Recovery Day

No riding today, at least not for me. Saturday is the transition day between camp weeks, so there is no organized riding. There is a cue sheet available for those that want to ride on their own, but I'm taking the day as a recovery day. I've mostly been relaxing while trying to stay off my feet and my butt, and icing my knee every few hours.

I had a morning physical therapy session which was basically a deep muscle massage. For those that have never had one, I should tell you something. These are no new-age aroma-therapy spirit-channeling seances. They are serious muscle adjustments, and they hurt like hell when you have overuse injuries. My quads were pretty tight and knotted, especially near the insertion points. The therapist did her best to work out the knots, while I did my best not to scream. She told me that the inflammation in my knee was probably caused by the tightness. Who would have thought that the most painful experience of the week would be the massage table? I now have a daily appointment for the next seven days.

All of the tandem riders from Week 1 have gone home, except for one guy. He has a new stoker (the person on the back) coming in for Week 2. The theme for Week 2 is 'Bike Friday', so almost everyone coming in this week is riding a Bike Friday.

I've been told by several of the crew that the Bike Friday riders tend to be a lot more laid back than typical riders. As a result, the routes for Week 2 are shorter. On Sunday, we ride to Sierra Vista. That ride is about 85 miles with some climbing in the first 40, but after that, the rides are all less than 65 miles for the week. If I can get my knee through those first 40 miles, I should be good for the week. Although there is climbing most of the week, all of the rides begin and end in Sierra Vista. That will allow me to tailor my route and mileage without riding the van. It would also allow me to take a day off if I have to.

I'll be spending the rest of the day reading Dr. Andy Pruitt's 'Complete Medical Guide for Cyclists'. Better that I would have read that on the way out here rather than 'War of the Worlds'. I'll leave you with some photos I took this week -- mostly yesterday from Saguaro National Park.

Cacti and Mountains

Vista

Vista Too

Horizon

Big Sky

Greenery and Sky. With all of the plant life, it surprised me to learn that there has not been rain there for over 110 days. The park ranger was pretty knowledgable about the local vegetation, although he seemed more interested in telling me about all of the cyclists that die every year on Gates Pass.

Earth Meets Sky

Cattle Farm. We passed this on the way to to Gila Bend. I was planning on stopping there to beg some bag balm on the return journey, but I managed to find some in Casa Grande before the return.

McTown. Building tomorrow's baby boomer ghetto today. We rode through this town on our routes between Casa Grande and Gila Bend. This place is future shock waiting to happen. Literally thousands of new McHouses piled on top of each other with a McTown Center smack in the middle. All in the middle of a desert that relies on the distant Colorado river to keep its groundwater recharged.

Training Bike. In case you were wondering what I was riding. I also plan to use this on the second transcontinental. Most of the miles for the first crossing are on old Route 66 which will require a different bike.