I was bubbling with excitement this morning in anticipation
of riding 78 miles today, the farthest distance yet accomplished by me on Big
Blue. I got off at 7:40 am and followed
my normal regime of stopping each half hour to stretch, drink water (You have
to drink 16 – 32 ounces of water or Gatorade each hour. It is VERY dry air in
AZ. The dew point is around 10 each day. You hardly sweat because the water
evaporates off your skin as fast as it oozes out. Hydration is imperative to keep your body working at full capacity for so many hours each day.) Coast-2-Coast Tours provides
a sag stop with refreshments each morning and afternoon. I normally drink and eat a snack at the morning sag stop after an hour and one-half of biking that takes me to about 20 miles,
eat lunch after 40 – 50 miles, and then an afternoon snack at the afternoon sag stop about 15 miles
before we finish.
Today the morning ride took us through the Sonoran Desert where the saguaro
cactus grows. I rode with a fellow
Coaster the last 40 miles that made the day go by quickly. We arrived at the
Casa Grande High School where we are sleeping by 3:30pm.
Highlights of today:
- Seeing the stars at 3:30 am with it perfectly clear and almost no ambient light. I was able to see an amazing number of stars.
- Seeing saguaro cactus plants in the Sonoran Desert.
- Passing a HUGE steer feedlot. I have never seen so many cattle in my life.
- Being chased by the largest piece of farm equipment I have ever seen. That's me in the back of the pack. We finally had to pull off. This machine was as wide as the entire two lane road.
Make it a great day!
John
John I'm envious! Great blog. Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteJohn, your stories and highlights are SO interesting. thanks for sharing all this. Anne M.
ReplyDelete