Wickenburg, Arizona to Prescott, Arizona

Wow!

Today was unbelievably challenging and difficult. It was probably the most physically demanding day on a bike that I have ever had. Today's 59 miles were WAY harder than yesterday's 115!

That stated, today was still a great day. I am having a blast. It is nice that I didn't die today. More than once today, I was expecting death. (In fact, at one point I was almost welcoming it!)

The weather, road surface quality, and scenery were all unbelievably great. Great day for a ride! We had a cool and overcast day, all day long, with no wind more than a gentle breeze. (I did nonetheless use buckets of SPF 70 however, even though it was only overcast.)

We climbed out of Wickenburg, at roughly 2,000 ft above sea level, to end up here in Prescott at 5,300. We went from desert, to now huge Ponderosa Pines! At one point, just before arriving at Prescott, we were at 6,100 ft elevation!

We left Wickenburg and I felt really strong at the time. We were on US 93 for a short while, and then we went on Arizona 89 North.

What a scenic road!

What an unbelievably brutal road for bicycles!

Soon after entering 89 North, we found ourselves on a 7 to 8 mile relentless climb. That (they tell me) was at a virtually constant 8% elevation. We made it then to the SAG at Yarnell. Most of us (foolishly) thought that the worst climbing was over. Boy oh boy, were we wrong about that!

Leaving Yarnell, we found ouselves on brutal further climbs. We also had the delightful experiennce of so-called "false flats". That's where the road gives you the optical illusion that it is level, when it is actually a steady rise. This is demoralizing. I found myself on these false flats, struggling to keep my speed up. I kept wondering what was wrong with me.

One of the riders did bonk. He is OK now, but he rode the last 20 miles today in a van. I believe that I almost bonked. A large Snickers bar and 20 fluid ounces of cold Gatorade bailed me out at the last minute.

I never quit, but I almost quit countless times. Indeed, if one numbered the times that I almost quit, it would surely dwarf Avagadro's number! Many times I stopped by the roadside and pretended to take a picture, when I was really just catching my breath. I don't want to know what my heart rate was then.

All in all, a pretty neat day. I didn't die. I feel that is good.

Tomorrow and Saturday will be similar days of heavy climbing and short mileage. We get to Flagstaff on Saturday. Sunday is a full day of rest there. (Boy, will I ever need it!)