We had a lot of beauty to keep us going in the last 3/4’s of the day. It was a long one, and there was some good and bad. You will see a lot of the good, but there were some challenges today as well, and that’s part of this challenge is overcoming the obstacles, including physical and mental.
Part of the bad is that we spent literally 90 miles of today’s ride on I-40. I-40 is not a lot of fun. I don’t feel as if it’s dangerous, as most cars and trucks pull over to the far lane and give you plenty of room. It’s just tedious, because in places it is rough, and you are always dodging rubber tire pieces and other trash on the shoulder. The other bad is that I-40 has decimated a lot of little towns, they have become ghost towns, and the businesses are gone. I-40 has also eaten up a lot of Route 66, as it is gone and the new I-40 has taken it’s place. Here is an old out of business motel.
Also with the I-40 trash, and tires that blow from the 18 wheelers are these fine little pieces of wire that were used to make the steel belts in the radial tires. These little pieces of wire get stuck in your tire and cause flats. We had over 20 flats today, although this was my first, many people have had multiple flats already, so I feel blessed that this was my first. This happened early in the ride about 10-12 miles in, and I basically rode by self today until I caught some of the others. I got in later than usual to the hotel this afternoon and we lost an hour as we are now in Mountain time, because Arizona doesn’t play that game.
I wish we would have gotten closer.
Starting to see some nice terrain again.
Indian shops everywhere, this one had ice cream, and I was running low on ice cream at this point.
This is about 10 miles away, I kept going over hills and this came into better focus, easy to keep your attention. Pictures below as I got closer, and closer.
Third state, and 2nd state crossing, beautiful sights so far.
This was on the other side, you can kind of see the tee pees and deer on top of the rocks. It was another Indian outpost.
This is where we are staying tonight, Gallup, NM
Data for my data geek friends, including the map.
More climbing today than yesterday.
Also with the I-40 trash, and tires that blow from the 18 wheelers are these fine little pieces of wire that were used to make the steel belts in the radial tires. These little pieces of wire get stuck in your tire and cause flats. We had over 20 flats today, although this was my first, many people have had multiple flats already, so I feel blessed that this was my first. This happened early in the ride about 10-12 miles in, and I basically rode by self today until I caught some of the others. I got in later than usual to the hotel this afternoon and we lost an hour as we are now in Mountain time, because Arizona doesn’t play that game.
I wish we would have gotten closer.
This is a sign on the side of the interstate, and I wasn’t planing on ride on the road.
Starting to see some nice terrain again.
Indian shops everywhere, this one had ice cream, and I was running low on ice cream at this point.
This is about 10 miles away, I kept going over hills and this came into better focus, easy to keep your attention. Pictures below as I got closer, and closer.
Third state, and 2nd state crossing, beautiful sights so far.
This was on the other side, you can kind of see the tee pees and deer on top of the rocks. It was another Indian outpost.
This is where we are staying tonight, Gallup, NM
Here is the video for today,
Data for my data geek friends, including the map.
More climbing today than yesterday.
Thank you for following along with me on this journey, and if you can please make a donation to the Children's Hospital below. 100% of your funds go to the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.
https://vanderbilt.ejoinme.org/bikeacrosstheusa
As a non-profit institution, the Children's Hospital provides care to the children who come through its' doors regardless of the family's ability to pay. Caring support from the community allows this level of service to continue.
No comments:
Post a Comment