Day 4, Wednesday, September 11

Wickenburg, AZ to Williams, AZ -- 135 mi, 9,000' climbing

Ominous dark clouds fill the sky on Day 4.
I can't believe I actually made it to the hotel today, but I did. Last night after I logged off -- after just having written that the coming day seemed ominous -- a storm like I've never seen blew quickly through town. The wind was blowing trees sideways, thunder and lightening filled the sky, and rain poured down in buckets. A swift waterfall started off of the roof of the building across the street from my hotel room. The carpet in front of the door in my room -- which is at the bottom of a ramp -- even felt squishy. When I woke up in the morning the sky was still filled with dark clouds, so I dug my rain jacket out from the bottom of my gear bag and attached it to my CamelBak for the day. It did rain in the afternoon -- actually it poured enough several times to soak me -- but I never got cold enough to put on the jacket. I was glad it was there, though. Rain is much better than the excessive heat that is more typical for this area. I had such a hard day as it was I'm not sure how I would have fared with high temperatures.

Flat three of the trip
Charles from Minnesota is a vegetarian and always went out of his way to let me know about the good places to find food in town. I think he knew the food preferences of every rider on the trip.
On a training ride at home, 130 miles with 9,000' of climbing would be no big deal. After several days of riding, however, knowing that I'm still at the beginning of the trip, it was a really hard day. I blew by three rest stops in an effort to save time, but I still had a really long day, with a steady trickle of riders passing me throughout the day. We were supposed to be out of lunch by noon and I made it out by 11:45, so I had just a little time to spare. Toward the end of the day Randy from Oklahoma passed me going up a hill and I was riding so slowly he asked if I was okay. I felt so badly, but was still capable of continuing, that I couldn't even begin to think of how to answer the question and I just started giggling for the next five minutes. Moments before he passed I had contemplated stopping the bike, wrapping myself in my raincoat, and curling up in a ball on the side of the road to see how long I could rest there before somebody bothered me. I did get another flat at about mile 111, which didn't help much, but Charles from Minnesota got five flats today, so I guess things could have been worse.

Sweet rewards -- The scenic view outside my hotel window at the Mountainside Inn.
I spent most of the day feeling like my gas tank was empty. I actually felt like I was eating enough, but I think the altitude -- 7,000' here in Williams -- slowed me down a lot. Even in the hotel parking lot talking to people after the ride I felt like I was having a hard time catching my breath, and walking up the flight of stairs to my room winds me. I asked Lon and he said our highest point on the ride is 8,000' somewhere in New Mexico, so I may have a few days yet before I get back down to a comfortable elevation. Even the name of our hotel -- Mountainside Inn -- sounded foreboding; I would have preferred to be riding into someplace like the "Lowlander's Lodge." Our hotel is beautiful, though. Williams is more of a tourist town like Wickenberg, rather than rest-stops-along-the-Interstate towns like El Centro and Blythe.

Tomorrow should be easy, more like yesterday -- 100 miles with 1,500' of climbing. We even get to sleep in an hour -- breakfast is at 6:30 instead of at 5:30. If I get in early tomorrow that means I can get through with my evening routine faster and maybe even get more sleep. I hope I can recover enough from today and can deal with the altitude well enough to have a fast day tomorrow.

Quote for the Day

"Life is all a matter of perspective. You really learn that as a doctor. If your life were going along well and you find yourself walking with two guys who look like Metallica rejects, you might think you were having a bad day. But if your life were in the toilet, you could say, "What the hell, I am at the beach."

-- David Duchovny as Eugene Sands in Playing God