RT66 Day 10: Dan's first day + his first flat + Is 70lbs of gear excessive?
We've entered Arizona and are cruising for a bruising...
Day 10: Gallup, NM to Chambers, AZ; 51 miles, 942 feet elevation gain
6.9 miles on I-40
Day 10: Planned on Ride with GPS
Intraday Stops: Speedy’s Truck Stop exit 359 (23 miles), Pizza Edge Sanders (21 miles), Exxon (7 miles)
The morning started early. My dad was awake and packing the car at 5:00 a.m. He left shortly after daybreak.
Meanwhile, Dan had driven all day and arrived shortly after 9:00 p.m. last night. He still had to unpack, set up his gear, and test everything. We didn’t leave the house until around 9:45 a.m., then had to drop off the rental car, refill the gas tank, and finally pick up something I had left behind at the house. All in all, we didn’t finally set out until 10:30 a.m. — later than I’d like.
The riding was slow going. Dan brought a lot of stuff. His packs are probably 70 pounds, which honestly shows how strong a rider he is. We were on local roads for most of the day, so it was pleasant to ride side by side and chat. For future riders, this is definitely a section you can churn out quickly. It’s downhill, and you are mostly on frontage roads that run parallel to the interstate. Just don’t pack eight apples, five pounds of oranges, a full glass jar of imitation Nutella, and 15 pounds of tools, including full-sized scissors.
It got a bit hot, and by the time we reached Chambers, it was almost 4:00 p.m. My bike slipped on some gravel as I approached the hotel, and I fell really hard on my right side. My hands and bike broke the fall.
The motel was nice and clean, and we ended up bailing on dinner at the Punjabi restaurant next door and instead ate Dan’s snacks to whittle down his load.
Now that there is another rider, here is the score:
Daphne: 0 flats
Dan: Trip Flat #1
Additionally, his back tire is really coming apart. I don’t think Dan realized how much wear and tear this bike and tire have already seen. With the additional load, the rubber on the sides is starting to fray. We may need to stop by Walmart in Winslow to get him a new tire.
On a happier note, when we arrived at the hotel, I got a message from my dad that he had reached Las Cruces.
