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!)

Photos for yesterday - late entry

I could not get photos to upload yesterday. Maybe it was Google Blogger, but it was, more probably me. Anyway, here are two from the day yesterday!

Blythe, California to Wickenburg, Arizona

Wow! I have never been so tired in my life! It is a "good tired" feeling, not a "bad tired" feeling. Still, tired is tired. The challenge today, on top of yesterday, was basically at the level of my maximal physical ability. Today was really at my limit.

I guess that, if you are going to have two consecutive century bike rides, you might as well have it in the Mojave Desert! Makes sense to me! Yesterday was 101 miles and today was 115.

We left Blythe, California, this morning. At only 5.7 miles out, we crossed our first state line. I did indeed live to make it to Arizona! My anxiety level skyrocketed with the crossing of that state line however. I do have my Wisconsin Drivers' License, but no Passport. What if the Arizona border patrol stops me?

The weather was kind to us. It was hot, but not unbearably so. I wore my new long sleeve bright yellow jersey (thanks again, Marsha!) which really helped with sun and heat protection. The long and bright sleeves are nice arm coolers in the desert.

The scenery was similar to yesterday initially. As we climbed to the higher altitude desert however, we saw the larger Saguaro cacti. That was neat. Still, the basic view is desert on both sides of the road, leading to impressive mountains.

We had our first SAG at 40 miles out, in Brenda, Arizona. I arrived there early, drank some extra Gatorade, and left feeling really strong. For 10 more miles after that point, I was riding alone, with the wind, feeling great, and averaging 20 mph. At roughly mile 50, the road surface became miserable and the wind changed to a disturbing left sided crosswind. It became hotter by the minute, and I became totally drained of all physical and psychological energy. By mile 55 out of Blythe, I was reconsidering my entire life. A fellow rider mercifully showed up. He gave me the courage to make it to the next SAG. That was at Wendon, Arizona, at mile 66. After that, I got my proverbial "second wind". I made it to Wickenburg at 4:05 PM.

During this day, I have drunk enough Gatorade and water to probably kill a young child.

I am now clean. My Camelback and water bottles are clean. My bike is clean and the chain is nicely oiled. I want to pretend that I am ready for tomorrow. That is actually a joke. I will never be ready for tomorrow, as it is a short mileage day with huge climbs.

Whatever.

Parenthetically, I am learning now so much about autoregulation. I was taught about that in med school, but I am now experiencing it firsthand. On the road, all of us are able to shunt blood to our leg muscles preferentially, while shunting it away from less important body parts. The brain seems to be on that list of unimportant parts. I have probably 99% of my cardiac output going to my legs, with 1% going to the brain stem. Higher cortical functions are shut down. This actually leads to scenes which an observer might find amusing.

As an example, we pulled into SAG #3 at89.6 miles. One of the riders has a bike computer which is reading a bit low. He had riden the 89.6 miles, but his computer listed his distance as 88.4 miles. He was trying to figure out if there might be a number, one that he could add to what his computer showed, in order to have the true mileage.

He couldn't do it, and none of us could help him. One of the riders said that it could be done, but you would need to use "math". I actually said that you use "subtraction", but that only made everyone stare at me. I admitted that I would never do subtraction with numbers that large.

On a separate note, I now learn that Andrea's little one is a girl! (Thanks, Kelly) Congratulations Andrea!

Indio to Blythe

Today was day three of riding. This was the first "century" ride. Why wouldn't our first 100+ mile day involve the Mojave Desert?

The ride took off this morning from Indio, California. That is technically below sea level. That meant that we had an initial 10 to 15 mile steady climb, right out of the starting blocks. That brought us up to the level of the Mojave Desert, where we spent the rest of today's 101 mile ride. We are now in Blythe, California. Tomorrow we will ride 115 miles, most of which will remain desert.

Things are going great. I had a flat tire at the very end of the day, but that's only to be expected. The bike is working great. I am not the strongest rider in the group, but I am feeling reasonably strong, and increasingly confident.

The desert is striking. There is the typical barren-appearing sandy surface, with scrubby plants. Off in the distance, both to the south and the north of our east-west road, are huge mountains. Distances are difficult to estimate, but probably the mountains are far away. From this distance (whatever this distance is) the mountains appear as a stark and barren region. There may be some vegetation on those mountains, but you surely cannot see it from here. The desert and mountains are beautiful, in a rather austere manner. There is, of course, no shade anywhere.

I had no idea that a single human could drink as much as I did today. I filled my 50-fluid-ounce Camelback with Gatoraide twice. I had it drunk dry twice by the time of the second SAG, that at mile 52. I probably drank at least that much more in the second half of the ride. I know that I was drinking adequately however, as I was never thirsty and I did urinate at least three times on the road. (How's that for a little double entendre?)

It really is fun to be able to hang out with a mixed group of intelligent and sophistocated adults, having open conversations regarding the color and hue of each others urine. I love bike riding!

Tomorrow we cross our first state line, entering into Arizona. After tomorrow's 115 mile ride, the next two days are shorter mileage and steeper climbing.

My riding clothes are washed and dry already. I am ready (I hope) for tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a tough day.

I had told myself that I would not think of work on this trip. I have however found myself thinking of work a little. I hope that Ward is coping with being on call CONSTANTLY. I wish that there was a way for me to let the folks back home know that I am now totally useless. I wouldn't recognize an echocardigram or an angiogram now, if one came up and bit me on the butt. I will be pretty useless, even more than my usual, when I get back to home and return to work. Oh well!

I hope that Andrea is well. I don't know if she had a boy or a girl. Hopefully Andrea and the baby are well. Hopefully Heath is not as stupid and useless as I was.

More tomorrow!

Riverside to Indio

This is the end of day number 2 of riding. What a great day! We did 78 miles yesterday, and 85 today. I am really feeling well. They bike is doing great. So far, so is my aging body. (The latter is clearly the big surprise here.)

This morning we left Riverside and we had two moderate to hard climbs right away. My legs were barely warmed up before the first climb. The second climb was a 5 mile duration. After those two climbs however, this was a fast ride.

We went through Palm Springs, toward the end of the ride, before ending in Indio. Just before getting into Palm Springs, there is interesting topography. The road on which we rode was in a narrow valley inbetween two sets of mountains. With the hot desert air there, this rises and sucks in, apparently constantly, the colder air from the ocean. This results in a remarkably powerful and prevalent westerly wind. Testimony to that wind's predictability and strength is the enourmous wind farm there. When we rode through that, we experienced the most remarkable "favorable headwind". (Tracy is supersticious about the use of the word "tailwind", so she uses the term "favorable headwind" for the "T-word".) I was going over 30 mph with hardly pedalling at all! What a blast!

The downside of the above is the dangerous crosswind you have whenever the road goes to the left or the right. One rider was blown sideways literally off of his bike today. He broke his helmet and destroyed his rims, but he is OK, mercifully enough.

I really feel that I rode more securely and strongly today. I felt that I had more strength, and more confidence than yesterday.

I rode today, virtually the whole time, with Doug Squires. What a nice guy! Very interesting. He is from Coventry, England. I asked him where Coventry is, and he responded that it is near the center of the country. He added that it is very near Stratford-on-Avon, which he proudly termed "the home of England's most famous author!"

He made a point of not giving me the name of that author, probably to test me. I didn't want him to think that I was just another ignorant American, so I made a point of letting him know that, yes indeed, I am aware of that author's identity. I told him how much I have enjoyed the excellent works of J. K. Rowling, and that it is nice to now know where she is from!

Doug made a fake look of disgust, which I surmise to have been just his way of showing that he was impressed with my knowledge of British literature.

Tomorrow will be a challenge. It will be 101 miles in the desert. We will end up tomorrow in Blythe, California. I do respect that the desert may be brutal. I will be drinking my fluids and electrolytes well, even long before I get on the bike.

Life is good.

More tomorrow!

Pacific Ocean to Riverside, California

Finally!

All of the planning is over. All of the talking is over. All of the spinning and weight training is over. All of the endless checking, and re-checking of the bike and the packing list is over. All of the anxiety regarding being an inadequate bicyclist are over.

OK, the last sentence is a lie.

I finally got out on the bike today. It was great. We went first to the Pacific Ocean. Photos galore, as all of us begin to get to know each other. Some did indeed put their rear bike wheels in the salt water. It was so exciting.

Probably we left there at 7:30 AM, finally en route to Boston!

We had a 78 mile ride today. Probably the first half or more involved just getting out of Los Angeles. The ride then was fast, and reasonably level but tediously urban. This was inner city bike riding, with lots of traffic and signal lights. At least it was a Sunday, so the traffic wasn't too terribly bad.

After probably mile 40 or so, it became less urban, at least slightly. In the last 10 to 15 miles, it was downright scenic. Not a lot of climbing today. That's for the rest of this week. (They tell me that Flagstaff, Arizona, is above sea level!)

I felt great today. It was so great to finally get out on the bike. With a smaller group also, we tend to stay closer together. I felt really strong during the first half of the day. I was riding fast and feeling so good. The latter part of the day found me having more problems keeping up. I do need to pace myself better, especially in the next few days to come. (Tuesday will be more than 100 miles of climbing in the desert.)

I made it to the ride's end today by 2:00 PM. My riding shorts, jersy, camelback, and water bottles are all rinsed out and drying. I have called Marsha. She is having a nice Mothers' Day. I showered and put on my multi-use underwear. (OK, that last part may have been TMI.)

All is well. We will see what tomorrow brings.

It finally begins!!!

I cannot believe that today has finally come! I have been thinking, planning, and daydreaming about this for several months now. The bike ride finally begins. I am in Los Angeles now (technically El Segundo, but that's just details). My bike is here and I am here. My clothes are laid out for tomorrow's ride to Riverside. This is unbelievable.

I have casually dreamed of a cross country bicycle trip since probably my high school or college days. I was never really serious about that then. I drifted away from biking, it seems, in the past several years. Back in 2005, it was Bill Pearson who got me back on track with his idea and encouragement then to do RAGBRAI. It has felt good ever since, although I do worry that I am about to get into something more than I can handle now. Still, I have been pretty conscientious in my preparations for this trip.

Last night was great. Lauren graduated from U of Minnesota, and this bike trip did not make me miss that. It was wonderful to see her, as well as Chrissy, Andy, Nickie, and Marsha. I am so grateful that Andy came. This was not only nice of him, but it also gave him a chance to show us his ancestral grocery store in Minneapolis. He is in key photos from last evening. With the help of Photoshop, Michelle will now have him to use as her avatar. She will be at Lauren's graduation after all!

Marsha was kind enough to get up at an unGodly hour and drive me to the Minneapolis airport this morning. Her support in this crazy trip of mine is so deeply appreciated. That is not even to mention the support of my short-staffed friends at work. I could not do this trip without the support of my family, coworkers, and friends. I will be taking Bill, my family, and my coworkers with me when I actually get on the bike tomorrow.

My flights today were on time and went great. As I had been instructed to do, I carried my bike helmet as carry on. On the flight from Minneapolis to Denver, I sat next to a woman who told me of her new granddaughter who she is flying to see in Fresno. She saw my helmet and asked the obvious questions. I told her that I was flying to Los Angeles to ride my bike. I thought that would be the end of the conversation. She however seemed upset with my poor planning. She told me that Los Angeles is a terrible place in which to ride a bike. She actually advised me to leave Los Angeles and see more of the country! I told her that I would consider her advice.

On the second flight, the one from Denver to Los Angeles, a very young flight attendant approached me even before the plane left the ground. She asked if I was nervous and if this was my first flight. I did not understand the question, but I assured her that I am quite well accustomed to flying. She didn't accept that answer, and she proceeded to launch into a rather well practiced speech regarding the safety of flying. I still didn't get her point. Finally she simply spelled it out, indicating that "in the very unlikely event of an accident" the bike helmet would be pretty useless! I promised not to put it on during the flight, which seemed to relieve her.

I wonder how all is going back home. I wonder if Andrea is still holding out. She is one week ovedue today. (But who is counting?)

We leave at 6:00 AM tomorrow. We go to the ocean, and then we leave from there for Boston! Tomorrow we will ride 78 miles, ending up in Riverside, California.

I am pretty intimidated by the group. Everyone is very nice and encouraging. Nonetheless, everyone seems phenomenally more hardcore than I am. I am probably the least experienced biker here. Oh well! It is good to have a challenge, and a defined goal.

Maybe my blog posting tomorrow will include photos. None today.