Day 8 (4/29/22): We’re Standin’ on a Corner in Winslow Arizona

Start:                                Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

End:                                  Holbrook, AZ

 Miles:                 60 miles

Elevation:                        1,907

Today was the biggest “Interstate Diversion Day” of the ride.  There’s a whole lot of noting in this part of Arizona, and I-40 is the only way to get through it places.  Today’s ride was incredibly interesting in that it was actually 2 very different rides.

After zipping from the chilly Grand Canyon (high 20s last night) to Flagstaff, my 20-mile morning ride took me through Flagstaff (nice) and then some beautiful towns in the mountains surrounding the city.  Coconimo was especially pretty. 

I finally ran into some bikepackers during this morning’s ride.  I came up behind then and started asking questions, so we decided to stop and chat for a while.  Roger and Connie are from Switzerland (I’m sure I’m butchering their names).  They’re doing the entire Route 66 trail from the Santa Monica Pier in L.A. (I finished a marathon there!) to Chicago.  They’re doing it completely on their own (no van support)—very impressive for folks who were likely in their mid- to late-60s.  They’ll probably catch me when I start riding with full panniers on Sunday.

After a break on the I-40 it was on to Winslow.  What a cool scene.  There’s most definitely a corner and people—including us—like to stand on it.  The statue of Glenn Frey is right on the cornet, and Eagles music is continuously piped into the town center.  I may have delayed the trip by two days had I known as I do now that Takin It Easy was released 50 years ago this coming Sunday.

The afternoon ride was a surprise.  The longest stretch of the ride (20 miles) was on a road called Territorial Road.  I knew this going it, and in the back of my mind, wondered if maybe I was in store for something rugged.  Rugged I got.  20 miles of dirt road.  It actually sounds worse than it was.  It wasn’t washer board rough, but you did have to constantly find the less-bumpy parts.  Fairly level as well.  I had 6 cars pass me during the stretch.  It was completely deserted and in parts opened up so you could see 10 miles in front of and/or in back of you.

What I’m Grateful for Today

Penn State.  First and foremost, I’m grateful because this is where Tish and I met and fell in love.  Our education was so incredibly important as well.  Tish majored in Aerospace Engineering.  I was a Psychology major.  Our Penn State experience laid the foundation for incredibly rewarding careers, established lifelong friendships (more on that in the future), gave us the ability to offer our children more opportunity than we could have imagined, and was just a heck a lot of fun.  I’m especially grateful to the College of Liberal Arts for instilling strong critical thinking and communication skills, adaptability, persistence, and a global perspective.  I’m incredibly excited to have been recently named to the College of Liberal Arts Alumni Society Board, as it’s a fantastic way to give back to the University.  My term begins in July.  The Board focuses on a number of key challenges facing today’s Liberal Arts students including career preparedness—something I’m very passionate about.  WE ARE!