Goodbye Colorado! The mountain twisties were a nice break from corn & soy and soy and corn. Now on to the next chapter in the American Tour. The southwest!. I had bad coffee and GMO infested other stuff at the continental breakfast and then lit out of there. I knew I wanted to hit Monument Valley today so southwest it was. No oil consumption yesterday so my 18 year old girl is happy. I had 2 mornings when I had to add a little oil so not sure what was different on those days. With 86K on the clock, she is not as young as she used to be, but it still feels like a brand new bike. And I do wonder many days when I am skimming along roads with absolutely no traffic (or hope for help), what might just go "clunk" some day. I stopped and bought 2 bottles of water just in case. I bought new earbuds a few days ago that work great. For some reason my ear canals are tiny and the first pair died (one side) and the second pair just kept falling out which is dangerous when you are whistling along at 70 trying to stuff an earbud back in your ear, inside your helmet. So I bought a pair with volume control (rare these days) and a handfull of ear canal adapters. These work great and block all the air noise. I have finally perfected the vision / helmet system. The beemer has an electric windshield so I can tilt it up and down to just ehr ight angle that balances noise and how much air you want to get, and of course it's cool to tilt it down when you pull up next to a harley at a stop light (instan windshield envy>>). My helmet has a flip down visor that I stuck a piece of black tape (3M 33+ or course (ask your electrician)) and it is always up except at the ends of the day when the black tape shields your eyes from the rising or setting sun. The other time I put the visor down was when it rains so my face doesn't get bead blasted by rain drops. And then my latest find, safety glasses ( shaded and clear) with built in reading glasses so you can stop and look at the map without taking your helmet off. Perfection.
I run these desert roads at 55 to 60, much to the dismay of many others who blow by me at 80+. But I do it all day, much the turtle of the hare and turtle story. So a few stops to hydrate, which you need to do since the air is so dry and constantly blowing by you through my new neon mesh jacket.
Monument Valley is gorgeous but it is hard to take a picture mid-day but here it is for posterity.Yes I was taking a picture while riding. Sue me.
I saw a big herd of antelope grazing beside the road and as always I watch out for them always. I learned a few years ago not to try to out run them, They are fast! Best to just brake and let them do whatever they like.
It got hotter as I got further south so I stopped and looked at the map and decided to go northwest to the Grand Canyon to cool off. It was much cooler and the west entrance had nobody around.
Again, the pictures were not great but I shot this one anyway, mostly because of the crow sitting on the rock, who did not seem the least bit interested in me. Reminds me of a Fellini movie or maybe Hitchcock. I asked him what his name was and he said "Cawl" so I assume it was Carl with a Brooklyn accent (It was at this point I remembered to hydrate more).
The south entrance to the park was a zoo scene so I did not go to the village. I have been to the canyon now 3 times this year so felt I could miss the lodge and village.
So it was cooler up here and I went out the south entrance where there were cars piled up to get in, so I assume they are coming up in the afternoon to stay overnight. The road south of Grand Canyon is high altitude and pretty flat and as you approach Flagstaff, you gain altitude, which made it even cooler, just pleasantly so. The wildflowers were everywhere in purple, red and blue. I had tried to call the hotel we had stayed in before but they did not answer the phone this morning, so I made a reservation online and sure enough, I had a room (or I should say closet) waiting for me when I got here. And the price was more than twice what we paid last spring. This is high season so the hotels fill and the prices go up. But I like this hotel because it is right downtown in Flagstaff so you can walk to all the places and not have to drive, which means more than one beer, which I needed tonight (remember the hydration thing). I walked to the Beaver Street Brewery, which I had been to before and had a great salad with walnuts and chicken, etc. Gotta lay off the Mexican food for at least a night. I met a couple from Tuscon who confirmed that coming to Tuscon in the winter is a perfect time. Another couple from Mesa, AZ were in town mountain biking, and said the same, come back in November or February. Sounds like a plan. I topped the night off with a long walk around down town. Flagstaff has a college and a large science community, so nerds in bars. I really like the feel of this town, and you can't beat the weather. Adn I found out there is a ski area nearby. Hmmm.
OK, so now the secret to why I am in Flagstaff. There is a coffee / bakery place called Macy's where I had the second best cup of coffee (the best was in Edinborough, Scotland), and tomorrow morning I will be there with my hands wrapped around one of those big cups. And then on to Albuquerque to see my boy, Jacob.
And tonight I get to listen to trains go by as my room is next to the tracks!! 392 miles today.
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