures were taken of the rear tire being dipped into the Pacific Ocean, the first pedal stroke was taken of approximately one million to follow. The first 25 miles were along the bike path/Pacific coast highway. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous, despite the heavy overcast skies, all the way to the quaint town of Ventura.  After a left turn to the east, the ocean quickly disappeared and the landscape turned arid. 75 miles later we ended up at our hotel in Valencia. It was a perfect start to the epic journey that lays ahead.

Monday, Sept. 15th

Valencia, CA to Victorville, CA  92 miles

The day started out to what they describe as a "gradual" 23 mile climb up through Bouquet Canyon. I tend to differ of the classification, at times, it was 8-9% grade. Shortly thereafter, we were heading into the desert and the temperature rapidly rising. According to the thermometer on my bike computer, it reached 107 and to compound the situation, we had long periods of stout headwinds. At the 80 mile mark, I stopped to replenish my water bottles and both legs were attacked by severe cramps. I still had 10 miles to go. Eventually, I was able to get back on my bike, but the cramps made several more appearances. At times, only one leg would cramp up and I would release my cramped leg from the cleat and let it dangle while I continued to pedal with the other leg. One time both legs cramped up simultaneously during rush hour traffic as I was starting to go over the I-15 overpass. Not good but with no options, I had to grind it out to stay out of harms way. It took me over on hour to go the last 10 miles. That night I treated myself to a massage.

Tuesday, Sept 16th

Victorville, CA to 29 Palms, CA  74.8 miles

Today's ride took us through the first part of the Mojave desert. You feel very small, insignificant and vulnerable when you are out in the middle of some of the most desolate land on earth and the road goes straight as far as the eye can see. Except for the occasional car or semi truck whisking by you at 70 mph, you have no sign of civilization. Today's temperature was a cool 102 but there was a very stiff headwind for 85% of the 90 mile ride. The wind was so strong that on the few rolling hills, you had to continue to pedal downhill to maintain any type of speed. My training did not prepare me for the hour after hour sitting in saddle and my backside was excruciatingly sore. I was constantly shifting my weight and from a bystanders point, it probably looked like I had ants in my pants. After 6.5 hours, I made it to 29 Palms, CA and fortunately, no cramps.

Wednesday, Sept. 17th

29 Palms, CA to Parker, AZ  81 miles

Today's 111 ride continued through the Mojave desert. Just after we left the city limits of 29 Palms, a large sign stated "No Services for 100 miles". Needless to say, that was a significant wake-up call and made you really question your judgement. To get a jump on beating the heat, we were on our bikes at day break.  It was by far the most desolate place I have ever been to, and of all things, I was on a bicycle. Fortunately, the winds were mild, and at times, in our favor, but the temperature climbed to over 100 very quickly. My body was having a very difficult time acclimating to the intense heat. We only had one 90 degree day in Madison this summer. It took everything I had to reach lunch at the 52 mile mark. My heart rate was approaching 170 and my energy level was virtually gone. It was reaching a very critical situation very quickly. In order to fight  another day, I rode in the van for 30 miles. I rejoined the lead pack and rode the remaining 30 miles to Parker, AZ.