Monday again...back to work

5:30 A.M. and Tom is moving around and making lots of noise - the weekend respite is over, time to get ready for another day at the office. I think I would not have voiced any strong objections to another day of leisure but we have things to do, places to see and so down to breakfast we went.

We headed out of the motel and joined the old Rt 66 and rode a few miles through downtown Flagstaff, the same route I had taken coming from the bike shop on Saturday. Within about 4 miles we were entering I-4o and getting into a long 40 mile stretch before our first SAG. We quickly saw a sign announcing 6000 ft Elevation but I think that was our high for the day. The city quickly disappeared and we were into unending open range - I know it was range land only because an occasional cow would be visible on the otherwise unremarkable landscape. We were riding paralel to a railroad track and the most exciting thing we saw was an occasional long freight train passing with it's cars loaded with trailer and containers - and we realized they have eliminated the caboose, too bad. In any case we had a 96 mile day ahead of us and a warning of winds near Holbrook so we did not tarry. We had a great tail wind and were cruising at 20/23 mph. We actually reached our SAG at 42 miles in a few minutes under 2 hours which is really cruising for us. Our first exit off I-40 was an exit back to the old (and now historic) 66 at Winslow, the little town made famous by the Eagles in the 70s. And sure enough there is a little memorial the "standin on the corner in Winslow Arizona" right in the middle of town. So, of course, Tom and I took a couple of pictures including the one above. I should also add that I tried to put my arm around that guy's shoulder and he practically gave me 3rd degree burns - it was about 11:15 and the sun was hot. There really is not a single other reason for Winslow to exist as far as I could see but we did find a kind of all-chicken version of Burger King and had a pretty good lunch before moving on. We were back on I-40 in short order and again moving with a gentle descent and the friendly wind. The next SAG was at the 76 mile point and it was back on 66 to the Jackrabbit Trading Post which is apparently one of few surviving businesses from the old 66 days to be close enough to the interstate to still attract some customers. Apparently the Crossroads folks (our hosts for this trip) have been using their parking lot for years and they look forward to seeing the bikes pull in every year. I started talking with Isobel who just turned 11 and says she has been watching the bike riders every year since she was 3 - cute little girl and the proof is above.

Shortly after we left Jackrabbit the ride turned a little more challenging. All of a sudden we had a stiff headwind and our cruising speed was turned to turtle speed. And as we got closer to Holbrook the wind shifted and became a strong crosswind. With my crash in the crosswinds last week this did not exactly make my day. We slowed down and took a conservative tack, holding tight to the handlebars and trying to breathe only through our noses as the wind created dust storms as well as the unstable conditions on the road....We finally got to our exit and were back on 66 heading into the little metropolis of Holbrook. We still had winds but they were not quite so strong and we felt much more confident heading for our motel. And then my little string of good luck ran out. I think I was just about the last of the entire group not to have a flat tire and I finally got mine with about 5 miles to the end. Two of those nasty little wires that litter the shoulders of the interstate got me-I've never had to carry tweezers in my kit before but that is the only way to get them out of the tire. So we stopped at a Dairy Queen as reward for our efforts and finally pulled into the Days Inn of Holbrook.

Stats for the day-96 miles with a 16 mph average and under 6 hours of riding time. And we still feel pretty good. They tell us that last week should be seen as a training week and it will get easier...we'll see tomorrow. 75 miles and more winds promised. We also get into New Mexico tomorrow and get to move into a new time zone...More on that later.