17-04-19 Day 11

Chambers, AZ to Gallup, NM

As we mentioned yesterday, for the remainder of this week, we'd like to begin our blog focusing on The Cheryl Kay Foundation. The foundation assists senior citizens in financial need and women facing the difficult challenge fighting breast cancer. Their mission is simple but it is so meaningful to the families and individuals they touch. So please help us, help them, to help others. Visit our Web page at www.c2c2gether.com, click on the "Support Us" tab at the top of the page, then click on the donate button.

Prior to our mention yesterday, we had seven donations from our friends and supporters. They are; Matt L., Neida L., Marjorie S., Gina K., Thomas B., Kenneth  J., and Shelly M. Combined these 7 people donated $475.00. THANK YOU!!  This is an great start to our desired goal of approximately $2.00 per mile which totals $6,590.00 based on our planned route. Karen and I are confident you can make this happen. So please spread the word and ask your friends and family to make a donation.

With the shorter mileage planned for today we took advantage of this and slept in until 6 am. Gathering our stuff, preparing our bikes, packing our panniers, having a good breakfast, we headed down the road at 09:00 am. We felt kind of lazy about the morning but it was needed after the long ride yesterday.

Leaving Arizona and entering New Mexico

NEW Mexico greeted us with spectacular scenery. 

So the prevailing wind was once again in our favor as we made our way to Gallup, NM. Yes, New Mexico. We finally made our way across Arizona on into New Mexico. Of course not without a challenge or two. The good news? No flat tires!!! On the down side, because we were primarily on side roads, as opposed to route 40, we crossed numerous cattle grids. If we crossed one of these we crossed 30 or more. Each time we needed to dismount our bikes and walk across the grid. Too slick to risk riding over.

Karen navigating across the cattle grid.

Then, there was the flowing water at a low point in the road. Once again, dismounting was a must. Shoes off, socks off, and bike in hand we each made it across the obstacle. And so we rode on.

Randy wading his way across the water obstacle on our route today.

17-04-18 Day 10

Winslow, AZ to Chambers, AZ

Since the beginning of our journey we've focused on our experiences, challenges, and thoughts of the day as we write our blog each night. Tonight, and for the remainder of this week, we want to shift our focus to The Cheryl Kay Foundation at the beginning of each blog. So, if you've already visited our "Support Us" you know Karen and I feel very strongly about the The Cheryl Kay Foundation and all they do for seniors and those battling cancer. Tonight, we are making a personal request from each of you, please take a moment and make donation to this very worthy and effective foundation. Thank you.

In order to appreciate how our day started, you first need to know Randy spent some extra time last evening switching his front tire and rear tire based on wear. This manuver was intended to be a proactive, defensive action, after changing three flat tires (tube punctures) during our day yesterday. So at 5:30 am this morning when he awoke to two flat tires, the tone of the day did not begin on a positive note. Fortunately, our day did not continue down this path.

After early am tire fixes, our first stop of the morning was Walmart for more tubes.  Bought the last three in rode bike size.  🙄  Second stop before heading out of town is the famous park - Standin' On the Corner - yes named after the Eagles song Take it Easy.  So at 7:30 am we were doing just that.

At least are bikes are leaning comfortably

Once again this morning found us on Route 40, first town was Joseph City. Exited 40 to more rural roads to take us just outside Holbrook.  Anticipating no support services for 60 miles, we stopped at a petrified gift shop (intersection of 180 East and Apache Dr) and purchased water to get us through.  We were pleasantly surprised to be routed for 28 miles through the Petrified National Forest, it was filled with wonderful sights and overlooks.  It was probably the biggest surprise or our trip thus far.  Although extremely warm and windy it was worth the trip.  Our final leg was back on Route 40 East for 20 miles to one hotel town of Chambers, AZ located on the Navajo Reservation.  Our 11 hour in the saddle 109 mile journey was complete, feasted on Navajo Taco and fried onion rings at the only restaurant.

Park entrance 

Standing in front of area named Teepee

17-04-17 Day 09

Williams, AZ to Winslow, AZ

Up early to face the chilly morn and once again sunny day, we biked through Williams to begin our trip to Flagstaff to pick our our next shipment from home. Needing to replenish some items and switch out some clothing, we had a box shipped to Jessica at the Flagstaff YMCA.  

Jessica our box assistant in Flagstaff

Hoping for no issues and good road we hit Route 40 with enthusiasm.  We were soon greeted with a berm of the road that was anything but accomodating for our 30 mile trek to Flagstaff.  Luckily we were routed on to historic route 66 for a short trip off the highway with better roads and beautiful scenery.  Then back to route 40 for another deteriorating section that was even more frustrating than our previous encounter.   The miles crept along extremely slow.  Our saving grace was finally entering Flagstaff and meeting the nice staff at the YMCA.  They were great and helpful.  Thank you Jessica!

Top of a climb and a small indication of the road conditions

We anticipated a rough remainder of our lengthy journey today, but were treated to a tail wind for 42 miles into Winslow with a berm of route 40 that permitted us to roll along at times at 27 mph.  A monkey wrench in the day were three flat tires (Randy 2, Karen 1).

Breath taking view prior to entering Route 40 for our leg to Winslow

17-04-16 Day 08

Peach Springs, AZ to Williams, AZ

Happy Easter to ALL our friends and family! We miss you and appreciate your continued support.

Last evening we spent the night at the Haulapai Indian lodge in Peach  Springs. It is part of the Indian Reservation that extends to the rim of the Grand Canyon.
By the way, the freight train runs every 15 minutes by there so you can get complimentary earplugs.  Nice touch.

In spite of the train sounds duringbthe night, and after a good nights sleep, we started on the road at 8:15 am with a slight chill in the air and bright sunshine.  Goal destination - Williams AZ.  We were immediately greeted with a persistent head wind that would last until the final miles of the day.  A bit of up and down during the day with the final push into Williams that was 15 miles of up hill. Stats - 79 miles, 8.5 hours, 9.3 avg, 4130 ft ascending, and 2000 ft of descent. Does not look so challenging unless you were in the saddle.

Along our way we stopped several locations to enjoy the local scenery. One of our stops was the Road Kill Cafe. This place offered a feast for the eyes with so many nostalgic items on display. Too cool and really too much to take in during a 15 min rest stop. Regardless, we loved seeing all the items on there.

In addition, we stopped briefly to enjoy once again the beautiful, wide open, views of the mountains. If you zoom in close, near the middle of the photo below you will see some snow capped mountains in the far distance. In real time these were more obvious and most spectacular.

17-04-15 Day 07

Kingman, AZ to Peach Springs, AZ

Today began as a wait-and-see day. Our typical day, if we are riding, would begin around 5:30-6:00 am with breakfast then on the road around 7:30-8:00. Today, however, we needed to wait until the bike shop opened at 10:00 am. Then, we needed to wait and see if the front fork arrived. At 10:30 the waiting got the best of us and we called the bike shop to see if they had heard anything. To our surprise they did have some news for us but it certainly was not what we expected. The young man at the bike shop, Kyle, said he had just spoken to UPS and they are trying to find our package. He continued on to explain the fork had been shipped but not as instructed, Saturday delivery. Rather, the fork was shipped UPS ground. This means the fork will not arrive until Tuesday. Not a desirable outcome. So, on to plan B, C, and D.

Plan B - Our immediate thought was to identify the location of the package in the UPS system, then drive to the specific location, pick up the fork, and bring it back to the shop. This proved very difficult as it was hard to get real people on the phone for UPS on a Saturday morning. Plan C - Then we considered purchasing a new road bike and continue on our way until Randy's bike can be repaired and shipped to a forward address along our route. This is not the most desirable plan because riding 80+ miles, approximately 8-9 hours, a day on a bike that may not be best configured for your unique body type could cause a lot of unnecessary pains and discomforts. Plan D - Lastly we discussed the schedule impacts if we waited until Tuesday. This was really out of the question. So, it appeared our only option was Plan C to buy a bike, swap parts from Randy's current bike, then hit the road.

As we gathered our stuff and headed to the front desk to check out, Karen got a call from Kyle. Kyle had been doing some research and found the specifications for the new fork, still in UPS land, was similar to the specifications of a Fuji bike fork they had on the show floor. He offered to try to make it work but he needed Randy's current bike. Fortunately, Randy's aunt and uncle insisted on staying with us until we had the bike back on the road. So, Uncle Bill, Aunt Gig, Karen, and Randy were off to Bicycle World where we had dropped off the bike initially, pick it up, and deliver it to Kyle at Bicycle Outfitters.

Now I realize this may be a bit confusing when I talk about the bike shops so I'll try to clear things up a little. We have had two bike shops helping us with the fork repair. The first is Bicycle World. On the day of the accident they thought they had the needed repair parts so we went there with Randy's broken bike. Then, we discovered they did not have the needed repair parts, and, the fork replacement may be a warranty repair. So, with the advice of Bicycle World we contacted the second bike shop, Bicycle Outfitters, who was a Trek authorized dealer, and ask their opinion. Kyle, at Bicycle Outfitters, agreed and kindly offered to process the repair parts needed through his Trek contacts. In the end none of us were sure who would be doing the repairs once the fork arrived, but both shops agreed to cooperate and do whatever we needed.

Alright, now back to using a Fuji fork on Randy's Trek bike. It worked! After an hour or so of disassembly, slight modifications, then, reassembly the fork was on. Although the not a matching color, and using a slightly inferior front brake assembly, all is together and functional. Now, it was time to hit the road once more.

The red Trek with a blue Fuji fork.

One of our rest stops along Route 66 on our way to Peach Springs.

Happy to be on the road again. 

17-04-14 Day 06

Stuck in Kingman, AZ

If you've been following our daily blog you'll know we are temporarily held up in Kingman, AZ. During our unplanned and unexpected down time we were blessed to have Randy's aunt and uncle from Prescott, AZ come spend some time with us.

So, what do you do in Kingman when you have a free Friday afternoon? Well, you go for a short drive to mile marker 115, Historic Route 66, Peach Springs of course. Doesn't everyone? What's at mile marker 115, Route 66, Peach Springs you ask? The Grand Canyon Caverns. Here you'll be taken by elevator down over 210 feet below the surface to discover an enormous cavern with over a mile of concrete paths. The guided tour lasts about 50 minutes and covers not only the interesting geological details but the complete history of the cavern. The most notable feature of the cavern was the fact its a dry cavern. Zero water and zero humidity.  We had a wonderful afternoon together which was followed up with very filling and delicious dinner.

We really appreciate the time and hospitality of Randy's aunt and uncle. They offered to do anything for us in support of our journey and made our short stay in Kingman a very memorable one.

At the Grand Canyon Caverns with Uncle Bill and Aunt Gig.

Tomorrow we hope to be on the road again. Cross your fingers, perform all you good luck rituals, and send us all your positive vibes for a positive outcome. Our goal is to be on the road by 2 pm.  Parts delivery is critical.

17-04-13 Day 06

Kingman, AZ to Peach Spring, AZ  Kingman, AZ

Today, our 6th straight day on the road proved to be our biggest challenge so far. What started out as a promising day quickly went in the wrong direction. As we made our way out of town, and after completing another long climb, we had a small mishap that has now made a huge impact to our schedule. Well, I guess when you consider the condition of Randy's bike you could actually call it a near disaster. If you take a close look at the photo below you'll notice an obvious problem with the front forks. Yes, they are snapped in two.

Randy's broken bike.

As we made a typical, routine, left-hand turn, in a close formation, Randy trailing with Karen just ahead, Randy hit a large shoulder bolt lying in the roadway which immediately turned his handle bars to the left. With his front tire now almost perpendicular to his bike frame, his momentum created an unbearable force on the front forks and they gave way. The good news is that Randy sustained only a small scratch on his left hand and a small fracture in the first knuckle of his right thumb. The bad news is we are now scrambling to get a bike repaired.

Fortunately, Nate had only left our company just a short time earlier so with a call from his mom he was our support team one last time. In the mean time we were blessed to have a local lady, by the name of Michele, stop and offered her unconditional assistance. Without asking Michele prepared her SUV to carry Randy's bike to a local bike shop which Karen found with a quick search on line. In the end, although she offered to take Randy to the ER, Michele stayed at the bike shop until Karen arrived on her bike a few minutes later. Then Nate arrived and took Randy to the ER. Hours later discharge papers were served with only a splint on Randy's right thumb. 👍

A selfie with the angel in pink, Michele at Bicycle World.

At the close of today, with Karen's highly skilled negotiating techniques we are expecting a new fork to be delivered on Saturday and hope to be completing our ride to Peach Springs. Stay tuned for updates......