Elevation gain: 4500 ft
Today was a great riding day. The weather was clear, relatively cool, climbs were manageable, and the scenery was fantastic. As we went through the desert this morning, we saw Indian Paintbrush in bloom.
LaVern and Janie said they wanted to ride with me - the tandem. I know they felt bad I had such a hard day yesterday. It was so helpful to draft behind them on the false flats - such a difference. Then we had a 6 mile climb up Mingus mountain. There were some pretty steep switchbacks. But we took our time and stopped several times for butt breaks. The summit was 7023 ft. I could tell I was short of breath.
The descent down was pretty tense for me. There was 6 miles of descent to Jerome. It was steep with lots of turns. I was feathering the brakes all the way down. We stopped in Jerome for a burger. It is an old mining town right on the side of the mountain. At one time it was nearly empty but has been revived as a tourist spot. After Jerome we contined to descend with more curves for another 3 miles. I was never so glad to see flat straight roads in my life. My hands were going numb from working the brakes. Some of the riders loved flying down but not me. The country was so pretty I wish I could have observed the scenery more.
Tomorrow will be a big climb to Flagstaff and then we have a day off.
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I'm with you! I braked all the way down to Cottonwood, alternating between left and right to prevent overheating the rims. Better safe than sorry.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, better safe than sorry - my roomie blew his tire and wrecked the wheel trying to control the bike on that descent...a bit of a scary/thrilling ride.
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