Day 5 - Disappointment

This post will be out of order, but I'll post yesterday's when I get my tablet to a place with Internet. 

I'm posting from my phone in a coffee shop in Payson, AZ.  Yes, we're at Monday's destination already.  The ride has been suspended after our arrival in Quartzsite, AZ due to crazy high temperatures.  There is an extreme temperature warning in effect for the Phoenix area all weekend.  Highs are expected (and are) in the upper 40's.  With these extreme temperatures the tour organizers have deccided that it's not safe to be out on the roads, and we were shuttled to Payson this morning. We're killing time now, waiting for the gear truck to arrive so we can set up camp.

The organizers rented a tractor trailer to carry all the bikes to Payson, and our two tractors will make a double run today to bring the gear and kitchen trailers as well.  And we have three days to kill in this small town.  A 50-passenger coach was also chartered to bring all the riders into town, too.

The mood in camp is somewhat disappointed, but somewhat relieved. The heat really is ridiculous.  And Monday's ride into Payson was supposed to be some 140 kilometers with 10,000ft of climbing. And driving that road today, it maybe was a good idea to cancel that stage.  Some of the stronger riders could have made it with SAG support, but it would have been tough. 

I am personally quite disappointed as now we won't be able to claim we've ridden all the way across the country.  A few of the other riders are talking about making up the missing distances in the next three days, but it's not quite the same. But so be it. There is still the general consensus in camp that this was the right decision.

The drive out of Phoenix was gorgeous. I can't post pictures from here, but hope to soon. The change in vegetation from Phoenix climbing into Payson was extreme: desert down below, and desert but plenty of greenery up where we sit. And the temp is a pleasant 103F.

Sitting in this coffee shop, we just played a game of Dutch Bingo (my first real attempt this trip) and I won! Turns out another rider from Hamilton, Alexa Lemstra, is the grand-daughter of my maternal grandma's brother (John?).  Carry Kooy was on hand to catch the moment of second-cousin revelation...

I'll try and blog again in the next day or two, but priority one will be laundry and priority two is riding!  We're in the mountains and want to make the most of it.

Thanks for all your prayers and words of encouragement so far... Keep praying as we forge ahead.