Dalhart Texas Depressed

Where do I even start. Today should have been a relatively easy day but once again Mother Nature had a different plan. We rode about 100 miles into the jaws of a fierce headwind. The winds were between 25 to 40 mph and never quit the whole way. It was so bad that if you did not pedal even going down hill the bike would stop. To even Stand was difficult without the wind moving you off your feet. My legs and spirit are a bit battered. The only brief respite was when a semi truck came by it would sometimes  break the wind for about 10 feet. Of course when one came from the opposite direction  it would almost stop you in your tracks. There were three riders who gave up and jumped in the van. The leaders were saying it was one of the tuffet rides they could remember.
  The scenery  was sage brush and sand. I also failed to mention we climbed about 5500 hundred feet also. The roads were Texas chip seal which is bumpy and slows you even further. It truly was a very humbling  day. I only hope tomorrow is not a repeat, I really do not know if I could make it as tired and sore as I am. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

Life Is Good Ride On

Glorious Vistas and wide open spaces

Another day in the record book for me and many of my fellow riders. We left Las Vegas New Mexico around 8:00 am a little later than normal because the temp was only 27 degrees at 7:00 am. Today was stunning not a cloud in the sky as we climbed our way up to the top of a grand Mesa . At first you could imagine you were on the high plains of Nebraska, not a tree or bush in sight,just short grass. As we continued to climb we started picking up some junipers then a few pines. Once again Mother Nature  played a key role in our ride. She decided she would share her beautiful surroundings with us , but at a price. That price happened to be a stiff head wind. Wind makes such a difference  on a bike. It can help or absolutely  crush you. Today we got a little crushed.
   As we descended off the top of the Mesa  it was breathtaking , we dropped about 1800 feet down a narrow winding road. This part of the ride was truly special and did not last long enough.
    Simon the fellow who crashed yesterday and who's picture you see sat the day out as did Jerry from Florida because he had the stomached flu. We ended up doing 111 miles today. Flats continue to be a problem with a thorn called a goat's head.
   We did have a crazy driver come into the lane of some of our riders at an estimated speed of 100 mph. He then lost control and rolled  his car. His car was destroyed but apparently  he was not injured. We found out that he had driven away from a small gas station without paying for all of his fuel. Sometimes  payback comes very quickly, he said he swerved to miss a deer but none of saw any deer, just a driver going way to fast. Better close and get some sleep it sounds like a tuff day tomorrow riding into the teeth of a strong headwind as we cross into Texas.

Life Is Good Ride On

Las Vegas, New Mexico not the real Las Vegas

Today proved to be a day of challenges. We left our hotel around 6:30 am and started to climb right away. The temp was 42 when we left but dropped down to 35 as we climbed up to 7800ft, and it started to snow. My hands and feet were freezing but the rest of me was ok. We were to ride 137 miles and have our second biggest climbing day at almost 8000 ft. To complicate things and make it harder we were facing strong head and cross winds all the way past SantaFe about the first 75 miles.
  We had some riders out with stomached issues and had our second crash of the trip. Simon one of the riders from New Zeland crashed right after lunch and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. He was crossing a cattle guard and there was a vertical space about 4 inches wide that his wheel dropped into.  It destroyed his helmet I have included a picture of it and I guess his face is pretty messed up. Simon is one of our strongest riders, he is on a bike race team. I think he will be back tonight. His front wheel was also destroyed.
  The ride was called off at mile 115 for me and the other 5 riders who were in the lead because of dangerous cross winds of 55 to 70 mph. It was really scary going down hill because the wind would hit you and knock you sideways. A couple of times it gave me a pretty good scare. We hope the weather improves tomorrow, temps are to start at 32 degrees at 8 am. The ride today was beautiful in many places but tomorrow, Is supposed to be spectacular as we head to Tuccumcarri. I felt strong today but my saddle sores continue to be an issue. I miss you all and pray for you every day.

Life Is Good Ride On

Albuquerque and Rest

Did I mention my rear end hurts! Today we leave Gallup and head for a much needed day of rest in Albuquerque, what a tuff name to spell. Can you imagine trying to learn to spell that as a 1st grader.

  We started the day again on interstate 40, the shoulders are so ruff and broken up, again lots of flats.

    Much of the day we crossed the Navaho reservation either on interstate 40 or historic highway 66. I much prefer 66 it is way smoother with less traffic. The interstate is so loud as the trucks and cars roll by at 70 plus miles an hour. We thought we were again doing another 136 mile day but it was cut short due to 50 to 65 mph head and cross winds. The dust blowing across the freeway made visibility extremely difficult. The wind also threatened to blow us out into the lanes of traffic on the freeway so they loaded us up in the vans about 40 miles from town.

   We got to watch about 300 motorcycles with escorts roll by on the freeway, they were part of The Red Rolling Thunder. It was quite impressive .

  To get to the hotel by 3:30 with 40 less miles was a God Send. After a good shower and soak about twelve of us went out for Mexican food it tasted great. The 2 block walk back trashed our eyes with dust and sand from the storm.

   We said goodbye tonight to 6 riders who were only going this far. I will miss most of them who I got close to, they were kind to me. There are so many good riders on this tour, people who are on bike race teams and have done multiple marathons and triathlons. One rider who left is a Dr. From Minnesota who who is doing the great Trans Continental Divide 

race from Canada to Mexico in June.  He will do 2750 miles in 13 to 15 days with no support. That means sleeping in a tent and carrying all his gear on a mountain bike. Many of the trails will be snow covered or fire roads high in the mountains. Those are the people I have been riding with, I am such a novice compared to them. This rest day is such a blessing . I miss you all, thanks for the love and support, especially  you Deb.

 Life Is Good Ride On

I think I can, I think I can

This morning we left Winslow heading to Gallup New Mexico. It was cool around 41 degrees with a slight breeze. I took a picture of the sculpture from the Eagles song Take It Easy. If you recall a verse went like this" I was standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona such a fine sight to see was a girl my Lord in a flat bed ford come to to take look at me. Take it easy, take it easy" We spent most of the day riding on interstate  40. There is so much debris from blown out tires and so many ruff shoulders. Flats have been a big problem due to small little pieces of wire from the blown out truck tires. Some people have had as many as 8 flats, what a pain.
   We caught a tail wind which helped a lot today, I needed it. 136 miles today with 4500 feet of elevation . We lost an hour today with the time change from pacific to the western time zone. I made it to Gallup only to get my first flat as we got into town. Cole stopped to help me change it, I was very grateful .
  The motel was at the other side of town what a pain. Gallup is not a very nice place, kind of dirty and depressing. I was so tired I could hardly keep my head up at dinner. We ate at Denny's only because it was next to the motel and we were to tired to walk anywhere else.

Everything hurts right now, my saddle sores ,my wrist, my legs. It is such a grind.

Life Is Good Ride On

We can all do more than we think we can.

Holly cow what a ride. Today we left Cottonwood Az. and rode 113 miles to Winslow. What a ride, the temps started out in the low 50's and warmed up into the 80's. We rode 24 miles to Sedona then started up Oak Creek Canyon. Oak Creek is amazing one of the prettiest places in all of Arizona. We went 28 miles up the Canyon almost all up hill. The climb out the last 3 miles is crazy, some grades of 14 percent. To call it steep would be a major under statement. I again rode with Monique and Rose. Rose was really having a hard time today, I think she was just worn out, so I did all I could to help her up the canyon and she did make it.
  She found that little bit extra inside that we all have, me too. We then rode to Flagstaff for our lunch sag. After Flagstaff we headed 60 miles on interstate 40 to Winslow.

   I am suffering with some saddle sores and numbness in my left hand and some weakness in that hand, otherwise all is good. Amanda and Morgan drove all the way up to Cottonwood last to spend some time with me, it was so good to see them. We got dessert and Amanda taught me how to add pictures to the blog. It was so good of them to show there support. I was so tired when they left that I was asleep in 2 minutes. All is well, thanks to all for your love an support. My very best wishes to Gary Oyler and all his loved ones.
    Life Is Good Ride on.

High on a mountain top.

Today could have been named agony and ecstasy . We started out of Wiickenburg at 6:30 am and headed north toward Cottonwood Az. The mileage wasn't that bad just 106 miles. It was the kind of miles, mostly uphill. It was a beautiful cool morning temps in the high 50's  We scaled Yarnell pass it was a 4000 foot climb. At the time it seemed to be as tall as Mount Everst. Before days end we had also climbed Mingus Mountain going up over 4000 feet. There were certainly a lot of times I did not think I was going to make it. I was in my highest gear and wishing I had more.

 The descent down the other side was beyond description. Eighteen miles all down hill on sharp curves, many times with posted speed limits of 15 mph because of the road. I decided going down hill is a lot like sex very fun and exciting but over way to quickly. There were so many crosses and markers in those canyons from where people had been killed.

  When we got to the town of Jerome Az which is totally built on a steep mountain side I had dinner with Rich and Rose a father and daughter from England, and Monique a woman from Australia. We had fabulous meal at The Haunted Burger. We were starving. Got to get some sleep.
 Life is good Ride On.

Man verses the desert round two.

Today man beat the desert. I was able to do the 117 miles into Wickenburg Az. We started out in Blythe Ca and rode about 30 miles uphill into Arizona. I was trying to stay with and help two other riders who were still suffering heat exhaustion from yesterday. Bill is from Houston and Lou is from northern Michigan. I helped get Bill to the first sag but that was all he could do, he was still having stomach cramps from yesterday. We got Lou to the second sag but he could not go any further.

   It was not quite as hot today but still in the mid 90's. Wind continued to be a double edged sword sometimes threatening to blow us over side ways. I was assaulted by a number of blowing tumble weeds which would explode when they hit my wheels. It is so important to stay hydrated but almost impossible with such sever heat. It was nice to see the country change and the roads are much better in Arizona compared to California. I think that shows the difference between a Republican state and a democrat state. I am very tired and need to get to sleep.

  Life is Good ride on.

Man versus desert

We started out early this morning to try and beat the heat. Breakfast was at 5:15 am and we were on the road by6:15. The ride out of Palm Springs was gorgeous other than about 25 traffic lights. Palm Springs really is a beautiful city, a true oasis in the desert. The first 42 miles seemed to fly by as we went by palm tree plantations and farm ground. You could see the migrant workers out picking grapes and other produce. After our first stop for ice and water things really started to heat up. We headed up box canyon which could have passed for the surface of the moon, beautiful but very forbidding. We also got to look at the Salten Sea. The box canyon was about 25 miles all up hill. That makes for a tuff ride then you throw in 20 mph head winds and temps between 110 and 116 degrees ,and you have a genuine desert challenge. You could not drink enough to stay hydrated. I started to chill and get goose bumps and the guy's I was riding with told the ride director at our next stop. She said " you are done for the day, don't even bother to argue. I was suffering from heat exhaustion which was most likely a carry over from the day before. She said they have had many people just pass out and crash on there bikes thinking they could just ride thru. They ended up in the hospital getting IV'S.

 Before the day was over 8 more people's rides ended due to heat. We also had a rider from Germany crash and go to the hospital by ambulance with a concussion and possible broken hip. I feel bad for him. Well as for the Man vs Desert challenge, today the desert won, but tomorrow is a new day and we will meet again. High temps again tomorrow with about 5000 feet of climbing. 

  Good nite, and remember Life is Good ride on.

Pleasure and pain

Today was day one and it proved to be one of contrast. We dipped our wheels in the Pacific Ocean then headed east. We went thru a number of cities Riverside.among them. We rode by the Angels stadium and thru a number of parks. The first 62 miles were great, no problems. I made it to both sag stops with the the first 5 riders. After lunch it did not go as well for me. The temp rose to 95 and we had a 24 mile stretch uphill into the wind. I started to have my left hamstring cramp up and my legs felt like cement. I figure I was probably dehydrated and had a little heat stroke. Things went well for the next  20 miles with a tale wind and a nice descent, then we hit a strong head wind with some uphill grades. Then I really started to cramp up to the point I could not lift my left leg. At this point I really started to question why am doing this.

   One group I rode with was a father and daughter from England and a woman from Sydney Australia.

 I am a little nervous about tomorrow temps will be 100 and we have 134 miles to ride with elevation,I know the staff is worried. Oh well we will see.  Life is Good ride on.