Day 8 Albuquerque to Las Vegas, Nm 135 miles 17.5mph

OK…Today was officially billed as “make it…or break it day”! Meaning that if you made it thru the last 3 days of ultra-high mileage, difficult climbing and winds…you would, most likely, make it to the end!!! Well…I am happy to report…I made it! Yesterday was supposed to be the hardest day…but today was much harder. The winds, the early morning climb out of Albuquerque, the fatigue from yesterday, another 40+ miles on the interstate…and my nagging altitude headache (today topped out at over 8000 feet), were all conspiring against me! It was a tough mental day for everyone. You can see by the profile we did some serious climbing again today. The first big climbs were on backroads…the last were on the interstate. The problem with the interstate climbs is they are usually several miles long. They seem to go on forever…with your legs screaming in pain. I love the sound of an 18 wheeler approaching because I know there will be this huge rush of air that acts as a tailwind to help push you up the hill.

I rode solo for a good bit today. Everyone was pretty fatigued from Sunday’s ride and it was hard to get a consensus on how everyone wanted to approach today. Rob and Judd were ready for a recovery day, so was I! We rolled out together but soon separated on the climb out of town. I enjoyed the solo stretch between the hills and the interstate. Just me and the bike! At lunch, Judd decided to wait for our ride leader, Mike. That was the end of the planned “recovery ride”. Those two were hammering! I tried to hang on…they finally slowed in sympathy! Mike has been leading these tours for 15 years. He’s a great cyclist and has a ton of funny stories about life on the road. He, Judd and I rode into Las Vegas together and had dinner at the Rialto. That will be the plan from here on out. By the time you get to the hotel and take a shower, you just don’t feel like going out to eat…and eating is what you need most after these miles. You can see by the pics…I love to eat! Tomorrow, we are off to Tucumcari…more climbing…yipppeee!!! dd


: Me…about to take my first 12 mile withdrawal from the First Gravitational Bank of New Mexico. 48 mph on the way down…it took about 20 minutes. My legs were cramping from not peddling!


Today's ride profile. Climbing, followed by more climbing, followed by another 40+ miles battling headwinds on the interstate!


The other Dave climbing out of Albuquerque. He summers in Canada and winters in New Smyrna Beach, Fla. Hope to see him on some of our “Roadies” rides next fall!


I rode alone for a good bit of the morning (after the big climb out of Albuquerque). After yesterday, we all needed a little quite time. It was such a beautiful morning with very little traffic...I enjoyed the time alone.

Day 8 pics

Las Vegas buildings


Judd with his taco’s from The Rialto. Notice those tan lines on his forehead. Our helmets are vented…that’s why I wear a hat under mine. My hat also has a visor to keep the sun off my face…I still wear zinc oxide.


Mike (our ride leader and author of the “bamacyclist.com” site) trying to steal some of my dinner. I don’t think so!


Our table full of fabulous food from the Rialto in Las Vegas. Note to Nora: that’s hominy in the upper left corner of my plate. Not as good as yours but darn tasty after 132 miles on the bike!


The Rialto exterior…my trusty bike waiting for me!

Day 7 Gallup,Nm to Albuquerque,Nm 145 miles @ 18.6 mph

It's hard to believe I have been at this for 7 days!!! I have never ridden more than 5 days in a row and certainly never put in anything near this king of mileage in a week! Let alone the mountain sections we've come across!

I sure do miss Katie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We knew today, being the second longest mileage day of the trip, was going to be a challenge. Yesterday taught us (the hard way) that the 3 of us were working way too hard. We needed a recruitment campaign! At breakfast, we discussed adding at least 2 more riders to our group to lighten the load of pulling across another long stretch of wind-blown prairie. We got lucky and got 3...Steve (a huge engine), Ken and Geoff! We were set! All safe riders and very capable of keeping the pace up. For you non-cyclists: the "draft" is key. The guy at the front of a paceline is doing most of the work (pushing the wind). If you stay close to his wheel you can "draft" ala NASCAR and reduce about 20-30% of the effort. If you only have 3 riders rotating off the front of a paceline every mile...each guy is pulling once every 3 miles. If you have 6...each guy is working at the front once every 6 miles and sitting in the group getting a rest the remainder of the time. More guys=less work=the ability to maintain higher speeds over a longer distance. This sounds like one of those algebra questions I always hated! Anyway, we were a fine-tuned machine today. We were so far ahead...the staff wasn't able to get to the last SAG before us, so we rolled on into Albuquerque! Some beautiful scenery again today. Cowboy and Indian country. I have trouble getting the theme somg from "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" out of my head...heyyahhh! Took some pics at the Continental Divide...and rolled thru a really cool lava field. Most of the day on the Laguna Indian Reservation. The poverty in this area is really sad to see. The people have all been extremely friendly. I talked to group of ladies at a store stop today...they couldn't believe we'd come from Los Angeles. They really flipped when I told them we were on our way to Boston.

Getting this post done early today so I can get an extra hour of sleep tonight. Another long one up to Las Vegas, Nm....no, not that Las Vegas...I wish!



Our early morning roll thru Gallup…to Denny’s Grand Slam #4. I swear, after this trip…to never eat at Denny’s again!!! We rode 8 miles to get there this morning. I was starving!


A table full of Grand Slam’s


Our “Gang of 6” heading toward Albuquerque


Me at the Continental Divide Trading Post


Me again at the actual Continental Divide

Day 7 pics

Judd, Rob and me at the Continental Divide


Judd rolling across the prairie


Woo Hooo!


Me gettin’ some doggy lovin’


Not a car (or anything else for that matter) for miles!!!

Day 7 pics

Our version of a prairie freight train. As a group of 6 we were able to move considerably faster than when it was just the 3 of us. Big thanks to Steve, Ken and Geoff for the help today!


More prairie bleakness


Our lunch SAG


Our snack SAG


Mike putting bikes on the roof of the van. The State of New Mexico forced us to portage the bikes around construction
on I-40

Day 6 Winslow,Az to Gallup,Nm 127.2 miles @ 18.5mph

One of the America by Bicycle Staff bikes…a “ROARK” titanium. It’s a beauty…even to a carbon fiber guy like me.


This is what we looked at for about 95 miles along I-40 today


Brian at the “lunch SAG”. You don’t go hungry!


Finally, as we approached Gallup,Nm the scenery changed.


I only took about 8 photos yesterday…that’s how empty the scenery was. Don’t get me wrong it was really beautiful…it just never changed til we got to the end. Note the only thing different in this shot is the red pebble road…I shot it! BTW, it was silky smooth, a huge relief from the interstate.


Today was really tough! I was actually longing for yesterday's mountains because we spent the entire day on I-40 (except the last 12 miles into Gallup). Riding on the Interstate is incredibly hard. Your senses are working overtime with 18 wheelers inches from you...and your body never gets a break from the constant grind without much change in elevation. Everyone is pretty wiped out. Tomorrow is our longest day yet at 143 miles (about 1/2 of that on I-40 again!)...so it's early to bed tonight. My legs feel great, it's the relationship between my body and my bike seat that needs some counseling!!

For some reason photos are not uploading from the Taj Mahal in which I staying....I'll try again in the morning.
dd

Day 5 Cottonwood,Az to Winslow,Az 107 miles@17.2 mph

Today was another beautiful day! Filled with incredible contrasts from the desert to the Red Rocks of Sedona to the mountains and then the bleakness of the prairie desert into Winslow. All beautiful in their own way. It was also Day 2 of monster climbing (see profile). The “Gang of 3” me, Rob and Judd started the day together again, having spent all day yesterday climbing and laughing (so hard my stomach hurt last night!). The laugh-fest started with an innocent comment from Rob (whose last name happens to be LANDIS…he swears no relation to Floyd, but I am suspicious!) ,doing an impersonation of (british) Tour de France commentator Phil Ligget: “it looks like Landis has the boys in a spot of bother”…as he rolled away from us on a climb. I responded in my best Phil voice as we caught him: “oh, no Bob…it looks like Landis has sipped from the challis of pain one too many times”. (If you don’t watch the Tour de France this won’t make sense…I apologize!) Anyway, the rest of the day was spent bantering back and forth as if we were being commented on by Phil, Paul and Bob…pretty funny! It also makes the climbing much less painful. We added a 4th member today, Bill. He was a huge help as we battled the headwinds down I-40. He’s also a great bike handler…and that’s why we’ve been so careful about who we let in. He’s safe, steady and predictable. And he laughs at our dumb jokes! I felt great today. I was really worried that another day in the mountains would wipe me out. I’ve been eating every chance I get ...and I think that has made a big difference. I have a huge breakfast…usually 2-3 eggs ,a couple of pancakes, some bacon, hash browns, OJ and a coffee. Then 3-5 bananas, a couple of Clif Shots (Thanks Rocco!!)…before our first SAG around 10A. At lunch I take a big tortilla and put everything I can find on it…barely able to fold it. Then finish that off with my new creation: The Dessert Sandwich! More Clif Shots and bananas...then a Clif Bar or two at the hotel. All finished off with a big dinner wherever we can find within walking distance of the hotel. I’m hoping to gain weight on this trip and appears my plan is working!
Tomorrow start a 3 day ultra-mileage torture-fest…127 ~ 146 ~ 133 …OUCH!
Gotta get to bed! dd

Day 5 pics

Our early morning trip down Rt. 89A from Cottonwood to Winslow


Traffic light with a view in Sedona


Downtown Sedona


Rolling across the bridge out of Sedona on Rt. 89


“I-Man” and Brian rolling out of Sedona

Day 5 pics

VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED! Hey, Rest Areas are built for people going 80 mph in a car. When we gotta go…we gotta go!


My now famous after lunch dessert sandwich. 1 slice of bread…1/2 coated with peanut butter ½ with honey…the pile on the gorp mix…yummy!


Check out those switchbacks we climbed today. I could only capture 3 levels in this frame.


Rob aka: “Slide Rock” Seriously, that was his break-dancing nickname!


Trees at last! Today was a day filled with contrasts , from the desert to the Red Rocks of Sedona , to the mountains…and back into the desert.

Day 5 pics

Here I am “Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona”…with the Don Henley statue behind me (under construction)


It’s not often you can finish a 100+ mile ride and turn around to see where you came from. We crossed those mountains at mile 30 this morning.


The newest member in our “Gang of 4”, Bill…showing off his newest acquisition, courtesy of I-40.


I always wanted to visit the Meteor Crater as a kid. Had to pass up the chance today to stay with the boys and their 30 mph paceline down I-40.


Rolling east down I-40…a very different view than we had this morning! Nothing!

Day 4 report

Today was the day we all feared. Our 4th ride of over 118 miles in a row...with 11,000 feet of climbing. Last night everyone was icing knees and guads...to get ready! First up was Yarnell Pass on Hwy 89, about a 10 mile climb. It's 2 lanes going up and 2 lanes coming down...plus a wide shoulder so there was plenty of room. Most of my pics are being shot from the bike. Rob, Judd and I have been riding together and it's tough to stop for a photo op and then have to run them down. My original plan was to stop and shoot everything I found interesting. The new plan is to keep the camera in the Bento Box frame bag (thanks Cori!) and shoot what I can. Hey, this is supposed to be a vacation...ha! I am perfecting my ability to take photos while bombing down hill. Rob, Judd and I all climbed together today. We thought we would duke it out for King of the Mountain (KOM) all the way up Mingus. We kept the pressure on each other the entire way up. We had to stop at the top to put on cold weather gear for the descent, so we decided to award KOM via a sprint finish at the Cottonwood city limit sign. Our lunch stop was early today to get everyone fueled up for the big climb up Mingus Mountain. It worked out great, because I was ready for a really decedent lunch after all that climbing...and Jerome had just the place. Perched on a hillside overlooking the valley and Cottonwood...is Haunted Hamburgers. As we got there we saw another cyclist...it was Ken (one of ours)! Since he had clearly beaten us over the mountain he won the KOM...at 55!!! Good work Ken! Seems he passed on the last SAG (food) stop in Prescott and we never noticed him. Rob and Judd are maniacs when it comes to bombing these downhills. The last one was 12 miles long with speed over 50mph...tons of very sharp 180 degree swithbacks...but these two were flying! They had about 1/2 mile on me at the bottom. They are younger (and way crazier than I am...clearly!). My buddy Iain was particularly worried about his climbing today. Happy to report he did great! I've renamed him
"I-Man" (short for Ironman)...having not been able to train as much as the rest of us...his efforts are amazing!

The scenery today was absolutely spectacular. Everywhere I turned...looking up or looking back was amazing. This is a beautiful country...and I am very fortunate to be seeing it this way. Yesterday, I thought about how boring it must be to drive these roads in a car, insulated from the world listening to music. When you are on a bike every inch of the road seems different. Your senses are so tuned into your body, the truck flying by you at 80, or a small beautiful wildflower. It really is hard to decribe!

That burger is wearing off...it's time to eat again. I love to eat! dd

last of Day 4 pics

Rob,Ken (55yrs) and Judd having a burger at Haunted Hamburgers in Jerome. What a view! And a fabulous burger after all of that climbing!


The outside of Haunted Hamburgers with the entire groups bikes propped outside. Some were on the roof of the shed...some were even inside the dumpster shack!


The town of Jerome...an old copper mining town perched on the side of Mingus Mountain.

more Day 4 pics

Logan making his way up Yarnell with Wickenberg in the background....way down in the valley!


Judd bombing down the backside of Yarnell at over 50mph! I've been getting good at taking pictures on the bike...Don't try this at home kid's! As G$ says: weeeeeeeee!

Looking back as we climb up Mingus Mountain. There's a cyclist on the road below so you get a sense of scale.


King of the Mountain contenders (so we thought) me,Rob & Judd at the top of Mingus!!!


Looking out towards Cottonwood and Sedona from Mingus