Day 6 – Friday 29th April 2011 – Winslow AZ – Gallup NM

It was a real “wow” day with wind and wires the dominant features.

With breakfast at 6am at the hotel which was a pure Homer Simpson deal of iced donuts with orange juice with fresh fruit, toast and bagels etc available, route maps were handed out at 6:45am. The course profile was not pretty showing climbing all day for 133.8 miles. However, the scale was misleading as the actual absolute height gain was around 1,800ft from start to finish with ups and downs in between. There was also a severe wind warning in place with high winds likely. Fortunately, they would be largely at our backs. If they became too severe, the interstate could be closed and we would not be able to ride. If any rider found the conditions uncomfortable, they were advised to pull off into a safe shelter and call for a van ride.

Under another clear blue sky with just a light wind, we left the hotel just prior to 7am with a mild 19°C temperature. We were quickly “Standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona” which is a lyric from a well known 1970s Eagles song.

From there, we were soon out of town and the wind started to pick up. Moving easily across the interstate, we passed the Cholla power station which is a large coal fired station in the middle of nowhere. Massive trains rolled up and down the countryside, many kilometres long, some with hundreds of double stacked 40ft containers. Presumably coal is railed in to feed the plant.

Soon after this, Patrick had a deflated feeling and another puncture. He was unable to find the cause so replaced the tube and we carried on to the first sag stop at 40.6 miles. We reached this in under two hours. Patrick used the floor pump to fully inflate his tyre and we carried on.

Further down the road, we again stopped due to another puncture to Patrick’s tube. This time we managed to locate and remove the offending wire. I removed some wires from my tyres but they stayed inflated. Carrying on, this was repeated again.

The view was not much – mostly flat, featureless, open landscape.

The wind picked up and was howling in places. As such, our paced increased and we soft pedaled much of the day, especially on rough sections of road. At one point, we were rolling on a slight downhill at over 60km/h with no pedaling.

Closer to Gallup, some small hills appeared and in one gap, a wind gust blew us sideways on the road.

At the final sag, Patrick again had a flat tyre and the mechanic pulled two wires and a thorn from his tyre. I had removed further wires and glass but my tyres stayed inflated. The mechanic was prepared for the day with two boxes of spare tubes in the van but was starting to wonder if he should have brought three due to the number of punctures. At rap, a quick hand count indicated at least 35 punctures for the day with many more “saved” by removal of wires prior to puncturing.

Just after the final sag, we crossed the state border into New Mexico. We stopped for a photo but the fellow cyclist photographer somehow managed not to take it! He was soon dropped on the final long 26 mile drag into the far side of town. Part of the road in town was dug out so we used the footpath.

We reached the hotel at 3:15pm (which was the equivalent of 2:15pm but for the one hour time change at the New Mexico border) and found we had covered the 215.3km for the day in 6 hours flat at an average of 35.9km/h without pushing ourselves.

For dinner, there were only two options and we went to Denny’s for burgers and carrot cake.

Rap was at 7:30pm and tomorrow’s route crosses the continental divide, with one climb to the summit, before a mostly downhill run including one further climb before reaching Albuquerque. The climb to the summit is on the interstate which means it will have a maximum gradient of 6%. The winds are predicted to be much lighter but the temperature is predicted to be considerably less than today – freezing in fact in the morning.

Numbers for the day:

Departure time: 6:59am
Distance: 133.8 miles (215.3km)
Riding time: 6hrs 00m
Average speed: 22.3mph (35.9km/h)
Maximum speed: 37.5mph (60.3km/h)
Vertical climbing: 3,635ft (1,108m)
Temperature range: 19-32-26°C
Arrival time: 3:15pm (clocks moved forward one hour)
Weekly (Monday – Sunday mileage) to date: 592.5 miles (953.3km)
Total kilometres ridden to date / approximate kilometres to go: 1,134km / 4,428km

Day 5 – Thursday 28th April 2011 – Cottonwood - Winslow AZ

Another day, another century (100 miles plus) ridden.

Despite the overnight low being predicted to be just 37°F (3°C), by the time we went to breakfast just after 6am, it was much warmer. After a solid standard breakfast at the hotel, including cook your own waffles which Patrick sampled and pancakes, we were on the road just prior to 7am with an air temperature of 14°C. It was again fine and sunny with little initial wind.

In the carpark at luggage load was a tour bus. The evening before a rider had asked at reception if he had a quiet room. The staff member said he should have as a bus load of senior citizens were staying the night. I wonder if the seniors were told they were sharing the hotel with 20 odd (pun intended) bikers??

Out on the road, a large group of us were riding together through the opening two turns and mile or so. As soon as the road began to rise, this group shattered with just Patrick, myself and one other rider staying together. A couple of other later starting riders raced past us but with 170 odd kilometres to go, we let them race off and passed some of them back soon afterwards.

At the 15.6 mile mark, we had an “informal” sag stop at a church as the minister is a relation of one of the bike company tour staff. We were well fed and watered.

Carrying on, the real climbing soon began and we climbed through a forest and then a steeper solid 3 mile (4.8km) or so climb up a number of switchbacks to the top of another mountain summit. My 25 tooth gear was again well utilised. However, this peak had no fast descent and we just rolled mostly gently downwards with intermittent short climbs.

While Europe may have its cobbles, the USA has rough roads which are just as jarring, leg sapping and challenging to ride. While some of the roads are smooth black top, parts of the interstate shoulders are constantly rough and covered in blown truck tyres and wire beading.

Heading into the town of Flagstaff, new smooth blacktop was being laid and we were instructed to ride on the left hand side of the road. That was not a problem! We reached the lunch stop in town at 47.4 miles after about three hours of riding.

After lunch, the route took us through the Northern Arizona University campus. There were a number of turns and intersections and combined with student and other traffic, we were on campus almost long enough to attend classes and earn a PhD each!

After we graduated from the university campus, we were briefly on the old Route 66 before joining the I-40E (the interstate freeway.) This rolled up and down but mostly downhill and a variable wind helped rather than hindered us. Patrick punctured his front tyre due to one of the pesky wires and the new tube left the tyre with a distinct non-circular shape. After checking at the hotel, this was diagnosed as a defective tyre and replaced.

Riding along the freeway, we cruised up a reasonably steep rise at over 40km/h as we passed a sign saying were passing 6,000ft of elevation. The big chain ring was well worked but only ever down to about the 53:14. In the closing miles, a vehicle towing a Cobra glider trailer raced past us along the freeway.

We arrived at the Econolodge Hotel in Winslow just after 2:30pm. The luggage van arrived about an hour later. Winslow appears to be a rundown town with a closed down shopping centre next to the hotel. Various other areas in town we passed also looked well past their best.

For dinner we had Mexican food at Alfonsos Mexican Restaurant across the road from the hotel which was a rundown place but the food was ample and well priced.

Details of tomorrow’s 134 mile ride to Gallup in New Mexico will be given out at 6:45am tomorrow morning. This ride will see us complete over 1,000km in the first six days of riding.

Numbers for the day:

Departure time: 6:59am
Distance:  108.9 miles (175.2km)
Riding time: 6hrs 11m
Average speed: 17.6mph (28.3km/h)
Maximum speed: 42.5mph (68.4km/h)
Vertical climbing: 5,758ft (1,755m)
Temperature: 14-20-14-32°C
Arrival time: 2:35pm
Weekly (Monday – Sunday mileage) to date: 458.7 miles (738.0km)
Total kilometres ridden to date / approximate kilometres to go: 919km / 4,644km

Day 4 – Wednesday 27th April 2011 – Wickenberg - Cottonwood AZ

This morning we were up at 5:20am for a 5:30am breakfast and route details at the restaurant across the road from the hotel. They served every one with a standard cooked breakfast of eggs, toast, bacon, hash browns and meat patties. This meant service was surprisingly quick and efficient.

With an early start, we knew the day was going to be hard despite it only being officially 102 miles on the road. As the route sheet was run through, it quickly became evident why – 8,750ft of climbing (around the equivalent of seven Te Mata Peak climbs) was included and the first sag, and lunch, was scheduled at just 42.7 miles. However, the weather was again fine and dry but cooler than the previous two days at just 14°C. After loading our luggage, we hit the road just after  6:30am.

Almost immediately, the road began to rise. At the same time, our luck with the wind ran out and it began to blow across the road or into our faces. As such, the pace was very slow. A six mile climb of 3,000ft (about 2.5 Te Mata Peak climbs) was made even more challenging by the wind howling straight into our faces. My 25 tooth small chain ring was well polished on this climb.

Continuing on, the road rose largely unrelentingly until the sag and lunch stop at 42.7 miles. With the wind, this took us over 3.5 hours to cover this distance but we were still one of the first five or so riders to reach that point. It was gratifying to hear a number of other riders state that it was the hardest 40 miles they had ever ridden.

Back on the road, it continued to climb for a further 3 miles or so until finally giving some brief descents only to be followed by further climbing. This continued until the town of Prescott where a few miles of largely downhill were enjoyed. Entering the town, one building was boldly marked “Run Amok” and in smaller letters “Child Care Centre” with the ubiquitous gun shop further down the road.

The 2^nd sag stop was at 72 miles which left a further 10 mile or so climb with a long descent promised. Again my 25 tooth chain ring was well polished as I climbed to the 7,023 feet high peak up Mount Mingus.

From there, it was largely downhill but the road varied from extremely rough with hairpin turns to straight and smoother road. As such, it was not safe to really wind up the pace but the speedo still read a maximum of 65.9mph (106km/h) which was clearly incorrect. Stray radio waves must have affected it again. On the way down, we passed through the town of Jerome which is a little like a French mountain village – it is perched on the hill side with very narrow streets.

Once lower down, the last four miles into Cottonwood were again downhill and tailwind. The temperature had risen to 26°C and the sky was still blue. We arrived into the hotel at just after 3pm and had to wait for the luggage van. The hotel had set up buckets and rags to clean the bikes so I cleaned days of accumulated grime from mine.

For dinner we went to good Chinese all you can eat buffet which had a wide range of Chinese food and also sushi and desserts. As we returned to the hotel around 5:30pm, another two riders had just completed the day’s riding.

Route maps for tomorrow were given out at 6:30pm and tomorrow’s ride to Winslow at 107 miles shows about the first 40 miles of climbing before rolling largely downhill. With breakfast scheduled at 6am at the hotel and luggage load at 7am, the day would appear to be easier than today. Hopefully the winds are at our back.

Numbers for the day:

Departure time: 6:33am
Distance:  104.0 miles (167.3km)
Riding time: 7hrs 35m
Average speed: 13.7mph (22.1km/h)
Maximum speed: 65.9mph (106km/h) - but not correct! – more like 50mph / 80km/h
Vertical climbing: 8,645ft (2,636m)
Temperature: 14-26°C
Arrival time: 3:06pm
Weekly (Monday – Sunday mileage) to date: 349.8 miles (562.8km)
Total kilometres ridden to date / approximate kilometres to go: 743km / 4,819km

Day 3 - Tuesday 26th April 2011 – Blythe CA – Wickenberg AZ

It dawned another, fine clear day. We were up just before 6am for breakfast at the hotel. This was again a standard USA hotel continental breakfast but was held in a very small room. With the luggage loaded, we were ready to leave at 6:45am but Patrick thought his front tyre was not quite seated right so adjusted this prior to us leaving. With a mild 23 degree temperature and a gentle cross wind, the day looked to be good.

On the road, the route details were fairly simple with only a few major turns. After 5.5 miles, we crossed the state border into Arizona.

A few more miles down the road and State Trooper Betty ordered us off the I10-E due to roadworks closing the shoulder of the road. This meant we had to be vanned about 5 miles up the road which caused logistical difficulties as the vans carried 10 bikes but only 7 or 8 people and there are two vans and over twenty riders. Patrick and I managed to get in the first van and we drove up the road at 55mph which helped those with GPS data recorders.

The first sag stop was in the town of Brenda. Out in the desert, it looks vaguely similar to the MacKenzie Country – flat, dry and low scrub all around. There is no scenery of any interest. At 55.5 miles, we rode through the town of Hope which has the sign as you leave, “Your now beyond Hope” (sic.)

The road was again mostly gentle rolling country with long false flats as opposed to real climbs. The wind varied in strength and direction but mostly helped us along the way. Lunch was at 61.9 miles with the last sag stop at 89.1 miles. I removed another wire from one of my tyres but again no puncture.

We were again ahead of the luggage van so were in no hurry so we stopped and took a photo of a genuine Arizona cactus in the desert.

The promised 20 mile downhill run into Wickenburg failed to eventuate but the last few miles were downhill and tailwind. Overall the day was warm and I went through another 10 bottles of water.

Arriving at 2:42pm, our hotel key worked and we did not have to wait long for the luggage. With route maps for tomorrow being distributed at 5:30am tomorrow morning at breakfast we had an early dinner at the restaurant across the road.

Numbers for the day:

Departure time: 6:50am
Distance:  110.7 miles (178.1km)
Riding time: 5hrs 55m
Average speed: 18.7mph (30.1km/h)
Maximum speed: 65.7 mph (105.7km/h) – but not correct! – more like 32 mph / 51.5km/h
Vertical climbing: 3,788ft (1,155m)
Temperature: 23-33-29°C
Arrival time: 2:42pm
Weekly (Monday – Sunday mileage) to date: 245.8 miles (395.5km)

Day 2 - Monday 25th April 2011 – Palm Springs - Blythe CA

We arose at about 5:20am for the scheduled 5:30am breakfast. The hotel was on to it and the standard basic USA continental breakfast of cereal, yoghurt, fruit, muffins and pastries etc was soon dispensed with.

Mike Munk, the tour leader, has his own ride blog at http://www.bamacyclist.com/BAMA/Fast/Fast.html

After yesterday’s breakfast fiasco, he loaded the below as Patrick and my photos. He should be updating this today with well fed photos!

Under a clear blue sky, we set off at 6:33am with a light tail wind. The first few miles were mostly urban riding and we were joined by a sheriff from Mecca (California) who was riding today as part of one the other rider’s fund raising efforts. He told us at four way stop signs, the rule is first one there goes. Failing that, we need not worry today as he would ensure we had no problems!

After a gentle ride for 41 miles, we reached the first sag stop as a huge flock of birds circled lazily in a low level blue thermal – vultures perhaps seeking easy prey?? The sheriff said he was going to turn around and go back to Palm Springs. However, when he learnt there were further sag stops with snacks, he decided to carry on.  But, shortly afterwards, we started an approximate 25 mile climb and he soon dropped off. He turned around somewhere I heard. The “climb” though was only about 2,000 feet in total so was very gradual and comfortable. We reached lunch at the 2^nd sag at around 11am after 66.8 miles.

From there, it was largely gently downhill with a slight cross / tail wind and we rode along at 20-30mph (32-48km/h) quite comfortably. It hit 36 degrees so regular drinking was required and I went through at least 10 bottles for the day. Some of the I10 (interstate freeway) had extremely rough shoulders we had to ride on with gaps across the road every two metres or so. This was hard on the rider and bike – luckily I didn’t have the GT frame or it would have cracked! The final sag at 116 miles left just 18 miles to the hotel and we were way ahead of the luggage truck so were in no hurry. I checked my tyres and pulled out a truck tyre wire but luckily it did not puncture. The rider from Norway, Lasse, was in a hurry and we let him go as we hit around 50km/h. We caught him up soon afterwards and rode in to the hotel with him.

Arriving first at the hotel at around 2:50pm, our room keys would not work despite several resets. The hotel was full and the staff had no idea what to do. We were let in with a master key and eventually were given a master key to use as the maintenance person did not turn up in a timely manner. Checking my tyres again, I pulled two bits of glass from the back tyre but again with no obvious puncture.

For dinner, we walked downtown and had Sizzler with all you can eat salad and dessert.

The route for tomorrow was given out at 7:30pm in the hotel carpark – 115 miles and 3,360ft of vertical climbing are the task. The course profile shows mostly uphill and cross / head winds are predicted. Breakfast is scheduled for 6am with luggage load at 6:45am so we should be on the road by 7am.

Numbers for the day:

Departure time: 6:33am
Distance: 135.1 miles (217.4km)
Riding time: 7hrs 13m
Average speed: 18.7mph (30.1km/h)
Maximum speed: 32.7mph (52.6km/h)
Vertical climbing: 2,549ft (777m)
Temperature: 16-36°C.
Arrival time: 2:50pm
Weekly (Monday – Sunday mileage) to date: 135.1 miles (217.4km)

Day 1 - Sunday 24th April 2011 – Costa Mesa – Palm Springs CA

Opening the curtains this morning revealed an unpromising sight – wet ground, heavy grey clouds and probable light drizzle.

We went to breakfast at 6:30am but it was a bit of a shambles with Patrick and I served last about 7:15am. We ate our eggs, muffin and oatmeal before heading out to load our luggage. We were naturally last for this.

Shortly after, we headed out of the hotel down to the beach – about a 2 mile ride. After dipping our back wheels in the Pacific Ocean and a few quick photos, we were on our way en masse at about 8:15am. With numerous turns – the route map runs to 1.5 A4 pages with double columns for the 122.2 miles, no one was keen to lead the way but we managed to stay on track. My Flightdeck speedometer stopped recording after a few miles but my 2^nd one seemed to work o.k.

The weather was cool – 17°C, calm and dry to start off. Most of the early riding was on bike paths which meant no car traffic. A few light bits of drizzle mean it will not be a dry ride this year. After about 29 miles, we joined the road and had a short hill climb to the first sag stop.

Another 30 miles of mostly false flat roads lead to lunch at Perris. Prior to that, I did some Fred Flintstone riding after hitting a stone and being thrown into the dirt on the side of the road. Both feet came unclipped and the chain came off! Somehow I managed to stay upright and stopped. The chain was quickly flicked back on and riding continued. Lunch was basically make your own sandwiches with the usual SAG snacks of granola bars, cookies, fruit and nuts etc. All good carbo loading and salty nutrition!

Heading off after lunch the temperature dropped back to 16°C before warming up as the sky cleared. Up a gentle six mile climb, I crawled slowly up and the temperature dropped a couple of degrees. Once over the climb and into the town of Beaumont, we turned with the promised downhill and tailwind leading to easy pedaling speeds of over 45 miles an hour and cruising at 35-40 miles an hour very comfortably. A speed camera in Beaumont flashed as we passed it and the sign said speed limit of 25mph! We were easily exceeding that! Hitting some wide patches of reasonably deep sand at high speeds in the desert on the way into town also added to the excitement of the day!

After more fast riding, including a couple of brief excursions onto the freeway, we arrived at the hotel at about 3:30pm.  

For dinner, we wandered up town to a Thai restaurant for plenty of water, rice and good angel wings, egg plant, other vegetables and beef.

Route details for tomorrow were given out at 7:30pm with breakfast scheduled at 5:30am tomorrow for the 134 mile ride to Blythe.

Numbers for the day:

Departure time: 8:15am (from beach)
Distance: 112.2 miles (180.5km)
Riding time: 6hrs 21m
Average speed: 17.7mph (28.4km/h)
Maximum speed: 46.5mph (74.8km/h)
Vertical climbing: 4,383ft (1,336m)
Temperature: 16-29°C
Arrival time: 3:30pm

Saturday 23rd April 2011

We again breakfasted at the hotel before continuing my search for an adaptor. The hotel staff were most helpful and one phoned Radio Shack and said they had one but they were about 2-3 miles away. No problems I said, we can walk. So we did and that problem was solved so the laptop can now be used freely where Wi-Fi is available.

As the ABB accommodation starts today, we had to check out and check in again. We had arranged to keep the same room so this was not a problem.

In the afternoon, we walked down to the beach before returning to the hotel to complete the ABB rider registration, have the bikes checked again, and then go through a very thorough over three hour presentation on the logistics and safety aspects of the ride etc along with details of tomorrow’s ride – we breakfast at 6.30am (hopefully!), leave at 7.15am for the beach and head off to Palm Springs after that. There are just over 20 riders registered for the cross country tour with just one female rider. I am also one of the youngest with the oldest around 64. They did not have the ABB cycling jerseys in our size so we have to wait for these.

With a head full of information and what to do and what not to do, we headed off and had a kilojoule laden dinner at Denny’s before returning to the hotel to pack and prepared.

Tomorrow we ride ……..

Friday 22nd April 2011

After a good night’s sleep, we breakfasted at the hotel before wandering down town to try and find an adaptor for the laptop and to see any local bike shops. We visited a number of bike shops and I also bought a US cellphone for $9.99. There was no luck with the adaptor so went back to the hotel and started assembling the bikes. We took the bikes down to the ABB mechanic for final assembly and safety check. My helmet was failed despite having been in Patrick’s hand luggage. We wandered back up town but failed to see the bike shop we were looking for. Later that evening, we followed Mike from ABB to the bike shop where I bought a new helmet.

On the way back to the hotel, we tested the local cuisine of Taco Bell which filled the slot.

Thursday 21st April 2011

The journey had begun.

Patrick and I left Napier just after 6pm bound for Auckland. The AirNZ guy tried to charge Patrick $75 for his bike but after a brief review of the AirNZ web page, he agreed that my belief that there should be no charge was in fact correct. The flight to Auckland was uneventful and we proceeded to the AirNZ lounge to wait for the flight to LA. While the boarding pass said boarding at 8pm, this was way off we and boarded about 9pm. The plane was full but we had seats at the front of the cabin next to a door so had plenty of leg room.

Flying through the night and back into Thursday, we were aided by a tail wind and landed around 2.30pm local time. The plane was delayed on the taxi way by VIP traffic, presumably that of the USA President.

The immigration official was not overly excited when told I was planning to be in the USA for five weeks and had very little cash on me. However, we were soon fingerprinted and waved through.

Once out of the terminal, we looked for transport to the hotel. The airport help advised the only way was by bus to Disneyland then a transfer to John Wayne Airport and then the hotel shuttle bus. While waiting outside the terminal for the first bus, we saw a van marked “John Wayne Airport” so I asked him for a price. He said $40 each. I offered him $35 which he accepted. We loaded the bikes, jumped in and then he asked exactly where we were going. We said to the Ramada Inn at Costa Mesa and he said he could do that for a few extra dollars. Having seen his prominent sign that a 15% gratuity was not included in his price, I offered $40 each all inclusive to the hotel. He accepted this and we continued on our way. The hotel is about 45 miles from LAX and took about an hour so it seemed like a reasonable price, especially as the first bus was $25 each!

We checked in at the hotel o.k. and met a couple of the America by Bike (ABB) staff in the carpark.

Patrick chose pizza for dinner so we ate at the local pizza restaurant just around the corner from the hotel.

Where for art thou Jason? (USA map)

Where for art thou Jason? (hotels)