Day 7 (4/27/22): Bye Bye Southern Tier. Hello Route 66 Tier.

Begin:                                            Prescott, AZ

End:                                               Ash Fork, AZ/Grand Canyon National Park

 Distance:                                       60 miles

Elevation Gain:                             2,125 feet

For most of the ride, I’m using prescribed routes from the Adventure Cycling Association.  They’ve detailed an extensive network of cycling routes in the U.S. that include details on directions, distances, and amenities in nearly all of towns through which you pedal.  We pieced together a route that gets us from San Diego to New Jersey that includes their following tiers:  Southern, Route 66, TransAmerica, and Atlantic Coast.  We completed the portion of the Southern tier today and now move on the Route 66.  We’ll be on Route 66 until we get to Missouri—our longest stretch.

The ride today started in smokey Prescott, AZ owing to several nearby wildfires (none along our route).  Tish had hoped to hike to some cool rock formations near a few lakes in the area while I did my thing, but unfortunately the parking areas had all been converted to staging areas for the firefighters. 

The air cleared very quickly once I got out of town.  Today’s route took me through the Williamson Valley, Prescott National Forest, and Kaibob National Forrest.  For the most part, it was all about magnificent, expansive scenery.  Lots of rolling hills with larger mountains in the background.  The ride was pretty easy today.  Unlike my training rides, I haven’t pushed for speed on the trip.  I figure I might as well conserve energy and not push my body so hard given the mileage ahead.  Enjoying the scenery is another benefit.  Today was a bit different though, because we wanted to get to the Grand Canyon as early as possible, so there wasn’t a lot coasting today.

We arrived at the Grand Canyon at around 3 p.m. and had plenty of time to set up the campsite, eat dinner, and then watch the sunset over the canyon.  We’ve been here 6 or 7 times, but this wonder of the world never gets old.

Tomorrow is a rest day, although I’ve been informed the rest day will include a bike ride along the canyon rim.  That’s o.k.  It’s only 5 miles and pancake flat. 

 Observations

• I have a love/hate relationship with rumble strips.  I love to hear when cars run over the rumble strips in the middle of the road when they’re about ready to pass me as I know they’ve seen me and are giving me a wide berth.  The strips in the shoulder/bike lanes?  I know why they’re there, but when you run over them on a bike, the violent shaking of the bike and your entire body is both un-nerving and uncomfortable—especially if you haven’t hit the bathroom for a while. 

What am I grateful for today?

Our family has gotten so much joy from our National Parks and that continues today (literally).  The Grand Canyon was the first National Park Tish and I visited (1987), and this was quickly followed by Yosemite (1988), Zion (1989), and Bryce Canyon (1989).  From there, we decided to make it a point to hit as many as we could.  We’re up to somewhere around 35 and will visit at least 5 more on this trip.  Each one is so different, and in nearly all cases, the word “spectacular” comes up when we describe a new park we’ve visited.  For what it’s worth, here are my favorites:

• Yosemite

• Grand Canyon

• Denali

• Wrangell St. Elias

• Grand Teton

• Glacier National Park

• Glacier Bay National Park

• Zion

• Acadia

(Yellowstone is spectacular.  When we went it was SO crowded though.  C’mon people…it’s just a deer.  No need to stop traffic for 30 minutes.)

 No entry on Thursday.  Rest day.

 Enjoy the ride…