91.7 miles with an average moving speed of 16.3mph is just nuts.
It reminded me of the first Grand Illinois Bike Tour that I went on, in 2019. On one of the tour’s last days, we were biking a 60-mi loop from Charleston to Casey and back. That morning over breakfast, the ride coordinator announced that we’d have a strong tailwind at our backs for the trip down to Casey, “So when you ride those 30 miles in less than two hours, that isn’t you.” Sure enough, the trip down was a literal breeze; after the turn, not so much.
It’s the blessing and the curse of point-to-point riding: there’s no turn. When the wind is with you, you only have to worry about it changing direction, not you. Looking back, it’s hard to believe just how optimal today turned out to be. With the sun shining, cool temps, and the aforementioned breeze at our backs, we reached our original destination of Chambers by 11:30am… but since Arizona doesn’t spring forward, it was only 10:30a. At that point, we had only 44 miles to reach our exit in Holbrook, and virtually all of it would be on the interstate.
What we did not know, however, was the size and condition of the shoulder. Turns out, the answer was “wide and smooth.” Shortly after getting onto I-40, we passed a small sign with a pictograph of a bicycle and the words “Use shoulder only.” I didn’t stop to take a picture, but it struck me as largely ridiculous guidance for a cyclist, because there’s no way anyone would want to ride anywhere else. It also struck me as an indication that the Arizona Department of Transportation recognized that the interstate would be used by cyclists, so it’s no accident that the shoulders are wide and smooth. Sure, there was a lot of debris, but there was plenty of room to steer around it. (By the way, broken black rubber bungee straps are the official debris of I-40.)
We were also losing elevation the whole way, although there were a couple of challenging ascents, especially a long 2-mile climb when we only had 10 miles left to ride.
On every one of our Route 66 segments, we’ve made at least one tactical pivot. Some of them have been forced on us by inclement weather; the decision to combine two days and ride 90 miles because of ideal, clement weather was the perfect call.
Tomorrow, Winslow. After three days of 63, 71, and 92 miles, we’ve got three shorties coming our way.
This makes state #7.
Rideworthy 