Day 6 - What Goes Up...

The morning climb to the summit of Mt. Mingus (Elevation 7,023) gave us the biggest reward yet for our hard work - a 4,000 ft. descent lasting 12 miles in route to our destination of Cottonwood, AZ. I won't soon get all the bugs out of my teeth for this was another day of miles and smiles.

We also met a German cyclist who was following the Race Across America route (Oceanside, CA to Annapolis, MD) by himself and fully self supported. A hardy soul indeed!

Day 5 - Prescott, AZ

Two mountain passes, almost 6,000 ft. of climbing and beautiful terrain. Just like a regular Saturday ride w/ my friend Fast Robert.

More climbing tomorrow as we ascend toward Flagstaff and the end of our first week of the tour.

Day 4 - Remember, there is always...

What else is there to say? Longest day of the tour (115 miles, 7 hours) and 370 miles in 4 days. Tomorrow we climb...

Day 3 - It Wasn't Supposed To Be Like This...

Cool weather (for the desert) and tailwinds (again) gave us extremely favorable conditions today. Temperatures in the high 70's/low 80's were much lower than normal for this time of year while 30 mph tailwinds enabled us to ride 101 miles and climb 2,100 ft. in 5 hours and 10 minutes. I'm beginning to feel a little bit like Forest Gump!

Day 2 - Spins, Grins & TAILWINDS!!

The South Bay's May/June gloom came with us to Riverside this morning and made our riding conditions better than expected. It got really fun from the Banning Pass to Palm Springs when the tailwinds pushed us to speeds exceeding 35 mph on a level grade, WHILE COASTING! Two short legs on the interstate hwy (I-10), which was a first for me... and no speeding tickets.

The First Day

The first day's ride, Manhattan Beach to Riverside, was fantastic. All important body parts are operating properly. Tomorrow we ride into the desert... destination Indio.

Packed and ready to go... Looks like the stock market has given me its blessing to get out of town!