Bicycle Trip

After sleeping through several alarms, I got up and had a quick breakfast around 7:30. I packed up the bike and got on the road by 8:30.

The campsite I found last night was mostly sand but contained a little gravel too and consequently I slept lightly. I woke up in time to see a gorgeous desert sunrise over the mountains that I would later be riding through. The entire eastern sky glowed.

It was a little difficult to get back on the bike after a day of rest, but I managed to leave Gallup around 8:30. The wind was gentle and behind me to begin with just like before, and I decided I should appreciate it while I could because you never know when it will suddenly change. Today's route was mostly frontage roads and the old 66 so it was nice to get off the freeway for a while.

Today's total distance was 0.0km! That's right, I took a day to let my body recover, plan the route more carefully, and catch up on emails, the job hunt, and other aspects of life that missed the memo stating I would be off the grid for six weeks. I stayed with Phil in Gallup, NM again, and he let me use his computer all day long.

I entered mountain time today! One zone down and three to go. Too bad that last one is so darn big.

Today started with a few other campers taking interest in my trip over all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast. I was excited and rearing to go after telling them about my trip, and that feeling remained as I realized that although the wind was mostly a gentle breeze, it was partially at my back.

My day started by going to the camping store with Steve. I picked up a new high quality tiny single person tent and some sleeping pants for cold nights.

After that I hit the road. By the time I got out of the neighborhood and on to the main route it was almost 10:00. I ended up taking I 40 all day today. I actually had a route through the reservation to the North all picked out last night, but my unfamiliarity with the area and worries about water stop frequency and cell service for emergencies scared me into staying on the main road.

Today was shorter than yesterday, but was entirely uphill. The beginning was old route 66 and not I 40. That segment, like a lot of yesterdays ride, had old Burma shave signs. Look them up. The rest of the ride was on the interstate. The hardest part was from Ash Fork to Williams. I finished the climb and pulled into a gas station right as the rain began. I waited out the rest of the weather while eating lunch and charging my phone at Dennys.

After heading North for the last two days, it was good to make some actual eastward progress again today. Quite a day it was though. The entire route was on the original route 66, and it was not the same as interstate 40 at all. It was a steady uphill climb, and the wind blew from every possible direction at some point during my ride today.

After sleeping through a few alarms this morning, I woke up and had breakfast with Kevin before hitting the road at about 9:00. Today's route featured a lot more straight roads, a lot more sand, and my return to historic route 66. The first third of the ride was on route 95 and featured up and down hills with a slight net elevation gain. The rest of the route was on I-40. Riding bicycles on I-40 is actually legal in Arizona as long as it is on the shoulder.

By 11:00 in the morning I had already arrived in my final city for the day. Today was planned to be a shorter day, and pressing on across the river yesterday made it that much shorter.