Holbrook, AZ to Gallop, NM. 92.5 miles and 2025 feet of climbing

 

It was a beautiful, cool, sunny morning when we started out from Holbrook, AZ, bound for Gallop, NM. 

There is a group of riders who are allowed to leave half an hour earlier than the rest of us. This makes it easier for the support staff to properly manage things with 22 people on the road, all riding at different paces. The folks that leave earlier tend to ride at a slower pace, which is, of course, fine since this is not a race. On my ride in 2019, the tour director did the same thing. 

Our group left at 7:30 AM. Very quickly, the riders spread out along the route. Some people start fast, and others ease into the day, knowing it will be long. The entire ride today was on Interstate 40. I am used to riding on Interstate highways from my past rides. However, today, the amount of debris on the shoulder of the road and the heavy big-rig traffic in the afternoon, made for an experience that felt more akin to running the gauntlet than riding a challenging 95 miles.

I was extremely fortunate and had a trouble-free ride, but I remember thinking to myself as I dodged old tires and wires and God knows what else on the side of the road; I'm sure some people didn't imagine they would have to navigate a ride like this when they signed up. Perhaps I'm wrong. My guess is that no one in this group would ever admit to thinking that today's ride was ill-conceived by the tour company. 

I only have my previous 2019 ride as a reference. But I don't remember a day as long or ridiculous as this on the 2019 ride. I think this group just chalks it up to the fact that this is the only way to get across the country in 48 days, so rides like this must be unavoidable. That was the consensus at dinner with the two riders I eat with. Perhaps they are right. I'll have a better perspective after this thing is complete. I plan to do a post-ride overview.

As you must have gathered from my previous posts, I have serious doubts about the competence of our tour director.  The two riders I had dinner with are very strong riders, much faster than I. When I saw them enter the hotel late this afternoon, they looked a little shell-shocked and admitted that they were spent. 

Today I did what I always try and do, ride within myself. I'm not fast. I am slow up the hills, but typically I am steady. Also, I think this time around, I am more in tune with how to eat before, during, and after the ride, so my stomach doesn't become an issue. For breakfast each day, I have oatmeal and a bagel with butter. I only have water, no coffee, and no juice. Then during the ride, I make sure I drink enough water, and I eat whatever baked goods they are featuring. Coffee cakes, twinkies, cookies, or an energy bar. That seems to get me through the 95 to 100 miles, but I must eat something substantial right after I finish. 

Today I rode right to McDonald's and had a McDouble, fries, and a diet Coke. It tasted so good. As I was eating my burger, I heard a young guy across from me say, 

"I like your bike, sir." 

I looked over to see a handsome young Asian man sitting across from me. 

I said, "Thanks. There's quite a story about that bike."

I proceeded to tell him an abbreviated version of my bike debacle story and told him I was riding with a group of older folks who were going across the country. 

I then asked him if he grew up here in Gallop. He said he did, as did his parents. 

I said my name was Dave, and he said he was Cory. Then, for some reason, out of the blue, I blurted, "So Cory, you got some kind of plan for your life? 

He didn't skip a beat, "I gonna be a nurse. My Mom is a nurse."

Then he proceeded to tell me how many more courses and training requirements he needed to complete in order to become a nurse. It turns out he is well on his way, and he hopes to be a nurse by the time he is 22-23 years old. I thought that was impressive.

Somehow in our conversation, he mentioned that his parents didn't want him to have a girlfriend. I said that didn't sound right to me.

I said, "All work and no play makes Cory a dull boy."

I even offered to have a talk with his parents. He seemed to think they would not listen to me. Imagine that, not listening to an older, sweaty total stranger in a bike helmet that your son just met at McDonald's. What is the world coming to!

With that, we shook hands, I wished him the best of luck, and we parted ways. My hunch is that Cory will do very well. 

One more thing before I go this evening. In yesterday's posting, I mentioned how chocolate milk is a very popular recovery drink among cyclists. My great friend Doug, who also rode across the country in 2019, reminded me today in a text that HE introduced me to chocolate milk after a ride. You are correct, sir. So, Douglas, I stand corrected. 

Here is a link to a video to today's mad-cap, highway biking adventure:

For a Relive Video of today's ride click here