When you wake up knowing you have an impossible task ahead of you it is a strange feeling. I would reference it to 1/10000000 of that of the Jews walking into the death showers. Great start Evan you have started your blog with a Nazi WWII reference.
Ok let’s start over. When I woke up today I got the treat of a continental breakfast, which is rare because I am up at 5am and usually leave at 5:45 – 6am. I thought it would be uneventful but I was wrong. I was just sitting down to eat my waffles when the lady from the front desk sits down right beside me. Odd I know but it get better. She asks me how old I am. I respond. She then says I have a 10-year-old son who just refuses to apply himself to math how can I get through to him? Hmm I don’t know I am only a kid. She then keeps going on and on about her family issues. It really made me feel both uncomfortable and sad because this woman had no one to present these issues to except an 18-year-old Canadian cyclist. This rambling went on for roughly 15 minutes and progressed from her genuine concern for her child to anger about the issues she could not solve. I tried my best to offer some advice but I honestly did not know what to say.
When I left I was flying down the road. Climbing at my average speed and tarring up the first 50-mile gap. About halfway through this ride I got to thinking “o crap if I have a tailwind now then for the big gap im going to have a brutal headwind”. Well I was right. As soon as I got into show low I hit the first of the wind. Seeking shelter I hoped into a gas station. At this gas station I asked about what lay ahead for me in this gap. What the lady said just crushed my moral. You are going to have a headwind, you and going o have the biggest hills in Arizona, and there is nothing between here and there.
Because I had already been dealing with the crosswind getting into Show Low I wanted to stop. I had a sure thing in show low, but I pushed on. My expectations were at 0 and were quickly raised. When I entered the forest the wind died down and I was able to have a normal ride for a while. I was on a steady descent for about an hour, which as awesome as it sounds is a really bad thing. The reason is I knew I had to climb to the highest peak in Arizona so every foot I went down I knew I had to climb back up.
Well I was right, but not before going up and down a few big climbs. My legs were completely toasted then I saw it. The mountains opened up to this huge empty space. Across this gap I saw a road zig zaging up the face of this rock. “O crap”. I have never been so intimidated by a climb before in my life.
As I started going down the canyon I gained more and more speed. I was nearing 70km/h on this awesome road. Every few hundred metres would be a tight curve that I would shoulder check then take up the whole road to road the corner. It was simply awesome.
After going down I hit the bridge that crosses the river of the Salt River canyon and very quickly my momentum was robbed. I was brought back down to earth within 15 metres of finishing the decent. Ahead of me was a 1.5-hour climb where I was pushing to do 10km/h the entire time. Hitting the peak was a like nothing else. I mean I had climbed to the highest peak in Arizona after battling a headwind, and rain the entire day.
On the horizon I saw it. Pitch black clouds and a sheet of rain that brought visibility down to nothing. I live in b.c. rain is ok im used to it so lets ride through it. Then a guy in a blue truck pulls up beside me. “The state has issued a severe weather warning for the area. 60mph winds, and serve hail. Don’t be stupid let me give you a lift to Globe”. After riding beside him and talking for a while I caved. Within 7 minutes the hail started. I have never experienced weather like this. It had everything from hail, to monsoon style rain, and a wind that caused some semi trucks to pull over. It was ugly.
I forgot to talk about someone I met who was crazier then the lady at breakfast. I met a guy by the name of Michael Blogg. We was walking along the highway so I stopped to ask what was up. This man has spent the last 21 years walking around America. He may only do 10 miles a day but the fact is he has been walking for 21 years, and even has a wife (who does not travel with him). I had so many questions that I forgot to ask because I was just in aww of what this man was doing. I thought I was crazy for leaving for 100 or so days. This man has left his life for almost a quarter century.
Trip Distance: 150km
Ride Time: 7:55hr
Avg. Speed: 19.01km/h
Total Distance: 15248km
Total Ride Time: 707hr
Destination: Globe, Arizona
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