This morning started cold, 48 degrees cold to be precise. I was layered up with my sports bra, tank top, sleeves, a workout jacket, my jersey, and a windbreaker for warmth and still celebrated every second of sun I could get. I pedaled away from the Grand Canyon Caverns where we stayed last night and went West along old Route 66 toward Kingman. We were almost at our first stop when I felt the back tire of the bike get soft. I looked down and sure enough, it was slowly sinking to the ground. There was sealant in the tire so I tried to pump it back up but almost immediately we saw sealant bubbling out the side of the tire. I had slashed the tread, not just punctured the tube.
We switched bikes and I pushed on through Truxton and stopped at the Hackberry General Store. I had been there back in May and saw a keychain I wanted that said "I rode Route 66". I didn't buy it at the time because I hadn't accomplished my goal and while I still haven't quite crossed the finish line I had planned to pick it up today but unfortunately it was no longer there. We talked to the man that worked the front desk and he gave me a few ideas of places to look for it before we took snacks we purchased and sat out on the covered patio to rest for a few moments.
As we moved on I knew I had a long stretch ahead of me. The leg between Hackberry General Store and our lunch stop at Mr. Dz in Kingman was almost 30 miles. It was also completely out in the sun and the only breeze was what I created as I rode. Not far into this part a lovely family saw me ride by and asked my chase team what I was doing. When they explained why I was riding the family donated $20 to the charities. Once again I am floored by the generosity of the people we have been lucky enough to meet. I was wearing down as we approached our lunch stop and could feel my body temperature rising so I radioed that when we stopped I needed a bottle of Electrolit, a cold water, and a cooling towel. I then focused on riding as hard as I could to reach the spot I would get what I needed.
As I pulled up to the front of the restaurant I saw someone standing there clapping for me. It was a wonderful man I know in Las Vegas who had reached out to Steve and coordinated a surprise for me. He rode his motorcycle out to Kingman just to meet up with us and cheer me on. He even was kind enough to buy me and my team lunch before we went back out on the road. We checked out the drive-thru spot across from the restaurant and got my mom another stamp in her passport before it was time to push on.
The day was heating up significantly and as I rode on toward Cool Springs I prayed for shade. I got it in the form of clouds crossing over the sun but it was brief and didn't help as much as I hoped. I stopped once again to get my cooling towel and more water before we pulled into the souvenir shop at Cool Springs. When we got there we saw several people noticing us and one guy came over to talk to me and film me for his Youtube channel. Several others took pictures with me and asked what I was doing. I felt a little like a celebrity for a couple minutes. Shortly after we arrived we noticed a small cell of thunder clouds creeping in and I jumped on my bike determined to beat them. Upon leaving Cool Springs on our way to Oatman, however, we ran into a long, constant climb filled with nothing but curves and very few guardrails. It was terrifying but I did get to see a burro heading up the mountain right at us.
When we finally made it down we passed through Oatman and headed on to Needles. We are now settled into our hotel and have accomplished several chores including changing the treads on the bike I slashed open the tire on this morning. Tomorrow is the last of my longer days and after that it feels like things will wind down quickly. I can't thank everyone who has supported me on this enough for what you have done. You helped make me believe I could do this and it has been one of the best, most healing experiences of my life. Thank you!
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