:: shift7 ::

:: north/south adventure ::

arizona: day 17, sun 14 sep
jacob lake - cameron

stats:
111.5 @ 18.1 = 6:09:59, max 37.2, trip total: 1,340

eats:
bacon, pancakes, oreos, pringles, chocolate chip cookies, one and a half peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, minestrone soup, fried chicken, mashed potatoes

sleep:
Cameron Trading Post and Lodge, $42

thoughts:
the weather is changing. stone cold yesterday. or was it the day before. hot as hell today. although it started out really cold. the elevation was to blame. so cold i had breakfast before starting. i knew a long descent first thing in the morning could freeze your hands and face. i opted for the bacon and pancakes to warm me up.

last night was another great night. sleeping out on the ground. everybody else prefers the tents but i just like throwing down the bag on the ground and watching the moon until my eyes close. last night it was at my feet coming right at me as it rose higher and higher. the tall pine trees split just right so i had an unobstructed view. how could you pass this up. sure you're on gravel and dirt on an incline, but it was comfy.

anyway, by the time we were done with breakfast (bill started ahead knowing it was a long day and skipped breakfast), the day was already getting warmer. apparently he had to stop a couple times because it was so cold from the wind chill. something i mentioned beforehand but could only realize the pleasure of hearing after he went early anyway. it comes at a price- i've done that once or twice myself. i've even had to put socks on my hands to bear the whipping cold. no, i'm not making that mistake again. it feels good to teach by example, it makes such a clear impression. now i'm just rubbing it in.

the downhill was fun. we made our way out of the trees and into the wide open spaces that go around the grand canyon. wide open. the fear of having a section like yesterday struck me quickly. think positive- it looks flat, but its all downhill. or maybe there's a tailwind. or maybe it looks like forever but its really just a couple miles. right. sure. the pavement is probably like silk too. and there's free milkshakes every mile.

we were 20 miles into the ride. by our calculations it was another 94 to go.
around the grand canyon clip

the cliffs, and the canyons, the river beds all dried up, the larger rivers that created their own canyons. it was all so out there. there was nobody around and no real towns. a gas station every 40 miles or so. this was the part of the trip that i had the hardest time planning. i kept re-routing it and after the fourth time figured there was no other way. its a long day but there are no options. there's nothing in between. so the best you can do is make the previous day and following day a bit more gentle. ok, so i screwed up on the previous gentle days- but its one of those situations that leaves you with not many choices.

we crossed the colorado river. wow, its green and the walls of the canyon are red- the sky is blue. smooth, harsh and milky.

when you've gone 54 miles and the sign says 60 miles to your destination- you're not even half way! you're legs feel like rubber. lips are dry and cracking. sweat on your glasses doesn't wipe off its so dry. there's just salt left. you burn at a rate of 45spf per hour. you can't keep up. laughter is the only medicine. that and some music to keep you from crying. it was funny though. just to see tim look up in disbelief. no, this is not the blue ridge challenge. its not the shirlington loop. you can't train for this- you don't train for this- you wouldn't want to train for this- because this is it, you don't do this everyday.
riding in the desert clip

peanut butter and jelly never tasted so good. the van to the rescue with ice for our camel backs. it was at about mile 72- just another 40 or so to go. did i mention it was all uphill from mile 30 - 82 (the gap as they call it). with a head wind of course. and a great shoulder to ride on- not. it kept switching from a full shoulder to no shoulder and it had the grooved warning strips so there was a lot of bouncing and pounding- mainly on the seat. the tenderizer.

slowly but surely we kept at it and it got closer and closer. for those of you in the know, check out the average- we were very happy. that includes a flat tire for tim and me. both at the same time although it took a while to figure that out. he changed his (that's why we stopped) and then after fooling around and wasting time we get back on the road only to find out my tire was flat as well. what are the chances? no, we didn't calculate that out- it just happens.

then and only then did we finally make it to cameron. there is no campsite. one motel, one restaurant, one gas station. sure we'll take two rooms. its either that or flagstaff. there really is nothing around here- but there really isn't any reason for there to be. its barren- sand and rock. dry cracked land where water used to be. the bushes in the landscape are mostly dead and dry. the dust kicks up and roams the flats like mini tornadoes.

they don't serve beer. i wanted a beer. i thought about la lomita. i wanted a margarita. i wanted to celebrate the day. the last 3 days. the whole trip so far.