Wednesday, July 29, 2009

the gates of hell

Current Location: Wickenburg, Arizona
Total Distance Traveled: 3250 miles.

The last two days have been interesting. We went from probably having the best bike ride of our lives to one of the worst. We started off in Flagstaff and headed down about 40 miles into Sedona. This was the most breathtaking ride ever. All of a sudden you ride into this canyon which is about 3,000 feet lower and you transition from forest to red rocks. You drop this elevation in about 9 miles. The roads are narrow and two lanes and wind around the mountains. The cool thing was cars can't go much faster than 25 mph so we could actually go faster than cars. It's a sight that I will remember forever.

the road dropping into Sedona


We dropped down then we had to go right back up again and we ended up stopping two nights ago in a town called Jerome. It's a town that's right at the top of a mountain. Apparently it's a big tourist town. This guy on a motorcycle passed by us as we were riding to the top and asked us about our trip. He was pretty impressed and proceeded to buy us a cool beer when we got to the top.

We camped out on a dirt road by and old church and fell asleep instantly. We awoke to MADNESS!! All of a sudden these lights turn on right behind our tent. It's a truck and then he REVS his engine. We're screaming in the tent and yelling swear words. We thought this was the end. Luckily, he was just playing with us and probably was wondering why we were camping out there. We laugh about it now.

The next day (Yesterday) was when we realized what we're dealing with. We descended from about 5500 feet and 100 degree weather into the heart of the desert. The gas station right at the top before you dropped down to 2000 feet said that we were entering the "gates of hell." I can't think of a better description. All of a sudden besides a few cactus's life disappeared and it was just dark rocks. The temperature increased by 15 degrees and so we were hit with a 115 degree weather. I literally felt like I was being roasted in an oven. It was so hot!! We persevered and made it to Wickenburg in the heat. I carry about 20 water bottles with me so I'm very hydrated as a much proven method has shown me.

we stayed at a fire station last night and I slept pretty well. We were treated to a good meal and some good company. It's about 4:30 am and we're about to head out to Salome, AZ.

We have 332 miles to go on the journey. It's hard to believe that's it.

1 comment:

  1. what your guys are doing is amazing, just amazing, thank you, your family must be so so proud of you!

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