Grand Canyon

The internet has been wonky for the last couple of days, so I will post this message without photos and then try my luck with a few pictures, not that they do justice to the Canyon.
On Monday, we took the train from Williams to the Grand Canyon, riding in a 1923 Pullman coach car.  The train ride was entertaining, starting with a Wild West show of sorts, a cowboy singer on the train, and on the return trip, a train robbery by the notorious Cataract Gang,
The Canyon, of course, defies description.  It was my first visit, and I was properly awed.  I was brave enough to walk a little way down Bright Angel trail, but I was happier on the rim, away from the edge, enjoying the ever changing views and colors.  Monday was a lovely day and Tuesday was clear, but increasingly windy.
I am writing this post at the Grand Canyon Caverns, about 9 miles east of Peach Springs, Arizona.  Once again, we loaded bikes in a UHaul to get here, as the wind has been blowing out of the west at a steady 25 mph, with gusts up to 40 mph.  Not sure what tomorrow will bring.

Expect the unexpected

We rode about 32 miles to Williams, where we are staying in a very spacious house for three nights.  Except we won’t really be here the whole time.  We are packing overnight supplies and will stay in lodges at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon tomorrow.  And no, we are not biking there;  we will take the train up and back.

About four miles out of Flagstaff, we were riding up to get on Interstate 40 when we started going past a very long line of parked trucks, for perhaps two miles.  Eventually we were stopped by police, as a major clean up was going on, due to this truck accident, which had happened about three hours earlier.  Amazingly, no one was hurt.  After we waited about half an hour, we were allowed on the highway, with perhaps five minutes head start on the waiting traffic.

Clearly, this stretch of interstate has a lot of bike traffic, as this sign was at end of the entrance ramp.  Not that we needed reminding to stay safely tucked in on the shoulder behind the rumble strip.

A gas station and general store along the way was also the post office.  I haven’t seen mail boxes like this for a long time. The post master told us that these boxes were installed in 1940.

When we weren’t on the Interstate, we were on Route 66!

Looking back to the San Francisco mountains as we rode along Route 66.  

Almost there!

Half a ride into Flagstaff

We only rode our bikes about 16 miles today, as the first part of the road twisted up a narrow canyon road with no shoulders.  We shuttled in a truck to a scenic overlook, and from there the road had one of the best shoulders we’ve found in a long time.

Views back down the canyon, with a bit of the narrow road in the distance.

Not a reminder I needed.

Honey, I shrunk the bikers!

We encountered these food delivery robots as we rode through the Northern Arizona University campus.

Street art in the historic downtown area of Flagstaff 

Red Rocks

The cloud of altitude sickness finally lifted, and I was back on my bike on the route for the first time in almost a week.  We are still at about 4000 feet, but two nights of sleeping below 5000 feet seems to have cured me.  And what a ride today.  We rode 24 miles into Sedona, through some of the most spectacular scenery I’ve ever ridden.  The ride was short, giving us plenty of time to ooh and ah and take pictures.

We started on a very rideable dirt road; traffic was not a problem.

Once on the highway, billed as the scenic route into Sedona, we were glad to see this sign, and even happier when we came to a dedicated bike lane.

No words for these pictures.

A 9/11 monument at a fire station.

Susan was pleased to spot the first synagogue we have seen on the whole trip.  Windows behind the altar looked out on this rock formation.

Not what I expected

I haven’t ridden the route with everyone since Sunday, as I seem to be more affected by the altitude than most others.  Yesterday I had to cook for the group, so I was happy to be able to do my own shopping and then cook up a large pot of chili, which kept me occupied.  This morning I optimistically put on my biking clothes and managed to spend half an hour or so riding slowly around a church parking lot, which was quite enough.  The rest of the day was far from boring, as wind and bad road conditions stopped five riders ar mile 10.  Nancy to the rescue, as usual.  She rented a box truck, we picked up the first group , drove up to the summit, and everyone else climbed in the vehicles.  I wish I felt better, but I wasn’t too sad to miss a dangerous ride.  We are at 5000 feet tonight, going back up over 7000 feet tomorrow, and I expect I will be in the truck again.

I can still enjoy a few interesting sights.  This critter was mounted on a structure at the rental house where we stayed last night.

It was Nancy’s birthday, and she seemed pleased with her gift.  She is an excellent photographer, so we were pleased to find this book at the gift shop back at Carlsbad Caverns.

More than one way to go.  Susan and Leslie didn’t look unhappy at the prospect of loading their bikes in the rental truck.

Great mixed berry pie at the cafe across from hotel.  I certainly didn’t earn the calories today.

April Fools Day

We had no internet, and I had no phone service last night, so this post covers March 31 and April 1.  Yesterday’s ride had me worried from the first time I saw the itinerary, as it was over 5500 feet of climbing.  About 15 miles into the ride I developed a headache, rare for me, and I felt like my legs were made of lead.  Guess I don’t do so well at altitudes over 8000 feet.  Ten intrepid riders finished the ride exuberantly, while four of us came along in the truck.
Since today’s ride was going over 9200 feet and I was still having headaches, I elected not to ride.  This turned out to be a very smart decision, as there was so much snow on the supposedly open road, (we had checked with locals), that after slogging through snow for more than 2 miles, all the bikers turned around, back through the snow and 12 miles down the road to the little town of Alpine, where they waited for transport.  Fortunately, everyone is fine, and I had a chance to watch the UCONN women’s basketball team make it to the Final Four.  Go Huskies!

That’s me, a little low on energy.

Literary allusion: “Cactus in the crannied wall”

We climbed out of the truck for one more border crossing.  It’s not the same as riding up.

View from the window of our lodge in Alpine.

This is a bike route???

The area we were in parts of yesterday and today were burned in a major fire in 2011, yet are considered healthy forests today.  I think you can see fire damage on these trees, but as fire management in these national forests allows for burning to control undergrowth, it helps reduce fire threats and damage.  I’m not sure if my explanation makes sense, but it was evident to me in looking at these trees.

one fine day, part 2

More scenery.  We came down hill and around a bend to be greeted by this cliff face.

We are staying in nicely decorated cabins along a nice stream.  Guests not in our group tried panning for gold in the stream, but since we heard no wild exclamations, I’m guessing they were not successful.

Sunset reflection