Departure: Wellton, AZ Finish: Gila Bend, AZ Distance: 88.1 miles
Elevation gain: 1,125 feet (gradual; barely perceptible with the tailwind)
Winds: The first 20 miles were dead calm. After lunch an 8 mph tailwind
Weather: High Overcast. Low 70s most of the day. Beautiful
On bike duration: 5 hrs, 23 minutes. Average speed: 17 mph
My legs were aching and my bike seat “area” felt very chafed when we departed in the cool morning. But, this is what I signed up for. Push On Through! When the heart rate stabilized at about 110 bpm the legs felt better and the chill went away. I didn’t take many photos today. The landscape is a little greener and the distance mountains are beautiful.
We enjoyed almost three hours on the shoulder of newly paved Interstate 8. When the tailwinds blessed us we rolled up the brief hills at 16 mph and breezed down them at 25 mph. It was beautiful. The group stayed in one pack for most of the day, working together. There were only two flat tires - my front tire was one of them.
I haven’t talked much about the characters in our entourage. There is one rider I have kind of latched onto. He and I have been side-by-side since the first climb out of San Diego. His name is Scott Carthey. He and his family live in Huntington Beach, CA. Valerie had an opportunity to meet his wife, Kelly and their youngest son, Kip before we departed.
At the age of 46, Scott is the youngest in the group. He and Kelly own a chain of independent pharmacies that specialize in supporting rare diseases. Scott will only be with us for the first week. We will be sad to see him depart after Tucson. He and three other riders are going to “tag-team” with us to the Atlantic. They are raising money for a non-profit organization that benefits people with a bleeding disorder (hemophilia), and in poverty. The organization is called Save One Life. He’s trying to raise $7,500 during this trip.
I wanted to talk about Scott because I have been fascinated to watch him run his business while traveling 17 mph on an interstate with one AirPod in his ear, conversing with his staff on the telephone. Yesterday, while I was huffing & puffing, he held his weekly Zoom call with his sales staff. The meeting lasted about an hour. When it was over, he shared that he had considered skipping the meeting this week. Instead, he turned it into an illustrative, motivational opportunity about preparation, persistence and long-term success. All that while matching pedal strokes with me.
One other thing about Scott: Yesterday our Actual mileage was 97.2 miles. At the end of the ride, Scott went on another 2.8 miles so he could log a “century”. I thought that was cool. During his week with us, he will not get a chance to have a century ride. When we were 10 miles from the end of our 88 mile ride today, he said he was feeling good and intended to go another 12 miles. He thought “Back To Back” would be even better. So he rode on while the rest of us enjoyed a shower.
Since he’s a Californian, I’ll call him a “Major Dude”.
We are staying at the Space Age Lodge tonight. A friend of mine - Tom McGhee - is a snowbird down here. He caught wind of this adventure and is driving to Gila Bend this evening so we can share a meal. I’m excited to see Tom again.
Life is Good!
It was so great to share a meal with Keith. It had been too many years since we had see each other or even spoken. But we share a faith in Jesus so it wasn't that difficult to pick up and share our lives. I plan to ensure that the time between this conversation and the next one is much shorter.
ReplyDeleteI stayed at that space age inn last January 2022 when I took a southwest National Park Roadtrip. The hotel is awesome and the breakfast was good. Have a great trip.
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