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Judy's JournalTour Days 10-19Here's Judy's journal and her photos from Days 10-19 of her trip -- from Holbrook AZ to Guymon OK. Click on the links below to see her journal entries from other parts of the trip. Training and Days 1-9 Days 20-29 Days 30-39 Days 40-50
Day 10: Monday, May 22nd, Flagstaff to Holbrook AZ Tour route: 94.3 miles, but I biked 95.7
miles per my Garmin GPS The group left the hotel around 7:15 AM. The weather
was very crisp and cool and quite windy, around 30-35 mph crosswind w/gusts up
to 45 mph. It was a crummy road out of Flagstaff w/alot of ruts and
cracks. I was biking alone but after Lynn Barthel, XC06 staff member rode
by, I decided to catch up w/her and ride w/her for awhile. After the day's
rest in Flagstaff, I felt energized and began pushing it. At times we were
biking 22-24 mph w/the wind gusts. Had a great day. Felt good and
did the entire 95.7 miles in 7:27 min. which included the sag stops and stopping
for lunch. Sharyn Fettrow, from Oregon who is one of the cyclists
w/our group was picked up by the wind gusts and fell from her bike onto her hip.
She doesn't think it is broken but she's in quite a bit of pain. She's
decided not to ride tomorrow which is probably wise. I am having some
problem w/my right achilles tendon. Hope it doesn't get any worse.
Talk atcha tomorrow. JudyP-M
Day 11: Tuesday, May 23rd, Holbrook, AZ to
Gallup, NM Tour route: 86.3 miles but my GPS Garmin sez 87.43
miles This was a long day along Interstate HW 40E. The semi
trailer trucks and the RV's rumbled by incessantly all day long some giving a
toot as they went by. There were so many wires from the tires the semi's
tossed off as well as brown glass which was hard to detect from afar. I
finally had my 1st flat today. (I am ahead of the game because on 2003, I
had probably had 11 flats by this time.) I pulled out a wire from my front
tire and it must have been a slow leak. When I got finished eating a
Subway sandwich and got back on my bike, it was flat. Got hold of my bud,
Mack McNicholas, the Sag King from the UK with XC06 and he came and changed
it for me. Yeah, Mack! Thank-you. The rest of the day was
uneventful. I still have an achilles tendon problem on my left foot.
It needs some rest, I'm sure. Got back on my bike and finally made it to
the last sag stop at Indian City at 61.8 miles. Used the bathroom and then
Margaret Schwartz, our Sag Queen pointed to the flag that was waving in the
wind. A headwind! It lasted for the last 26 miles
into Gallup, NM. Finally crossed the AZ border into NM. The
construction along the interstate was horrendous. Navigating the cones and
the semi's was a complete challenge. But mostly the drivers were polite
and gave up some of their space to us bikers. I will be glad to get off
the interstate. It sucks. JudyP-M
Day 12: Wednesday, May 24th, Gallup, NM to Grants,
NM Tour Route: 67.7 miles but my GPS Garmin sez 69.1. Early in the morning we got on the old Route 66 highway out
of Gallup, NM. It was rough & full of cracks and potholes....but
it was a blessing to be away from the huge semi's on the interstate.
Started out at about 6400 ft in elevation and climbed to 7275 ft. at the
Continental Divide. We passed the Red Rocks State Park on the way to the
Continental Divide. This is the same red rock formation that is in Sedona,
AZ and outside Denver, CO. When we got to the Sag stop at the Continental
Divide we took pictures and then trudged on into Grants. A good day of
bike riding but my achilles tendon is still nagging me. JudyP-M
Day 13: Thursday, May 25th, Grants, NM to
Albuquerque, NM Tour Route: 75.9 miles but my cycle computer
registered 81.87 miles Started out biking this morning with Julia Zahn from Tucson,
AZ. She is 70 years old and a strong biker and she does the hills a lot
better than I do. She says it is a gearing problem for me and she is
probably right. I could learn something from her. We biked together
at a strong pace of over 20mph most of the way to the first Sag at 30.3
miles. Then Julia took a "bump" to the next sag, so I waited up
and began biking with with my roomie, Barbara Woods who came in shortly after
me. This is Barbara's last day on tour. I am really going to miss
her. She is a fun person to be around and she's a good consistent
biker. We did the final mileage together up the mean 5 mile incline.
Whew that was a real toughie. Towards the end when we were coming down the
hill, I was ahead of Barbara and I missed the turn on my cue sheet. I was
really enjoying the exhilarating downhill ride into Albuquerque. Barbara
saw my mistake and phoned Margaret Schwartz, our Sag Queen who came along side
of me and flagged me down. She told me I was off course. I stopped
my Garmin and got into the sag van w/Margaret. She took me back to where I
got off course. Got back on my bike and rode down the other enormous hill
into old town Albuquerque. I was getting really hot and tired by then and
was hassling my achilles tendon which was really aggravated by the end of the
day. Need to ice is down tonight. I hope it is OK in the morning
where I can ride. JudyP-M
Day 14: Friday, May 26th, Albuquerque, NM to
Santa Fe, NM Tour Route: 66.6 miles but yours truly only got 2.57
miles down the road Not a good day for me. My achilles tendon was hurting
too bad to ride. Got into the sag w/Mack McNicholas and rode all day
there. We stopped for lunch at Madrid, NM and ate at the Mine Shaft
Tavern. Had a good sandwich and even ate some fries which I haven't done
is many moons. Had to make myself feel better by giving it
"food"! Several persons sagged that day because it was a very
hilly ride into Santa Fe. This gave me a chance to get to know Sharyn
Fettrow from Oregon who fell and hurt her hip earlier in the tour. Our Sag
van was overheating and so Lynn Barthel and her husband, Jeff Bott came to pick
the sagger's up. I have iced my tendon off and on all day. Will see
what tomorrow brings. It is a rest day in Santa Fe. JudyP-M
Day 15: Rest Day, Saturday, May 27th, Santa
Fe, NM Last night I began rooming with Julia Zahn. We went to bed early after I watched a little TV. Got up around 7:00AM. Ate breakfast & then decided to go to the hospital in Santa Fe, NM to see if there was anything more that could be done for my achilles tendon. Short answer: "NO"!. The doctor told me that I was already doing what needed to be done. Ice it at 20 min. intervals, take my Celebrex twice a day and stay off of it until all the swelling goes down and don't go "gang busters" when I get back on the bike. Not what I wanted to hear! This really disturbs me as I am biking by the mile to earn money towards the scholarship fund. But in the scheme of things, I am a lucky camper that I haven't ruptured the tendon. It squeaks when you move it. I told you it was "talking to me"! Well guys and gals, I guess I am shut down for awhile. I will still keep you posted on how many miles my posterior is logging in the sag wagon. Pls keep me in your prayers for a speedy recovery and email me from time to time. JudyP-M
Day 16: Sunday, May 28th, Santa Fe, NM to Las Vegas, NM Tour Route: 72.1 miles; Today I spent 72.1 miles in the Sag Wagon with Sharyn Fetrow & Mack McNicholas encouraging the bikers along the route. Today was Mike Taylor's last day. He left our group for home. Jim Sproull was leading the pack out of town until he had a flat tire. As Russ Fetrow passed him on the road, he shouted, "Now you are Dead Last, Jim!" So Jim got back on his bike and proceeded to pass everyone again! The truth is that our XC06 mechanic, Ricky Wardell was actually the lead biker. The weather was perfect for the bikers w/a tailwind coming into Las Vegas, NM. Today was our last day of biking on the Interstate highways. Yeah....hopefully, less flat tires and blowouts! The achilles is being iced and pampered. Talk to you manana. JudyP-M
Day 17: Monday, May 29th, Las Vegas, NM to Tucumcari, NM Tour Route: 108.1 miles; 108.1 miles in the Sag Wagon w/my tender achilles tendon. It's getting better slowly. This was a great biking day for challenges and beauty. Not too far from Las Vegas, NM we came to our 1000' mile mark of the tour. I took pictures of the guys as they passed by. Then the awesome part was coming to the top of the mesa and looking down upon the ancient ocean basin below. A gorgeous magnificent sight. After the sag stop the guys rode up the "wall"! This was a .7 mile climb. Some had to walk their bikes up it. It turned warm and there was also a headwind the rest of the way into Tucumcari. It was a tough long day for the bikers. Tomorrow I'm going to try and bike again. Hope my achilles tendon doesn't flare up. Wish me luck. JudyP-M
Day 18: Tuesday, May 30th, Tucumcari, NM to Dalhart, TX Tour Route: 95.7 miles, I biked 34.2 miles Tested the achilles tendon today. There was a tailwind from the hotel and for 30 miles I was biking like a little kid. I averaged 19.8 mph for the 30 miles. When I got to the first sag stop the wind changed and was a crosswind and then the crummy headwind came. I stopped to check out my tendon and it was OK but I decided that I shouldn't push it too hard the first day out. Got in the sag wagon and rode the rest of the day w/Sharon Fettrow and my roomie, Julia Zahn. The headwind made it rough for all the bikers after a hard day the day before. Several of the guys got in to ride w/us. We cross the Texas State line and took pictures and then we drove by all the cattle feed lots in Dalhart. Thousands and thousands of cattle in feedlots which ran for miles. What a stink! Tomorrow we head out for Guymon, OK. I hope to bike the whole thing. JudyP-M
Day
19: Wednesday, May 31, Dalhart, TX to Guymon, OK Tour
Route: 72.3 miles, but Judy biked 74.8 miles as per her bike computer This started out as a tougher day than expected. The route to Guymon, OK was flat but we had the proverbial headwind from the east in our face. The 1st 30 miles it sprinkled on us as we left Dalhart, TX. After a "pick me up" Oreo blizzard at Dairy Queen, I ducked behind the guys in their pace line. Each of the guys went forward to take their turn in front battling the headwind. I can say that I rode w/the big dogs today, but at our best we were only cycling 12.5 mph. Disgusting, but I am so thankful to them for the help. The last 20 miles after lunch, I rode by myself. Don and Helen Reeves from Ponca City, OK were set up in the town of Texhoma w/homemade brownies and cookies. Both Don and Helen rode Crossroads in previous years on a tandem and for the full mileage of 3415 miles they averaged 15.0 mph. Pretty awesome! Then at the hotel they had wine and beer waiting for everyone to relax with. This was a great day w/some very special people at the end of the day. Thanks Helen & Don....we really appreciated your being there. JudyP-M
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Copyright © 2006 by The Hollis D. Marshall Memorial Scholarship Fund. All rights reserved. For site information, contact Judy Paine-Marshall Last revised: Monday, November 03, 2008 . Website design Patricia Coogan, Words and Pictures, The Woodlands TX. Home
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