Today, temps were expected to be in the high 100s, so I left
with Dan and Don at about 5:40 a.m. Most of the route today was on I-10. The
shoulder was littered with tire retread remnants and I and many other had flats
today from the tiny wire that our tires picked up from riding over them. In
total, there were 29 flats today for the entire group. We also had very rough
shoulder at times with 4-6” heaves in the pavement every 15 feet or so. Some of
us elected to take the white line in the traffic lane to have better conditions
and most drivers gave us plenty of room. Someone must have called in to CHiPs
though, as a patrol car pulled over in front of us when we were back on good
shoulder to keep on eye on where we were riding. It was just so unrideable at
times. The temp was not too bad for the first couple hours, but then rose
quickly and I was struggling to keep up with Dan and Don and told them to
continue on at their own pace and I picked up with another group that was going
at my pace. The SAG teams did a fantastic job getting us cooled down at added
SAG stops along the way today. They had towels soaked in ice water to wrap
around our necks and keep us cooled down in order to make the next SAG stop.
Without that, many of us would not have been able to complete the day, and some
could not and needed a ride into camp. I
later found out that the temp reached 109 today. There was a 10 mile climb near
the end of the route that was a killer today, because of the temps. One of the
riders in the group I was with had a flat on that section and I advised the others
that I would stick with him and they could continue on to the summit. He was so
worn out by the heat that he could not change his tire and I helped him get
that done and we continued on to the top, but both us of were near our limit
when we reached the summit SAG stop. They iced both of us down and other riders
as they came in and we sat for 15-20 minutes. I was able to continue on, but
others had to call it a day to be safe.
The last 6 miles or so were downhill all the way into
Quartzite, AZ. We were scheduled to be in an open park in Quartzsite overnight
with a Super 8 motel options someone wanted it. The park would have been
unbearable overnight and the staff found a community center building that was
air-conditioned and everyone could lay out their mattresses on the floor for
sleeping. It was very comfortable and saved us. The young folks found all kinds
of ways to keep occupied, from playing cards, to jumping rope, to balancing
chairs on their faces!
At our Peleton meeting, the staff announced that the tour
had to be suspended because of the extreme heat advisories that the area has
for the next days. Phoenix is expected to post records tying temps of 120
degrees and everyone is advised to stay indoors, much less try to bike 60-80
miles. Those that had signed on for this complete tour and had never done it
before were very disappointed, but understand the safety issue. The decision
was to leap frog ahead to next Monday’s destination, Payson, AZ. The staff did
a fantastic job in making arrangements to transport the group, gear, and bikes
to Payson. It was a massive logistics accomplishment.
We are all cool inside and safe for now. We have all had our
body systems stretched to the endurance limits, but are ok, but very tired and
worn out.
Continue to pray for safety and health and strength to
endure the heat.
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