Day 56

Miles 53.73 Total for trip 2201.38
Avg spd 7.90
Max spd 18.22
Climb 1431
Alt chng ++1092

How do I begin with today's ride? The good thing about today was that it is still 10 degrees below normal.

Today dethroned day 2 as the toughest day. I got out of camp looking forward to a couple miles of slight downhill, but was greeted with a headwind which was with me off and on for the entire day. I probably could have used a day off today, but in the desert with not much going on I decided that sitting in 95 degree heat did not sound like a good day off. I was really struggling today. I made it around 13 miles without a stop and decided on walking for a bit. Today was the day of the long slow hill. I increased my elevation 3-6 feet for every couple hundred feet of riding. This does not sound like much, but with the headwind it kinds of wears you down.

I passed a rider going the opposite direction about 25 miles into the day. We talked for a little bit and he said that at the crest of the road there will be a nice downhill for me. My map showed the hill went another 40 miles so I thought maybe there would be a little downhill before the end of the uphill. Not to be there was no downhill and the crest was around 40 miles away.

It was around mile 49 that things took a turn for the worse. I got my first flat. I pulled off the road and fixed it no big deal. Less then a mile later I got another flat. I found a piece of metal in the tire so thought that would take care of the flats. This one lasted a few miles until it went flat again. Now I am down to having to patch the tubes, the first one didn't last long and the next one did not even make it on the bike before I could hear it going flat. It wasn't the best place to camp for the night, but I decided that I needed to step back and call it a night.

I cooked a great meal of wheat pasta and crushed red pepper and went to bed.