Winslow

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DAY 5

Standing on the corner in Winslow Arizona

ROUTE: Cottonwood AZ to Winslow AZ	DISTANCE: 107 Miles	WINDS: Light at beginning, brisk crossing tail in the afternoon
WEATHER: Rainy at start, clearing as the day wore on...about 45 degrees at departure, 65 by rides end in Winslow.	TERRAIN: Mountainous for first 35 then rolling to the end	TOTAL CLIMBING: 4400 feet...mostly in the first third of the day

DAILY DOINGS: Happy Cinco de Mayo. When Barb and I awoke and were getting ready to go to breakfast, I was wondering what the noise was outside my door...RAIN?! What's this? It was pouring and when I turned on the weather channel, it was saying that Flagstaff was going to have rain mixed with snow about the time of our arrival...bummer...climbing up to 7000 feet in rain and snow wasn't my idea of a great time on a bike ride. I really thought we were in for a miserable day. But as it turned out, we delayed our departure until about 7:00 and by then the rain had mostly subsided and the sun was even trying to peek through in some areas. The farther we got on the ride, the better the weather got and by the time we passed Flagstaff, the temperatures were starting to mellow and the clouds were breaking up...I love it when things work out that way.

Today was a day of contrasts. The first part of the day is one of the most beautiful rides anywhere...the narrow Oak Creek Canyon and the red rocks of Sedona. In the middle, we closed in on the beautiful mountain that frames Flagstaff. From there, we started down the interstate and the scenery became vast open spaces of desert. The only life out there were desert critters and cattle which are spread out over thousands of acres. I wonder how many acres it takes to sustain 1 cow for a year? You sure don't see big herds out here...I'm not sure any of them realize there are other cows in the field. It's a day's hike to the next cow.

The route started out similar to yesterday...a gentle climb for about 18 miles after leaving the motel on Highway 89A (upper left). Out here the ground just rises and as you are nearing the mountains, it appears to be very gentle and you can't believe how much your legs are objecting to the pedaling motion. Then you look back and you see why...where you were is waaaaaaay down there behind you. The good news is that a couple years ago they finished a new four lane road to Sedona...sweet! We had a clean, new shoulder all the way into town.

Sedona is a gorgeous area with lots of beautiful red rock formations and is quite a touristy trap town. Luckily, it wasn't open for business when we went through so Barbara didn't have time to shop...my credit cards were safe another day. As far as the scenery was concerned, every time you think you've seen the most beautiful red rock formation, you turn around and see one even better. Even with all the cloud cover from the rain, it still was pretty impressive. It's hard to ride through there and not be amazed at the beauty of the area, but as cyclists we are concerned that the motorists are not gawking at the scenery as they drive past us. That aside, we stopped at an Episcopal church for a rest stop as we entered town. The priest for that congregation is my son-in-law's mother and her congregation supplied goodies to nourish us along the way.

We didn't spend much time in Sedona because we knew the climb out of town was pretty big...and then some more to Flagstaff which is around 7000 feet. It starts out rather unassuming as the terrain rises gradually but later the switchbacks start...then you go up pretty fast. It is an interesting climb as you cross the same face of the mountain 4 times. I always have a great time climbing up Oak Creek Canyon. Even though my legs were a bit tired today, I still really enjoyed the effort of the climb and even played with a couple of riders as we sped up the switchbacks to the summit. I told the riders the switchbacks are so tight that if they fell from the top road, they would bounce on the road at four different levels. It takes about 3 miles of climbing to go straight up about 200 yards. As we got to the top, tourists who had passed us on the way up were very curious as to what we were doing. We got the same reaction from them as we do usually when people find out we are riding across country..."You're riding to WHERE?" "WHY?"

Lunch was at Flagstaff and even though the weather was getting much better, most everyone was looking to sit in the sun to stay warm. After lunch we picked up some pretty good tailwinds as we started to descend out of Flagstaff toward Winslow on the Interstate 40. The winds and the descending terrain made it easy for Karen and I to hold speeds in the 30s without too much effort and even on the uphill portions our speed was near 30 as the miles clicked off to the sound of our tires whirling along on the tarmac. By the time we got to the last SAG at 90 miles, Barbara (with the SAG van) was no where in sight and still a long way from getting to us...some riders were really late to get to lunch because of the big climbs early allowing the faster riders to outrun our support. But Jim was on the spot with the mechanic's van and caught everyone before they arrived at the last rest stop. Joe did beat him but was at a small store about a quarter mile from where Jim was sitting up the SAG. Joe called on his cell to see where Jim was and when Jim told him that he could see him at the store, the rendezvous was forth coming.

It was hard to believe we were in the same state after leaving Flagstaff. The terrain into Winslow consisted of large, gentle rollers and was some of the most wide open, desolate terrain you could imagine. As you can see from the photo I took of Karen, there's not much out there. We drop about 2 thousand feet between Flag and Winslow and with the tailwind almost everyone was moving pretty well. I have a hard time imagining what the early settlers had to go through as they traveled across this waterless land especially traveling to the west into these brutal westerly winds. You can see for miles and see really nothing except dirt, sage, and an occasional cow for effect (the cows probably weren't there in those years). I'm always amazed at the vastness of the west. Anyone from east of the Mississippi cannot imagine how open it is out here. Even people from the corn belt in Iowa and Illinois who hardly see anything but cornfields would marvel at how "big" it is out here...it's hard to describe. Even 85 miles from Flagstaff you can still see the mountain that's behind the town.

Even though we were on interstate, several riders said it was one of their best days (even with the short stretches of rough shoulder). I'm glad they enjoyed it because tomorrow's interstate is not so forgiving in spots. But now it's time to get some sleep...it's 10:00 PM...we are staying at a nice Best Western just off the interstate. We're having the usual aches and pains associated with a ride of this magnitude, but everyone else seems to be handling the physical part pretty well. They are all getting tougher everyday...I see it. Today turned out to be a pretty easy day...tomorrow is another 125 plus mileage day, but if we can catch the winds right, it could be an easy day too...if riding 125 miles is ever easy. We're expecting the temperatures to stay reasonably cool over the next few days which is a good thing. Now that it's cooled off a bit, it's getting easier for this bunch...next time we have mileage in the low 100s, they will want to sleep in. See you tomorrow.

DAILY DISCERNING DIALOGUE:

-"Oak Creek Canyon made the whole trip worth it."

-"I wanted so much to be in a car with a heater...but no, I'm on a bike that doesn't even have a motor...oh, that's me."

-"I've just named my bike, "The Giant Banana." Andy coined his yellow bike...it's a Giant.

-"Darn, all my sunscreen washed off."

-"I don't mind the climbing when the scenery is like this."

-"Mike, can you order these tailwinds for the rest of the trip...how bout the down hills too while you are at it."

-"It's not going to rain today." "What weather channel did you watch?"

DAILY DUH: You've got to watch what you say around this group. Charlie stated at lunch that he was freezing and he'd give a $100 for a dry jersey. We had to restrain several of the women who quickly volunteered to offer him theirs. $100 goes a long way at WalMart.

DAILY DIGITAL DELIGHTS
Scott decided just to ride around an around the balcony of the motel under overhang after he saw all the rain this morning. That's OK Scott, but we're taking your luggage to Winslow.	What an appropriate jersey...come rain, snow, cold, or high water the US Mail must go through...in this case, ride our bikes.
Always the one to be up with fashion, Andy found lilac to be the perfect accessory to complement any biking attire.	We weren't sure if Fred wore this jersey to advertise his mood for the day or if it was because it was the only jersey he had with his name on it. Nice jersey...only thing that would have made it better probably would have been lilac.
Yep, it was a bit breezy...I almost blew away.	Where did that arrow come from??? Can't be too careful out here Ms Karen.