Brutal Weather Pushes Us Along

Brutal Weather Pushes Us Along

Monday 29^th May, 2019

Day 10

Location: Flagstaff to Holbrook, AZ

Distance: 94 miles

Weather early in day:

   Temp: 35 F with snow then rain

   Wind: 15 mph

Weather in afternoon:

   Temp: 45 F and periodic rain

   Wind: 20 – 30 mph

Cumulative climbing distance:  1,300 ft

Cumulative descending distance:  2,886 ft

 

The only word to describe biking today is "Brutal".  Windchill less than 30 F with snow showers or rain in the morning.  In the afternoon we had a 20 - 30 mph tailwinds, but windchills in the 30's.

 

At one point I was biking 37 mph downhill during a snow shower.  My singular goal was to out run the snow storm. 

 

  

My daughter Allison and family sending us off on one very cold morning.

 

 

 Note the picnic table symbols on the route map are our daily SAG wagon stops.  The grey symbol is a point of interest (in this case Winslow, AZ) and the green bed is our destination.

 

 Morning route rap session.  Everyone is dressed in their warmest biking clothes

 

Today we are biking eastbound partly on US Route 66, but primarily on I-40 toward Albuquerque, which is 334 miles away and our destination in 4 days. Note the accumulating snow.

 

 

 

 Today's goal is Holbrook with a stop in Winslow, AZ.  View along I-40.

 

 Biking eastbound along I-40.  Stopped to look back westward toward Flagstaff.  The storm clouds are the snowstorm that we had biked through 30 minutes earlier.

 

 Saw dozens of Santa Fe trains running along I-40 and US Route 66.

Note the rain clouds.

 

Setting for famous 1977 Eagles song "Take It Easy"

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Well I'm a standin' on a corner in Winslow, Arizona
Such a fine sight to see
It's a girl my lord in a flatbed
Ford slowin' down to take a look at me

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 All along Route 66 are classic 1950's motels, almost all are closed.  A few are left in quasi-historical settings.

End of the day group pizza party at hotel.  

 

We are burning about 6,000 calories per day.  We are snacking all day coupled with larger than normal breakfast and dinners.  But often not very hungry and finding it difficult to consume sufficient amounts of food, which we now are calling "fuel" or "energy" meals rather than a great dinning experience.