Meanwhile, Back at the Lodge...

I am back at the Space Age Lodge in Gila Bend. After three days off, my cough is still hanging on. In fact, it really isn't better at all. I have been spending half the night hacking. For some reason, it seems to get worse when I am resting. No fever, so I guess I should not be worried, but I feel pretty bad. Whatever.

Not riding was getting depressing, so I rode today anyway. My plan was to go easy, so I rode with my new roommate who was having a knee issue. I stayed out in front and set the pace, spending most of the time in my aerobars. Although I was feeling pretty crappy, I realized that the past few weeks have made me much more comfortable and efficient in my aerobars. Too bad I will not be using them on Route 66 -- I expect the pavement to be too uneven for aerobars to be practical.

Like last week, I felt a little better once I started riding. I only had a couple of short coughing fits on the bike. It is interesting how the riding seems to suspend the coughing. It is as if my body is calling upon some vestigial metabolic mechanism that prioritizes hunting, or running from hunters, ahead of fighting infection. Unfortunately, once you stop and rest, the symptoms are even worse.

Out on the shoulder of I-8, I had my third flat of the month. That's a problem with interstate riding. Radial tires throw off little shards of wire that coat the road surface pretty thoroughly. The wires are too short to cause flats in cars, but they do plenty of damage to bicycle tires. Regardless, I preferred today's I-8 route to Gila Bend over the shoulderless route that we used a few weeks ago. The wide shoulder on I-8 felt safer than the truck traffic on routes 238 and 347. My only regret about the route was that I had planned on getting photos of the dessicated cattle cubes that I saw on route 238 last month. I did see some dead cows today, but not the eerie cubical type.

At the 38 mile snack stop, my roommate got on the van to rest his knees, so I rode the rest of the way in alone. I thought I was going slow, but my pace might have been a little too fast for his knee issue.

So the worm turns.

Photos

A Blooming Cactus

Layers

Skyscape

Ride Summary

Route: Casa Grande to Gila Bend
Distance: 61 miles
Speed (avg/max): 17.3 mph / 30 mph
Riding Time: 3 hours 34 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours 58 minutes
Power (avg/max) 123 watts / 408 watts
Calories Measured at Wheel: 1,576
Heart Rate (min/max/avg): ??? bpm / ??? bpm / ??? bpm

Miles this Year: 1513