Day 8

Cottonwood to Flagstaff (48 miles) - I guess you'll think I've been loafing around for the past 2 days since we've only done 50 miles or less compared to the 85-115 mile days we had in the beginning. We are in the mountains now and it takes twice as long to do the same distance when you're climbing, of course. I got a little too excited about day 6 when we had the nice climb into Jerome (a Eureka Springs-like town) and then a steep, fast descent into Cottonwood. I think I said it was a 15 on a scale of 10 in terms of quality of riding that day. As good as it was that day, yesterday was even better. We left Cottonwood at our regular time (7:15 am) and enjoyed a nice rolling terrain along a 4-lane road into the beautiful town of Sedona. Those red rocks are just breathtaking. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. The skies were crystal clear, the temperature was about 65-70 degrees and the humidity was about 15%. After a little stop in Sedona to enjoy a little rest and take in the view at a coffee shop, we headed north through Oak Creek Canyon toward Flagstaff. We had about 25 more miles to go but this is the where the climbing came in. The road through had a slight uphill grade as we pedaled along the river. At about mile 37 we hit the switchbacks and had 2.2 miles of steep climbs to reach the summit. I must be getting stronger because I didn't even dread the climbing. In fact, I rather enjoyed it. I have to admit that my determination to lose weight this past year was driven by this very thing: climbing! When you weigh less, climbing is just easier. The view at the summit was spectacular. The last 12 miles into Flagstaff was still uphill but more rolling. We encountered some headwind again but we didn't mind too much because we knew that once we got to Flagstaff we'd have a full day off tomorrow. YES!!! After this tough week, we all need it.

Day 9 was a rest day in Flagstaff.