Side Shows

Today’s route came within 30 miles of the Grand Canyon. When Susie and I awoke this morning, we considered a side trip there, then dismissed it with “Been there, done that.” With that thought set aside, I had the great pleasure of beginning today’s ride with Colleen Lingley who had given me local route advice and who I met only last night.

Today’s 75 mile route had about 50 miles of downhill. For the gently uphill portion after that, I had a tailwind!  

In the final stretch to Tuba City, I saw a dust devil aiming for the road a little in front of me. I wondered if I would go through it. I turned on the video camera and caught it as it crossed the road. You can see that cool side show here.

Because of the favorable conditions, we finished the ride earlier than expected. At the conclusion, Susie and I looked at each other and said, “Let’s go to the Grand Canyon!” It was about 1.5 hours backtracking by car from Tuba City. We both saw sections of the canyon we hadn’t seen before. And we had dinner overlooking the canyon at sunset, seated by a lovely hostess who made sure we had a table by the window!

Another side show happened yesterday, during our “rest” day in Flagstaff. I drove an hour east to Winslow to the Walmart Tire Center to get a nail out of the front left tire of the Prius. While there, Susie alerted me that I was quite close to Meteor Crater, so I took a side trip to visit on the way back. It’s deep enough to contain the Washington Monument.

Ride details

Start location: Flagstaff AZ

End location: Tuba City AZ

Distance: 75.6 miles

Cumulative distance: 624.4 miles

Elevation gain: 2040.7 feet

Strava track: https://www.strava.com/activities/702988689