September 10, 2007

Day Two: Chiriaco,CA to Yarnell, AZ

Before the sun had a chance to rise through the Palms of Indo, California, the second day of riding began for the Alumni Bike Race team. The riders split into two groups with staggered starts, with Walter, Frank and Pat forming the first. Doc Walt began the morning by tearing down “The Ten” from the start point at Chraico Summit. As the sun rose over the distant mountains in the East, the riders arrived at the realization that their journey would carry them far from the crowded, familiar streets of L.A, and far from anything any of them had ever experienced before. Inspired and enthusiastic, Frank and Pat rotated into the morning's ride along with Walt. When they passed through Blythe the team reached the southernmost point of their adventure.

Before long the intensity of the desert sun was felt by the riders as the temperature rose from 80 degrees at 5:00am to 102 degrees just five hours later. By making adjustments such as shortening the shifts for each rider and refilling water bottles more often, the team successfully managed the heat throughout the rest of the morning. Slightly before 11:00am, the riders reached the Colorado River and celebrated the crossing of their first state line. With California behind them and a very long portion of Arizona ahead, the early crew pressed on with Walt and Frank logging 55 And 45 miles before the second group of riders, consisting of Bruce, Mike, Nir, and Kyle arrived to relieve them.

As the sands turn from brown to red and tall cacti began to appear amongst the scrub-brush, the heat grew gradually more intense. By mid-afternoon the temperature had reached a staggering highpoint of 109 degrees, making even shorter shifts extremely exhausting for the riders. While the unusually high humidity provided a sky full of beautiful white clouds as a backdrop for the riders, it also made the heat even more unforgiving. Further up the road, Kyle set out to ride a strong 22 miles, while Bruce, Mike, and Nir rode simultaneously. The trio rode strongly up the hills towards the small mountain town of Congress, AZ with Bruce and Mike recording 55 and 52 miles respectively.

For the second straight day the core alumni riders Bruce, Frank, Walter, and Mike managed to cover a tremendous amount of ground: 200 miles between the four of them. With the mileage (180), for day two covered, along with 4,110 climbing feet of elevation, the entire team arrived triumphantly at the Oak Ridge Motel in Yarnell by 5:00pm. Over dinner at a nearby restaurant, the team discussed strategy for the coming days. While they managed to complete one of the most difficult days of riding on schedule, the riders retired to their rooms knowing that with day three would come more heat, more elevation, and another day of incredible adventure.