The link to today's route and statistics is found here.
Today was a little cooler than yesterday and there was a little less climbing, but it was still a challenging ride on legs tired from yesterday. Once again Trans-America Cycling (TAC) told us that there is beautiful scenery along the way. Stop and smell the desert bouquets. Riders had their cameras ready.
Before we get to the pictures, permit the author to share a story about an incident that occurred today in the town of Roosevelt, AZ. Larry set up the SAG beside M&S Marine, a local business. The owner of the establishment came by to see what was going on. Larry explained that we were riding across America on a mission to raise awareness of the high suicide rate among military veterans (an astounding 22 suicides a day) and to promote charities offering solutions to the suicide epidemic. Once he heard about Train a Dog - Save a Warrior (TADSAW), the owner, Pat, offered to buy a banana for $100, but instead wrote out a check for $100 to TADSAW. His donation will help form another accredited Warrior/Medical Alert Service Dog Team. Pat has a shelter dog himself and appreciated the concept of saving a veteran as well as a shelter dog, giving them both a new and better life. Onward the mission!
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| Pat makes a generous donation toward a service dog for a veteran |
Back to the stunning beauty of the desert lake. Many wonderful photos were taken. Here are a few:
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| Lake Roosevelt |
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| Looking north across Lake Roosevelt from a bicycle |
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| Arch bridge over deep water in front of dam |
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| Bass fishing near Roosevelt Dam |
After riding past the lake and replenishing with food and water at SAG1, riders had a daunting climb ahead. It was especially daunting, because there was no break in the climb and because from the SAG one could get psyched out by seeing much of the climb in the distance. In the photo below on the left the winding ribbon of road lay ahead of Roberto and Ray from Malta. The photo on the right was a welcome sign near the top of the pass, since it meant that there was only 3/4 mile of climb remaining, and it was followed by a generous downhill of 7% grade. Pat told us that the grade where we climbed was 7 to 8% in many places. Riders should be proud of their accomplishments.
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| 1500 vertical feet of climb ahead |
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| Sign of relief |
Ray could stay well hydrated during his climb using the combination of his Camelbak hydration pack filled with water and water bottles filled with water plus electrolyte. Ray could choose between his water straight or loaded. Roberto told of drinking two gallons of water in the 90 F heat yesterday. That is even more than the rule of thumb of one bottle per hour, and was necessitated by the arid desert heat.
On the ride down the steep grade, John from Malta was riding in the roadway as opposed to on the shoulder strewn with fine gravel. A state trooper rode by and chastised John with his vehicular bullhorn. Naughty John got caught doing what most other cyclists did that day. No citation was issued, so John stayed out of the poley, aka the slammer, and can ride with us tomorrow.
Globe, AZ has had a long history of past copper mining. Large open-pit mines can be seen around the town.
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| We cycled past an open pit copper mine on the outskirts of Globe |
Wind is predicted to blow at 35 mph in Safford in the afternoon. Wind speed is predicted to be close to 20 mph when we ride out of Globe in the morning. In general the wind will be behind us. Sand and dust in the eyes could be a problem. It's all about the adventure!
Our sunrise/sunset photo of the day was taken by Chuck.
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| Sunset in Globe, AZ |
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