Day 13 - 44 miles

Today's ride was an another 80 mile ride with the 35 miles uphill.  Sue and I have been struggling on these, they're particularly hard on a tandem.  By 45 miles into New Mexico in a little town called Duncan, which happens to be where Sandra Day O'Connor grew up, Sue and I hopped the van to finish the ride.  Tomorrow is a shorter ride and then we get a day off to rest and recover and head into our third week of riding.
While riding these long days I've come to realize that the easiest miles are the first 25 and the hardest are the last 10 miles of a day's ride.
 

 

 

Day 12 - 76.7 miles

Today looked easy, but of course it was it was not.  We got an early start, and The first part was rolling, and we moved right along.  Unfortunately the road (US 70) was very busy, with lots of truck traffic and a very narrow, bad shoulder.  We were actually riding in the San Carlos reservation for most of the day.  The road flattened out, and we cruised along, stopping often to apply more chamois cream.  I was uncomfortable all day.  The last few miles off route to the Essence of Tranquility hostel and campsite were a real slog.  The high today was at least 87, so we suffered from the heat too.  I guess this wasn't my best day.  Things are better now that I've had a nice shower.

 

 

 

Day 11 - 57.4 miles

Today was another long day, though not as bad as yesterday. The first part was really nice, rolling terrain mostly along Lake Roosevelt.  The lake had lots of RV sites and lots of boat activity.  Then came the long climb out of Tonto Basin.  It was 5 miles of 7% grade.  What a pain!  Then more rolling until we got to Globe.  We had a nasty climb out of Globe on a major highway. It was not fun at all!  Mercifully once we got out of town, we had a pretty downhill ride to the Apache Gold Casino on the San Carlos Reservation where we are spending the night.  The rooms are luxurious.  Tomorrow is a 70 mile ride, Sue and I will be asleep by 8pm.

 

 

 

Day 10 - 79.6 miles

Today was hard!  We climbed over 5000 feet total, and rode almost 80 miles.  We left at 6:45 am and got in at 5:30 pm. We go up the steep climbs at about 3.8 miles an hour.  Thank goodness for our small chain ring!  The last few miles were mostly downhill, and that was a big relief. Everyone cheered for us when we got in - they recognize that pushing the tandem uphill is hard.  I'm proud of us!  We have more climbing tomorrow, but not as much uphill and a shorter day.  Stayed in a motel in Tonto Basin. 

Both Sue and I have the bane of all bikers ,diaper rash.  Luckily we have various creams and are wearing double bike shorts, which helps somewhat.  

The country side is desert and so beautiful.  

 

 

 

Day 9 - 0 miles

Our first day off, we've ridden about 400 miles so far and this day off is most welcome.  We're doing laundry, having lunch with Annie's old friend from college, Jerry James and his wife Kathy, updating our blog and going to bed early to get ready for tomorrow's 81 mile ride.  We will set out tomorrow around 7am, after another grand nite in a real bed!

The other 13 people with us are so nice and supportive, we couldn't ask for a better group.

 

Day 8 - 68.3 miles

Today was supposed to be Jarod's favorite day, and it was pretty awful.  It started out nice for the first thirty miles.  Then we hit the town of Surprise which was the start of the Phoenix/Tempe metro area.  We had lots of heavy traffic and stop lights, then about 30 miles of a not very pretty bike trail. At least there was no traffic.  My butt hurt all day in spite of cream and double shorts.  Annie says I have an open sore.  Damn. Now we are in a Motel 6 in Tempe, and tomorrow is a day off.  I can't tell you how wonderful it was to sleep in a real bed!  It's the little things that are so wonderful sometimes.

 

  

 

Day 7 - 54.4 miles

Today was nice.  I really enjoyed it. We left early again, and I even needed a jacket for the first 45 minutes or so. Then it warmed up, but there was a nice breeze so I never got too hot.  It was desert, of course, but it was always kind of green so not too bad.  It looked like we went thru a cotton growing region, since there were lots of tufts on the ground.  The ride was slightly uphill for most of the way, but the last 10 miles were downhill. Wickenberg is a big town, with lots of traffic going out of town. We stopped at Chapparal Ice Cream and had a big cone.  There was a live singer in there with a great voice. It was a good end to the day.  I am really enjoying the ride and the group and the camping.