Bland to me has a slightly negative connotation,but my title is not meant to belittle today,merely to state that the cycling,the scenery and the weather were all unexceptional.It was 8°C when we set off with little wind and a route that was gently uphill all day,sometimes gently downhill,but mainly up.In Flagstaff two days ago we were at 7000 ft the fine descent of yesterday left us in Holbrook at 5082 ft and tonight we are back at 6512ft.Considering the fact that we have climbed 2412 ft today and cycled 151.4 Kms,Elizabeth's average speed of 26.1 Kph is fantastic,admittedly we had a good tail wind for the last 40Kms but even so,she has been sensational yet again.
So far we have put 728.9 miles behind us and climbed 28,786 ft,not too bad for a pair of pensioners.The other problem that we have to overcome is cycling on the hard shoulder of the interstate.The shoulder surface is immensely variable,sometimes sublime,usually adequate, occasionally awful,but is also covered with debris and gravel.Most of the debris is wrecked truck tyre that release the tiny wires that infiltrate our tyres,but there are also wrecked road signs,nuts and bolts ,and dropped tools.In the space of 60 Kms today,for instance,Peyton picked up two screwdrivers and a pair of pliers.Then there is glass ,and plenty of it,broken headlights,discarded bottles,shattered tail lights,and all of this has to be avoided whilst maintaining maximum speed.Entertaining.See 2 photo examples below
As I stated above we left when the temperature was 8°C and passed all the same signs advertising ice cold beer,or the coldest beer in town,it did not inspire us yesterday nor again today.But the temperature did pick up to a maximum of 23°C but as soon as it arrived at that heady level it plummeted back to 13 and eventually averaged out at 16°C,a good cycling temperature.
Most of the early ride was through rather featureless grassland,but eventually some bushes appeared and by the time that we arrived in the Navajo Indian lans there were some impressive rock formations.
And so we are now in Gallup,which is in New Mexico so our third state.Sandwich for lunch-reduced in Walmart and now thinking about dinner.
So far we have put 728.9 miles behind us and climbed 28,786 ft,not too bad for a pair of pensioners.The other problem that we have to overcome is cycling on the hard shoulder of the interstate.The shoulder surface is immensely variable,sometimes sublime,usually adequate, occasionally awful,but is also covered with debris and gravel.Most of the debris is wrecked truck tyre that release the tiny wires that infiltrate our tyres,but there are also wrecked road signs,nuts and bolts ,and dropped tools.In the space of 60 Kms today,for instance,Peyton picked up two screwdrivers and a pair of pliers.Then there is glass ,and plenty of it,broken headlights,discarded bottles,shattered tail lights,and all of this has to be avoided whilst maintaining maximum speed.Entertaining.See 2 photo examples below
As I stated above we left when the temperature was 8°C and passed all the same signs advertising ice cold beer,or the coldest beer in town,it did not inspire us yesterday nor again today.But the temperature did pick up to a maximum of 23°C but as soon as it arrived at that heady level it plummeted back to 13 and eventually averaged out at 16°C,a good cycling temperature.
Most of the early ride was through rather featureless grassland,but eventually some bushes appeared and by the time that we arrived in the Navajo Indian lans there were some impressive rock formations.
And so we are now in Gallup,which is in New Mexico so our third state.Sandwich for lunch-reduced in Walmart and now thinking about dinner.
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