journal

Texas kicked my butt

Tonight Chris and I sit in our RV park, it is late, it is dark the wind has died down a little. We are in a little town of Shamrock texas, just a little way from the Oklahoma border. Today was brutal, it had to rank as the most difficult 90 plus mile leg of the journey I have done to date. It was a straight run, straight road, little hills, nothing to climb, warm weather..yet the wind blew....
We started off the morning checking the local weather and radar and saw that we had 15 -17 mile headwinds, thats not too much of problem, just slows you down a little bit...but the wind got harder and stronger and it was all coming in front of me...
Mile after mile of beating and hammering, blowing relentlessly in my face, my thighs were burning, this was about as bad as any thigh work out in the gymnasium. I could not even lower my gear as I got no traction through the chain and just went nowhere, so I had to use my high gears and power through.

Mile after mile after mile..Oklahoma did not want us and Texas did not want us to leave. We ended up in Groom by early afternoon...Groom has nothing there apart from the largest Cross in the western hemisphere that measures over 190 feet tall..it was an impressive sight to see...and around the cross was a bronze re enactment of the stages of the crucifixtion..it was an honor to visit such a worthy monument..I said a prayer for my family and Chris and I departed...

I still had another 50 miles to go, back into the trenches..hard peddling...I was having gear problems..my gears were sticking...never mind I would ignore it..i could deal with it later..I needed to ride...my gears were getting worse and worse, at one point i could not change into my high gears,,something was up..at least I could move though...

Hour after hour, stuck at 12 mph is no fun at all..i was so relieved to finally see the sign for Shamrock..only another 10 miles away...

I finally made it into town, hoped into the RV with chris and trundled along to find our modest RV park for the night...when I arrived I performed surgery on the bike gears ..I think I fixed it..tomorrow will tell...it was a hard days ride..I feel like I have been beaten up..still saying all that...when I checked my email..I found my son had made me a small donation...that made it all worth while....

We are getting ready to ride into oklahoma and have a big celebration, yet today was a day of reflection...I had one of those off days emotionally, wondering why most of my friends were not returning my calls from the road, just wanting to talk for encouragment, but seemed few people were interested in talking to me..

Sometimes like to day I wonder if the point of me doing the ride has gone over peoples heads.. I think most people think I am taking a 30 day vacation from my family...or taking a cycling holiday..thats depressing for me as I sweat and burn and ache and hurt every peddle of my ride....for the first time today..I actually thought that maybe throwing a party in DC would have attracted more peoples attention than the sacrifice I am putting in all alone out here in the middle of the burning desert...with winds whipping around me like the devils after me....Then I remember that my ride just might save a childs life, it might just save my fathers life, and if all my effort does is just bring a little hope to a single patient, wondering whether they might live tomorrow because of the results of what I do today..then that gives me inspiration to continue tomorrow..

This is not easy, this hurts, this is exhausting, this is soul sapping and vicious to my body...I go to bed and I ache, i wake up and I ache, I ride my bike and I ache....Just reading your comments to me would be nice, it would give me a little encouragement ..it will make me realise you have not forgotten about me...I'm feeling lonely today

Will my ride make a difference, maybe..who knows...I can only hope so....96 miles cycled today gives us 1178 miles in 14 days

Goodbye New Mexico hello Texas

Lets count the States....California, Arizona, New Mexico and now Texas...Texas...Texas here we are baby..home of our President..we entered into the big T early this afternoon.
The morning was spent preping the bike, cleaning the chain and gears, and then doing domestics..cleaning the RV and laundry...I was down to my last pair of underwear..I desperatley needed to do the laundry...we stayed the night at the Wagon Wheel RV park, the owner engaged me in conversation when we checked in..he had seen me a few hours earlier cycling past his park.." ohh that was you I saw on the bike..."

Yes that was me, I was cycling to Clovis..I told him ! " well there's nothing in Clovis" he said....Yes, I agree with him, hence our turn around for the night.

We drove out up route 60 past Clovis...the last time I expect to see that place, it looked just as bad in the day as it did at night..yet I could not help but think of the people living there, probably the nicest folks you could ever meet..they really probably were....I will never find out. We got to the drop off point and I was raring to go...It was going to be another warm day so fluids were essential...
Chris was only ever going to be 15 miles away from me maximum in the warm day sunshine...

The route from Clovis to Amarillo was up route 60 E, a straight shot basically 90 miles away..a nice easy day of riding taking in the cow pastures...wheeew...you can imagine the odor !

Clovis, a town of 985,000 inhabitants...950,000 of them Cows....I tell no lie....as we were to find out, we were in the biggest dairy area in Texas...
Route 60 ran right next to the railroad, and right along the rail tracks were the biggest grain storage facilities you ever did see, with huge arms and spouts from them to fill up the train holding tanks ..I did not get the correlation at first..but the grain was all Cow feed, millions and millions of tonnes of cow feed.

Every ten minutes a train was running right next to me, 30 or 40 cars at a time, I was so close to the railtracks, I could feel the reverberation every time a train came along..it seemed every driver of every train got a kick out of pulling his whistle chain right as they spotted me, not once or twice, but it seemed to go on and on...

Route 60 was a bad road, I mean a bad road...now I can understand old 66 being in bad shape, but this road is a main artery to Amarillo...the road has sparse macadam, the only macadam I could see was to fill in the cracks in the concrete and stone chip mix that was the main road surface...this had the effect of shaking my bones all day. The worse part of it, was again, my hands and feet kept on losing feeling, my fingers were often numb with the vibration, and my toes just kept on falling to sleep...

I had 90 miles of this in front of me.

We were well past Clovis and out on the open road, just me and the trains ..Chris was down the road somewhere...not too far away..and thank goodness, just as he came into view, I felt that familiar feeling in my back tire...it was deflating...and sure enough..I was rapidly sinking on the rim of my rear wheel...quickly into the RV I stripped the wheel of, tire off new inner tube, replaced all, and had time for a quick sandwhich covered in my favourite bike oil...

Back on the road and back into vibration city, I set off again in earnest..much to the same as before, very quickly my fingers lost all feeling ..when would this torture end..another 10 miles was taken off the total for the day..and we came to a town of Hereford. In England this is pronounced Hera ford...here it was pronounce Her ford..apparently after a cow...

We needed ice, there was a store, Chris and I made a pit stop to get some ice ...it was getting very warm, I needed it to cool my drinks down that were beginning to taste like warm syrup on a hot day..not very satisfying.

Back onto the bike...Ohhh No..another flat...I could not believe it...I stripped the tire again..and checked it..the culprit was a small piece of steel right through the tube...these roads were hard....

I just did not have the strength in my hands to put the tire back on...my hands were totally numb...then along came Donny... a pickup truck pulled up to us and out got Donny, I big burly 6ft 2 250 lbs railroad worker, with hands the size of shovels and forearms as thick as most people's legs...

" Hey guys...saw you were in a bit of bother...I am a cyclist too....these roads are a bit tough on skinny tires I usually use thicker tread, they eat up rubber like its sinfull ..you need a hand.."

We chatted for a while about things we had in common, like we were long lost friends catching up...Donny fixed the tire put it back on the bike and I thanked him...." No ..thank you guys...what you are doing is a remarkable thing...not many people would sacrifice the time and effort these days for such noble a cause......may God be with you..and have a safe journey...."

Donny departed into his pickup truck and was gone....

We had two more hours in us ..Amarillo was coming into sight..well at least thats what the signs said, the sun was going down behind me, the shadows of me on my bike were growing...but I knew again today we were going to get there, despite 2 punctures and a morning of domestical nuisance ..Amarillo was there for the taking....

The two hours past without event, the sun went down like it usually does, fast, but enough ambient light was around for me to ride safely into Amarillo...we had made it...not quite 100 miles today..but a good 90 miles ..

Chris and I found our place for the night, settled in, and walked to a small diner to chat and eat and relax, the more I talked, the more I was talking about my wife and my children, I was missing them terribly. I would get to see them soon, I was growing frightened of the thought that in their young minds I had abandoned them, it made me even more sad...

We have three days to get to Oklahoma City...and 300 miles to go...I feel like General Sherman on the march ...setting up camp for the night with his Army in toe waiting to take another city the next day...our next destination is Shamrock..and right now, I dont even know if its Texas or Oklahoma...all I know is it is a 100 + miles thata way and a 100 miles closer to my family...
97 miles today brings us to a total of 1082 miles in 13 days...

As bad as it gets...

Tuesday started off as a bright sunny warm day..even at 7 am, the sun was strong..I know you guys have had it warm in DC, but we were forecasting 85 degree's the hottest day of the journey so far...The morning was going to start with our radio interview. We packed up the RV and drove to the station...where we met Tim and Chris...we had an absolute blast, Tim and Chris are typical lively radio duo who play off each other on the radio, in a format like you have all heard many times, lively witty, full of character, a great way to drive to work... They gave me 25 full minutes on their show, talking joking laughing, making fun of my Limey british accent, about England fitting into Texas 4 times over..but seriously they engage the subject of Blood related cancers in the most sympathetic and passionate way..going over the details with me, expressing concern about its seriousness..and heaping loads of praise on the effort of bringing contuining attention to find a cure for the illness.. They were an awesome duo, and just so inquisitive and helpful...they even allowed me to fully plug the sponsors we had to date, asking about their involvement, their attitude was totally..if it helps you raise money ..Tell everyone who's helping you...I thanked U Haul, Coca Cola, Sprint PCS and all my friends who have graciously supported me to date...then the obvious question came up....why was Chef Boyardee not sponsoring me....words from their mouths.. " The product is aimed at Children, more children are getting this disease...so why are they not helping you...."

I explained the situation that ConAgra the owners did not wish to support the venture..to which they gave a loud Hiss Boooo to ConAgra...I could not believe it..a full 25 minutes on the most popular morning radio show in New Mexico and Texas...

The morning was made for riding, Chris and I departed with handshakes ..we had a 100 miles to ride..our destination was CLOVIS New Mexico...now, I want you all to remember this Town in New Mexico...you will not hear me say this ofton...but avoid this town like it has the plague..it probably does...you could not find two differing towns within a 100 miles of each other if you tried..Clovis in our opinion is as bad as it gets..

We rode from Roswell, knowing we had departed a great jewel in the desert..the ride was hard, uneventful, and very warm..today was a day full of fluids...at one point I almost became road blind with the nothingness in my view other than re worn macadam on the road in front of me.. 110 miles later..we arrived at the biggest festering cesspool of humanity I have ever witnessed, and Chris just laughed because he knew it was true....

We knew something was up the minute I got off my bike, having completed a great daily run.. Chris announces to me that he has spoken to the editor in Chief of the Clovis Daily Journal, the biggest paper in the area..who announced.." We do not cover stories about any form of Charity events..."

My immediate reaction was .." never mind they are just mean and dispirited....." we were 4 miles from the town center, and had NO clue as to what we were about to encounter..when we drove through the town..your immediate reaction was .." Lock all the doors.." the pretty countryside of New Mexico had been transformed into a mobile home city, after an atom bomb had been dropped, I guess one of the missing missiles from the trinity test site must have found its way to Clovis..because you could not find another explanation to the scab that this town represented as an eyesore to New mexico...a sprawling low level town of nothingness that made you feel lucky to be living in such a beautiful city in Washington DC..or anywhere else for that matter...

We could understand why the editor had no interest in covering our story..when your daily life is surrounded by so much visual misery..you must have trouble in searching for the goodness that surrounds you...we drove through the entire town looking for a non existant RV park, that was obviously abandoned and if it had existed, we would have been too frightened to even stay there...
We drove back to a lovely town 20 miles further down the road, one that I had cycled past earlier and had seen a very quaint RV park..we settled in for the night....

My impressions of the day are mixed..we started out in a wonderful town that held so much mystery and magic..we ended up in a town that so full of despair, you would feel sorry for anyone who lived in such squalor...Maybe that's what you get for living in the shadow of Roswell New Mexico...who knows..? All I know, is that I am glad I do not have to come back to CLOVIS....

110 miles ridden in the day giving a total of 940 miles in 12 days..tomorrow we head for Amarillo Texas....

As a post script..I just heard a great "Chris...ism.." " I now understand why oxycontin abuse is rife in middle America..."

Monday 26th Roswell day..

As our schedule had it we took the day off to explore the magical town of Roswell, New mexico, Chris and I did all the fun things, like visit the Alien museum and visit the novelty stores and Alien theme restaurants..we even parked the RV on the main stip and without realising were doing any harm, left to walk about the town...an hour later a charming Police woman came and found us..recognising me from my picture on the RV she informed us we were blocking traffic..but was very polite about it and engaged us in conversation about our Bike Ride, about Roswell and about the Alien culture, to our dismay she was not a believer in the Roswell story and debunked the idea of aliens then and there to us..she did however direct us to a safe place to park, and sent us on our way with a happy smile...what an absolute great representative for Roswell she was..
In fact everyone in Roswell was happy, polite, talkative, joking, and happy to welcome you to their town, even if they were not going to sell you something...

We had scheduled several interviews, which was the main reason we stayed in Roswell one more day, first the local paper..where we appeared on the front page of the Roswell Daily record, the very same paper that carried the original Alien story back in 1947 !!!
We then had arranged a TV interview with news channel 8 for Roswell, the story of the bike ride across America, what we had seen where we were going..it was all fun...the best part was to come the next morning, where Chris and I were to be radio guests on the highest rated Morning radio show in theTexas and New Mexico area..The Tim and Chris in the Morning show on KNIF ...

Chris...( my tour manager ) and I spent the rest of the day wandering around Roswell having fun enjoying ourselves watching Alien presentations, having dinner, and then back at the RV trying to fix our computer..fingers crossed its working now...

We settled in for an early night...we awaited the morning, a spot on the radio would be fun, but we needed to ride straight after....after all, talking on the radio will not get you a 100 mile day ..lol....

A wonderful day, a dream come true to visit the place of the little green men..even if most of the locals think the only aliens to have visited Roswell were from over the Border..!

No mileage today..just lots of fulfillment ...having cycled almost 150 miles the day before..i was happy for the restful day at Roswell

Sunday going to visit the little Green Men..

We are in New Mexico, so what must you do when in New Mexico?..you have to visit Roswell, well if you're an alien believer like me, its the only place to be..its the mekka for all believers of alien existence, and of course, I don't mean those crossing a border without a work permit !

We left Albuquerque in the morning, and took the RV to Clines Corner to hit route 285 going south..we were unable to ride on Interstate 40 for those miles because of the road works...it mattered not, as the extra mileage to Roswell was going to make up for any miles we skipped in the day..
Route 285 was a riders paradise, clean, new macadam, no debris...and best of all, just about empty, and the two most enjoyable factors, the wind was behind us, and the road was flat or generally going downhill...we were coming from 7000 elevation to just over 5000 feet, not too steep a drop, but when on a bike it was big enough to be enjoyable.
I can only describe the ride as a blast ..a sheer adrenaline rush..at one point there was a hill going down for 2 miles which was a 5 percent gradient..you could not keep your feet up with the pedal revolution I was going over 38 mph...it was better than any roller coaster...I still had in my mind though, that one, just one slip at this speed and it was all over with..road rash..road rash yeah right! I would have probably lost my entire skin to the bone at this speed...
Just one slight wobble of the front wheels, brought my attention to the dangerous games I was playing and the dreams of beating Lance Armstrong in the Tour...I slowly brought my speed down to almost a pedestrian 24 mph..it once again felt like I was crawling...

Little town of Vaughn was upon us in no time..it was kind of how I was expecting Roswell to be, small, dainty, a few stores, a main street...a typical out of the way country village....I blitzed through Vaughn..if you blinked you would have missed it...

Roswell here I come... time was awesome there was no slowing down..I was getting faster...Chris was there every ten miles to refuel me...sometimes I was so into the groove so in motion I blew right past the meeting point and indicated another 5 miles ...
It was the music...I had the music that just made me ride the whole day out..one of those beats that put you into rythym with the bike...Debbie Harry aka Blondie...a real blast from my 80's teenage years...The funny thing was one of the songs ..went something like this..

" You drive all night and you see a light...you get right out to see the man from mars...
You try to run, but he has a gun....
He shoots you dead, then he eats your head.....
And now you're in the man from mars..you go out at night eating cars...
You eat Cadillacs and Lincolns too, even eat the suburus....."
So the funny thing was..I was riding to Roswell listening to Debbie Harry singing aliens eating your head, and I was thrilled about the prospect...

Even more thrilling was the mileage I was covering....now a big hill..just another climb..yeah I can make it..and make it I did..two miles up hill..not bad..steep, but with my new legs of steel it was there for the taking...after all, now the ride was downhill..even though the wind had just moved from South to South east, It was still in my favor...whooooppeeeeeee...35 miles an hour....here we go again.....and when I got to the bottom of the hill..I flew right past it....the actual Roswell Crash site..there it was..the birthplace of all modern Alien stories..this was it...it was like ..not as important...but almost like visiting the Bethlehem stable where my Lord Jesus was born...! As I said, not quite..but it held almost the same reverence .....Chris had anticipated the photo opportunity and was there with camera waiting for me to arrive...

It was only another 17 miles into Roswell itself, we were losing the light..but I wanted Roswell..we fueled up and gave one last push into the town...an hour later we were looking at Roswell..the largest biggest brightest town next to Las Vegas in the desert...I mean it...I thought it was going to be some little dumpy place in the wilderness..but it was there, all modern all clean, all bright and every store imaginable..this is what the legend of Little green men did for this town...all I can say is, I can't wait to explore tomorrow!

Total Mileage to date: 870 miles in 10 days

Saturday..just another day

So its Saturday...we depart from Berth..and head into town to find the local small engine repair shop..we find the gentleman in good spirits..Chris made a funny comment that the people in New Mexico..are like totally different from Arizonians..of course, that is the mild way of recalling Chris's comments.. but then when you have been invaded by aliens and been the nuclear bomb testing ground what did we expect..
The mechanic set to work pulling apart the control panel on the generator..and quickly came to the conclusion it was beyond his abilities..so he blew it clean with a dust hose..reassembled the panel..and just for the hell of it, cranked it up..the darn thing worked like a charm..
We set off, we had miles to make up with our few lost hours of this morning..
Heading back onto interstate 40 we unloaded the bike ..the wind was light but once again heading in our direction..
The ride was uncomplicated and if the scenery had not been special it would have been boring..but after a few hours I started to labor..I was getting short of breath..and my legs burned..ohh no..come on, I was going up again. The ascent was gradual but lasted for miles it was like a chinese water torture..enough already please..then we hit it..7250 ft above sea level..for you guys back in DC..thats taking a plane and flying 1 1/2 miles up in the air..no wonder I had a hard time breathing..but we were here..the Great Continental Divide...technically and geographically I was now coming home East...
The remainder of the ride remained chilly..of course I was still so high up...but I pounded the peddles and gave it a good shot...I was now heading home and for as far as I could see finally..things seemed downhill if only slightly..I was pleased to get the miles done..and a whopping 115 miles later we called it quits through rapidly approaching nightfall... a total of 715 miles in 8 days....
We missed Alburqurque by a few miles on the bike but not too far..the day was hard..but my legs were finally getting stronger..

Friday's windy day

Holbrook, Arizona said goodbye to us this morning..we were now heading for Gallup, New Mexico.. a 90 mile jaunt down the route I-40 interstate...the winds predicted by the weather channel in the morning did not appear..the tiger was still asleep...although remnants of his yesterday tantrum were still around..
The wind however was overshadowed by the freezing cold temperature..we're in Arizona and the temperature told us it was only 38 degree's..it was a thermal wear day..to think I was looking forward to getting my legs tanned will tell you what I was hoping for!

Chris and I pulled out of the RV park..I have to say that every independent RV site has either given us a discount or pulled the bill completely when they know what we are doing, except for the established RV parks of Kamp of America who have not offered anything...I would recommend the hospitality of any of the independent sites for this reason..
We pulled out of the park at Holbrook and drove the 2 miles to Interstate 40... I had repaired the tire the night before, prior to going to bed, and was just hoping not to pick up another puncture anytime too soon..these shoulders on the interstate through Arizona were rough...

We were off...at first we tried 5 mile intervals just to be sure. Heavy rains were predicted and even snow was on the forcast radar..the wind helped push me a little, but nothing like yesterday..

The intervals got wider, things seemed to be working great apart from the fact it was getting colder and colder...and as we rode further we were riding through a wet road..so we knew it was around us. Our progress was smooth, not fast like yesterday. I was still amazed that my body was holding up as well as it had been..

Thirty miles down the road we came to Navajo..yes the Navajo reservation area...we had spent the night close to the Hopi indian reservation. I had never heard of the Hopi indians, but everyone has heard of the Navajo tribe, even a Brit like me! We stopped for lunch and was serve the most delicious Chicken soup..and wandered around the Indian costume shop they had in the travel plaza.

The weather was getting colder, I needed to put on a third pair of socks...and extra jacket..it was just like winter training back home! Then the rain came, just lightly, just drizzle, but enough to make you uncomfortable and wet..I was more worried about falling off the bike with the slippery road than I was yesterday with the high winds..I slowed down a bit, but was still able to manage a great pace of 17 mph.

The scenery was the most amazing thing..the border between Arizona and New Mexico, is the most beautiful thing I have seen in this country, with the rock formations... like you are standing on another planet. I have solidly come to the conclusion that there just is not enough time to stop and see this wonderous country..for instance, we had planned to stop and go through the petrified forest ..but with time constraints, a detour was not practical.

We were heading for New Mexico..then the winds picked up, then the drizzle got harder, and then the lightening started, and worse of all... the thunder...THE THUNDER...ohh Lord..have you ever heard thunder echo around a valley pass? It was like I was standing next to an artillery barrage..at first it scared the bejesus out of me! My body shook in total startlement..

This was not turning out to be a good day after all, now the wind had turned into my face making it all the much harder. I got to a checkpoint with Chris waiting for me..I had dried off and bottled up, when Chris pulled me over to show me the generator on the RV was not working. I was not happy, but there was nothing we could do, we have to wait to get it sorted out later. I needed to get my miles in for the day...

Back on my bike..I continued..not far to go..only another 25 miles to Gallup...the road, interstate 40, was now undergoing major repairs and all the east bound traffic had merge onto one lane...that was a bad thing for me..I had to get off the road, walk over the highway, crawl through bared wires walk own a sandy embankment to get to a frontage road...were I had to reverse the procedure 5 miles further up the road.

We were getting close to Gallup. I told Chris I would be okay, and to drive into town and find an RV place to have a look at the generator..I would meet him there in a few hours..my speed was down to 12-13 mph with the frontal wind assault...

The next two hours of riding were brutal...no RV support, rain, thunder, freezing cold, headwind...it reminded me of why I was doing this challenge..this was it...it was the effort, it's the heartache, the determination, the perseveranc, just like the the parents and children and patients with blood-related cancers are going through...PLEASE DON'T FORGET WHY I AM DOING THIS...MAKE YOUR DONATION, if you haven't already. Thank you for your support.

I rode into the town of Gallup, just as it was getting dark...and found Chris at a local garage with mechanics looking at the Generator...to no avail, they could not fix it. they did not have the part, but recommended a small engine and Motorbike company who could probably fix it in the morning..

We drove to our new RV park for the night....and checked in...then it happened..the most remarkable part of the day....The things you see, the things you do, all make up part of the human experience, but the essence of the human experience is those who you touch, and those who touch you, after all we only have each other in our community.

The owner of the site park, welcomed us as we pulled in, the first thing you could tell was the the site owner was a very patriotic American...as my wife will tell you, one of the things I, as a Brit, love about Americans is the love they have for their flag...and when I see an American flying the Stars and stripes with pride, it makes me proud to be living in their country...

This gentleman provided Chris and I with the most welcoming of entrances. We checked in, and said our hello's and you could not help but notice how patriotic he was and how much in support he was of our troops Defending our country overseas....we chatted for a while just on this subject and found we had much in common.

He is a leukemia patient! He currently undergoing treatment for a very serious form of CLL, and possibly terminal. Yet here was a man, who was so proud to be an American and fly his patriotic flag and honor his fellow Americans, he was more worried about the health of his troops than his own health..my hand was put out to honor this native of New Mexico...Besides that, as has happened with the independent parks, he tore the bill up and saluted us for the effort of helping others like him find a cure....it was a moment to be relished.

Today I cycled 95 miles, giving us 600 miles culmative at the end of day 7...Alberquerque here we come..but only after we get the generator fixed in the morning....

Catching a Tiger by the tail

Its Thursday, we are eager to get going and make up time and mileage..We wake up get the RV ready, cleaned up, dressed up..pull out and drive into Flagstaff central, a quick pick up to collect the bike and we are off..all is in working order, road and sand dust removed, brakes checked and we are ready to rock n roll.. We had been looking for alternate routes around Interstate 40 and found some awkward backroutes I was not going to enjoy riding on these roads we had researched...then, the guy in the bike store just said, " forget that " just ride on the Interstate..the police don't bother you, they don't mind..they are used to it..and its much safer.." That sealed it...we were heading out onto the Interstate onto wide open roads.." be careful though the winds are high today and will be higher tomorrow..25-35mph winds blowing east ..."

We parked in town unpacked the bike, said my prayers...and rode through the busying little town..within 5 miles we hit the interstate...I told Chris to meet me 10 miles down the road...I set off...
As soon as my feet were in the peddles, the wind caught my back and pushed me like I was on a rocket..I could not believe just how fierce the wind was...it had no bad effect, it just launched me further and continually faster..I hit almost 35 mph before I knew anything..I had to slow down..it was too fast, too quick..I was going downhill out of Flagstaff with the wind behind me and I just kept getting faster..I caught Chris at the 10 mile checkpoint in about 25 minutes having averaged about 25 mph..

A brief stop to catch my breath, I proceeed..this time I felt a lot more confident..I was ready to let the wind carry me and carry me it did...we made Winslow the 50 mile mark in 2 hours of riding....and I could have gone faster...We stopped for lunch and took a detour to one of the most amazing sites you will ever see that will make you really stop and think how vulnerable we all are..we took a visit to the one of the biggest known Meteor Crater sites in North America which happened to be 5 miles off the interstate..simply staggering..a hole large enough to fill 2 million people..2 million people and deeper than the Washington monument !

After lunch we drove back to the Interstate ..I had a Tiger to tame ! .... the wind was still high and still pushing east..I was going to make the most of this ride...off we went again.
An hour later the road itself changed..the State of Arizona Highway Dept..had ripped up a lot of the shoulder..it now became one rumbly ride..that required concentration and visual dexterity..and a lot of frustration at having to slow down..I was down to 20 mph and I though I was at a crawl..

The wind was my friend, blow faster...push me right through the state of Arizona..keep it going..70 miles came and went..then 80 miles came and went...we were coming up hard onto 85...it was a checkpoint, Chris was there waiting for me as we had arranged..a brief respit, a quick phonecall to Laurie and we were off again..light was fading so we estimated two more hours would take us well past the 100 miles...I got onto my bike...then...poooooof......oh no....I had a rear flat...
The flat just caused a minor delay, off with the tire, out with the tube..on with a new tube, replace the wheel..we were ready to rock in under 10 minutes..
I told Chris to go ahead and wait up the road about 2 miles, thinking that would be enough to make sure everything was okay with the tire....the 2 mile check point came everything was great..I waved Chris on...10 miles would just about take us to the century...
Chris departed in front of me..I put the music on I was away...5 miles down the road ..ohh no...not again..another flat...I could not believe it..2 flats in the last 30 minutes...and Chris was still 5 miles away. A quick telephone call to the RV brought him to my rescue..I guess we were staying in Holbrook for the night.

Flagstaff to Holbrook 105 miles..total ride to date 505 miles at the end of day six.
We pulled into the RV park and checked in..and in converstaion with the Site manager we found out that further up the road the Interstate had been closed due to a 150 car accident caused by high winds and sand storms..there were fatalities...it put into perspective the disregard I gave to the wind conditions...you don't catch this Tiger...it catches you...

Maintenance Day Wednesday

Charlie has gone..! He was only riding with me to Flagstaff anyhow, but I will miss him..his Golf clubs were in the back of the U haul ..he can't wait to get on the golf course after ripping up the roads with me..its Wednesday..we are forced to make a stop...we have to get the RV serviced..its a loaner from my wonderul brother in law Bill Schaefer..and we must get the oil changed in Flagstaff...
The thoughts are, maybe we can ride around Flagstaff..think again..we walked into a controlled burning of the forest and with unexpected high winds at 7000 ft..the whole mountain side and town of Flagstaff is covered in white smoke. It was bad enough trying to suck air at 7000 ft..but with smoke in it too..it was impossible to ride.

The opportunity came to take the bike into the local bike shop to have it looked after, cleaned, and given a thorough once over. Chris and I had been told to go to Sedona..take a drive there we did..what an absolute Garden of Eden hidden in the middle of nowhere..you have to see this place to believe just how beautiful it is. Surrounded just about on all sides by huge mountains and rock faces with beautiful streets and stores...it was a real western enclave with cowboys sharing the forefront with indians..it was beautiful..I just needed my wife there to see it, and my son Briton would have viewed this spectacular vision in awe.
We did no riding today..we needed to get some very important issues taken care of..we were looking forward to Thursday and leaving Flagstaff.

Tuesday day 5 cont..

After blowing through the RV 15 mile checkpoint we rode together another 12 miles to Hackberry ...Charlie was done.. another great effort..
I re fueled and set off again by myself I was feeling euphoric the endorphines flowing and blood pumping...i was about to go night riding..the sun just vanished right behind me...Peach Springs via valentine and Truxton here I come baby..sun or no sun....
I rode till I could see no more even with the rv lights on strong behind me...it was now 8 pm..and I had just ridden 50 miles in just about three hours..94 miles for the day....even after over twenty miles up huge climbs...I was done for day 5...a total mileage of 398 miles covered in 5 days..
It was time for bed...