Day 6 – Saturday, April 29 – 125 miles

Long day.  We went from Winslow to Gallup through the beautiful but barren desert.  Coming into Gallup we started to see beautiful mesas.  I miss New Mexico and am glad to be back.  A couple of riders had to go to the hospital with food poisoning or the flu or something I hope I don’t get and a few others are having problems with the altitude but that’s not really a problem for me because I used to live here.  Don’t I look delighted??

Tomorrow we bike 140 miles to Albuquerque.  It’s the ride I’ve been looking forward to most of all.  Can’t wait!

Day 5 – Friday, April 28 – 110 Miles

We rode to Winslow, AZ today and it was so much fun.  We went through Sedona which was so pretty so unfortunately I couldn’t take a lot of pictures because most of the views were hidden by clouds and also it was freezing cold. 

Then, we had almost 4000 feet of climbing up a canyon to Flagstaff where we had lunch.  The weather had cleared by the time we got to Flagstaff, so we had a nice tailwind for the last sixt miles, a slow descent to Winslow on I40.  I was on fire! and got in about 3PM.  I looked around Winslow (Yikes) and then headed in to the hotel.

Jeff reports that Mimi is recovering well after her kidney stone surgery and has recovered most of her sass.  Tomorrow–  off to Gallup!

Day 4 – Thursday, April 27 – 105 Miles

Today we had to cross three mountain ranges before stopping in Cottonwood.  The final descent was so scary!  We climbed up to the pass on Mingus mountain at 6000 feet which was a total grind given that it didn’t start until mile 80.  Then, we lost almost 4000 feet in 12 miles which is a lot steeper and more winding then it sounds.  I pulled into a scenic viewpoint because my hands were cramping up and actually said to some stranger “Can you believe I’m doing this on a bicycle?? Aren’t I nuts???”  They agreed I was. 

We went through an old mining town called Jerome which is literally built in the side of the mountain because of a nearby copper mine.  The mine is closed now and I’ll bet every therapist in Jerome helps people cope with their fear of heights.  I saw the couple I’d spoken with at the scenic viewpoint and they congratulated me for surviving.  I agreed.

Day 3 – Wednesday April 26 – 115 Miles

We crossed into Arizona early in the morning.  After thirty more miles on I10, we headed north through Brenda towards Wickenburg, a cute little town settled by German Miners in the nineteenth century.  We shared the hotel with a bunch of motercyclers who were suprisingly cool. 

Day 2 – Tuesday April 25 – 120 Miles

Hot hot and dry.  We had to ride more than fifty miles on I10 today which pretty much sucked but at least I can say I biked across the Mojave.  We stopped in Blythe, a small agricultural town on the Arizona border.  It was a long dusty day but it was really fun.

Day 1 – Monday April 24 – 122 Miles

Fabulous!  After first riding to the coast to dip our wheels in the pacific, we headed along the Santa Ana river trail towards the desert.  LA is huge!  We went over some hills and dropped into the desert.  I hit a huge pothole and nearly got tossed off my bike.  I got a flat tire and knocked my wheel out of true.  I went to get a spare and realized my spares were still in my luggage (idiot!).  Luckily, one of the other riders helped me out and I was back on the road in no time.  We went through palm springs before finally stopping in Thousand Palms.

Day 0 Costa Mesa, CA

My bike’s all set up and I rode it a little around Newport Beach.  My new computer made me briefly feel that I was a superstar until I realized that it was set for km.

A little tired from all the moving and getting ready and I’m definitely ready to ride tomorrow.  Can’t wait!

I leave on Sunday and I’m very very excited.  My bike is off to be boxed and get a couple of other upgrades.  I’m woefully undertrained but my knees are in shape and either I’m going to be able to handle the high mileage or I’m not. 

Still haven’t met my fundraising minimum for the lifecycle. Starting to panic:

http://www.aidslifecycle.org/2976

Tan Lines

I rode a hard hard century on Saturday up to Petaluma with some additional hills.  It was cold and damp and I got a flat tire but I had a good day.  Sunday my ALC training ride got cancelled because of rain and there wasn’t really any point to going off on my own because it was WET.  In fact, it’s still raining the next day.  I’m glad I did devil’s slide two weeks ago on my epic trip over king mountain because that road will be closed for a long time due to slides.  Yuck!  The rain has totally screwed up my training.  I think I’m going to do pretty well on my ride which is three weeks because the rides I have done have been long and hard but that first week is going to be hard!!!

New dog treat favorite:  Wrap a milk bone with a slice of bacon.  Dog Appetit!