Day 6: Friday, April 22 - Winslow, AZ to Gallup, NM 134 miles for the day, 3815' up, 2097' down

Loading for the day.

We rode a lot on Interstate 40 today. After leaving at 6:15, the first 40 miles went pretty smoothly, even if slowly. Mike then bumped me up about 20 miles to close the gap between the riders. 

We rode by a whole lot of not much of anything.

Did I tell you that we rode a few hills?

I then rode 16 miles until I had a flat. To save time, I got bumped up to the Lunch spot. After lunch I rode about 4 miles and got another flat. After getting that fixed, I rode 20 miles and got another flat.

Lots of opportunities for flats.

Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!

Mike then totally took the tire apart, as there were no signs of punctures in the tires themselves. As the lady with 8 kids said, "We have to figure out what's causing this." It was a rim strip that had moved, allowing the sharp edges of the inside of the rim where the spokes are secured to rub on the tube and puncture the tube.

Some nice red rocks before we reached Gallup

With that fixed, I then rode the last 29.93 miles to the hotel with a nice tailwind which lessened the effort for the slightly uphill section, over 11 hours after leaving Winslow, for a total of 99.93 miles ridden of the 134 route miles planned. I am well satisfied with that, but I feel sunblasted and weary, so curious how I will feel tomorrow. The route planned for today included 3,400 feet of climbing, but I have no idea how much of that I missed (well, actually, I didn't miss it at all :) ) The route was pretty easy, gently rolling, through a whole lot of not much of anything, mile after mile. Pretty dry and strong sun but cooler than the first few days.

Oh, in the last section of the ride, I took a slight (right) wrong turn. I reached a VERY steep but short hill, so rather than burn my legs out, I walked up it (that isn't cheating, is it? After all, it was on "bonus" miles). Just after, a dog ran along its property line barking at me. Then, about 3/4 mile from the turn, a man in a truck stopped me and asked if meant to be going that way. He sent me back the way I came. As I passed the dog again, he really came after me, with his ears pinned back - not a good sign. I put on a canine inspired adrenaline assisted speed trial and just barely outran him, with him as close as 3-4'. Dang, that was close!

The plan for tomorrow is: Day 7: Saturday, April 23 - Gallup, NM to Albuquerque, NM, 136 miles for the day, 4,500' of climbing. I may get only 50 miles or so done tomorrow the way I feel now.

My great insight for the day is the fact that everyone measures him or herself according to some reference group - usually their peers. I saw this while coaching hockey in five different cities, some with very strong programs (Moorhead, MN) and some very weak (Tawas City, MI). At each of the locations, some kid or kids stood out as better than their peers. Parents even in the weak programs dreamed about their kid maybe someday being in the NHL, or at least in a college program, while I knew that the players who would get those chances were in another level higher entirely. But, hard to squash someone's dream.

Well, before I came on this trip, when measured against my riding group members, I was not too shabby. When I met the minimum level of being able to ride a century in 6 hours of riding time, and when I worked the training plan sketched out, I thought I would be ready for this trip. But, many of the riders in this group are at a significantly higher level than I am. The trip is a lot harder than I thought it would be. Should my ego be shattered? No, as I think I have achieved much more than if I had not tried, and I know I will be a much stronger rider when done than I was a year ago. But, dream meets reality.

What is the point? Students at Foley Public Schools do "pretty well" when compared with their reference groups - nearby schools and members in our athletic conference. But, how do they compare with the world class schools and students? Might it not be good for them to see how well some of the best can do? How else do they get any sense of what their own potential could be? How do you allow them to have contact with outside reference groups without people inferring that I think Foley students "don't quite measure up"? How can I help the Foley students reach higher and achieve more?

Something to think about, huh?

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For our ride leader's (Mike Monk) version of today's ride, go here.