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Lon's Description: The red plateaus orange sky of northern Arizona are the scenes from postcards and placemats. This is Indian land. The people of Canyon de Chelly settled here thousands of years ago. From our motel in Chinle, it is a nice jeep tour back through the canyon. We are nearing the Four Corners area of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. Tomorrow we are deep into the mountains again. Bicycling in Mesa Verde Country Weather.com Forecast for Cortez |
| Estimated Distance: | 138 Miles |
| Actual Distance: | 140.4 Miles |
| Cumulative Actual Distance: |
841 Miles This includes the following off course added miles: San Diego - 2.0 Miles when Chuck and Bob Harting missed a turn Winslow - 4.7 Miles when Chuck, Ken, and Les Drake went to the mural painting after the ride |
| Estimated Feet of Climbing: | 4,350 Feet |
| Actual Feet of Climbing: | 3,940 Feet |
| Cumulative Feet of Climbing: | 29,600 Feet |
| Elevation of Destination: | 6,060 Feet |
| Average Speed on the Bike: |
16.9 MPH This was all the way up to 17.9 MPH at 84 Miles. |
| Maximum Speed on the Bike: | 39.5 MPH |
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Chuck's Heart Rate Data: Max Heart Rate was 196 BPM a few weeks ago before PAC Tour |
Time above 160: 0:00 Time between 140-160: 0:50 Time below 140: 9:26 |
| Dairy Queen Count: |
1 Blythe, CA 2 Twister's Ice Cream in Williams, AZ 3 Dairy Queen in Cortez, Colorado was phenomenal |
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We are now seriously in Monument Valley. Checkout a larger version of this photo |
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This trading post at mile 63 was a welcome break
from the heat. A little Indian girl asked us where we were going.
So we told her all about our trip. She said, "Well, at least you
don't have to buy gas!!" We replied, "Yes, we drink Gatorade ... it works better than gas!!." Checkout a larger version of this photo |
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It's not often you can touch each of four states. Checkout a larger version of this photo |
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Ken figures we were in New Mexico for about one mile. We missed the "Welcome to Colorado" sign because it was located on a great downhill and on a hard, hot, long day, we just didn't have enough gas to stop for the sign. Checkout a larger version of this photo |
| Highlights: |
Today we rode from Chinle AZ to Cortez, CO.
The first 60 miles was very fast, since we had a very shallow
downhill leaving Chinle and an absolutely windless day until
about 3 PM. We rode in a fast paceline for the first 24 miles,
when the first short hill appeared, and the group got spread out.
After the flat valleys North of Chinle, we entered somewhat rolling terrain - typically very shallow climbs for a few miles followed by a very shallow descent for a few miles. At mile 85, we had our lunch stop, and at mile 100, we all stopped at the Four Corners Monument, where the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah all meet. Most of us had a snow cone at Four Corners and took lots of pictures. The afternoon heated up to the mid - 90's, making the last 40 miles into Cortez really difficult, and we were all pretty tired at the end of the ride. We were fortunate to have a Dairy Queen only a mile before our hotel, so many of us stopped there on the way in. |
| Memorable Scenery: |
Incredibly beautiful sunrise as we were
flying down the road at 19-21 MPH. We couldn't tell "where heaven ended and earth began." Amazing rock formations Chuck stopped to help Stuart with a flat. Afterwards, Chuck remembers seeing a lot of the "Campy" on the Rear Derailleur of Osman and Judy Isvan's Green tandem as they flew him up the course at 27+ MPH Beautiful aspen trees as we were riding into Cortez was a welcome greeting that we were in Colorado for sure. |
| Mechanical Problems: |
Ken knew it was hard pedaling coming into
Cortez ... rightfully so because he had a soft flat tire at
Dairy Queen. This was a UFO because we
couldn't find the cause. Ken has now had 4 flats. Cheryl: None. Chuck: None. Ken is an excellent driver so he has just had some bad luck. |
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Biomechanical (Engine) Problems: |
Chuck bonked after Lunch. He has concluded
that this was caused by eating a big Tuna Fish Sandwich for lunch
followed by riding in 90+ degree heat. Chuck knows better that when
he eats a big lunch all of the blood flows to his stomach and all
other systems shut down. Fortunately, Cheryl and Ken towed Chuck in
from Four Corners to Cortez. In fact, Cheryl told Chuck to sit on the
back and don't even try to take a pull ... and Chuck appreciated the
help a lot. Cheryl also correctly concluded that Chuck has been staying up too late getting the web pages updated so he's been trying to get more than 5 hours of sleep since then. |
| What Worked: |
Chamois Buttr is an excellent product (Ken and Chuck are on their second tube!!) |
| What Didn't Work: | Tuna Fish sandwich for Chuck |
| Quote of the Day: |
I saw sunrises so beautiful that you couldn't tell where heaven ended and earth began." Forest Gump |
