Wow the time is seriously starting to fly by!! We have had quite the adventures riding into Colorado for 1 day then to Utah only to leave for Arizona then back to Utah then back to Arizona and finally back to Utah! Did you know that you can ride across the US in just over 2000 miles? But why do that when you can zig zag the states and time travel. Did you know that the Navajo Reservation does follow daylight savings, but Arizona doesn't and Arizona is on Pacific time, but Utah is Mountain time? Did any of that make sense? Don't worry cause I didn't follow it either. Lucky for us our days are pretty planned out and you can have a herd mentality so adjusting to all the time changes goes pretty smooth.
Some highlights from the last week...
In Durango Colorado, we crossed paths with another Bike and Build team!! North Carolina to San Diego. It was a real treat to celebrate the fourth of July with what felt like twins we had never met. Seeing other folks wearing your same clothes and sporting safety triangles on their backs was a bit of a brain bender. We had a blast dancing the night away and the following morning they let us participate in their Fired Up circle. They then left for a ride day and we had a build day. Unfortunately I was on dinner crew for the week so I helped out with team related chores with a few others while the rest of the team built with the local Habitat for Humanity.
Durango was one of my favorite towns on the trip so far. It was really the first time I felt like I was getting west because we were surrounded by so many mountains and there were outdoor enthusiasts everywhere!!! Also I have to give a shout out to 2 cyclists I met 10 miles outside of town. I had already rode 90 miles and some serious elevation and was on a very steep hill struggle busing my way up when I saw 2 non B&Bers behind me. As a joke, I asked if he would pull me up the hill and held out my hand. And he did!!! It was amazing!! We talked the whole way up the hill about this trip and before I knew it the hill was over and I had renewed energy to finish the last 10 miles. I completed our 103 mile ride in 7.5 hrs of ride time. What an amazing day.
Another highlight was our second encounter with NC2SD. We caught up to them and rode thru Monument Valley together and we all stayed at a high school in Arizona together. One group activity for the night was a free education class. Our route has many committees, one of which big education so it was requested that I teach a swing dance lesson. Fortunate for me PJ, on NC2SD is a great swing dancer an helped teach the class and we had great participation from both routes. The next day we did a rando-ride and I rode the first 30 miles with Tyler. He is from one of the Carolina states and also has an avid cyclist for a father.
Before the Grand Canyon picture are ones from Horseshoe Bend, where the Colorado river takes a 270 degree turn and Antelope Canyon. Both of these were near Page Arizona. And also a small brag, riding into Page I rode 20 miles solo, no wind, rolling hills in 56 minutes!! A very fun day in my areobars.
And in the last few days we made our way to the Grand Canyon!!! We had some serious climbs and epic descents and enjoyed an incredible day off in the National Park. I spent my day off taking a mule ride on Shirley Bell into the canyon and it was amazing!!! I love being back on a horse and I really enjoyed seeing the beauty of the canyon without exhausting myself. I had a great ride group and really enjoyed talking with a couple from Vancouver BC. They were also nice enough to share their pictures from the ride with me so it wasn't just a bunch of selfies, like most of my pics seem to be. And shout out to our trail guide Tory for teaching us about the history of the canyon and answering all of our endless questions. And fun tidbit, Tory spends his winters near Seattle. Being around other folks from the Pacific Northwest made me feel a little less homesick.
So here are a bunch of photos from the last week! Enjoy! And sorry for the delay, cell service and wireless has been really spotty.
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