78 miles, 2700' of elevation, 85 degrees
The first 20 miles were a struggle today as the rolling resistance was high added with some elevation gain and head wind. All of our legs were a bit tired from yesterday's ride so we had hoped for an easier start. The sag was at the appointed place and we all agreed it was going to be a long day. After the stop, however, the road surface vastly improved and we started those wonderful rolling terrain that you can start getting a nice pace. The first 20 miles we were lucky to hit 10 mph and after the stop we were averaging 16. Thank goodness as I was getting a little tired of the desert landscape. We did have the pleasure of riding over freshly oiled road for 4 miles but fortunately it had set up enough that it did not spray up on the bike.
It was a challenging day for many of our group with the heat, distance and riding surface. The junk in the shoulder sometimes kicks you out into the travel lane but with so little traffic today not a problem. You definitely needed a lot of determination to finish today as two 80 mile days in March is a lot. We all arrived safe and sound and I was fortuate to do the entire ride. It has come to my attention, that one needs a good deal of luck as some mechanical problems that some of the riders experienced just can't be fixed on the road.
Woman Tours, however, puts every tool in place for people to be successful with their individual goals. The most important is to have cold water and food available every 20 miles which in the Arizona desert has been a must with so little population. Time to go to our state crossing Margarita party.
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