RT66 Day 12: Flagstaff is our beacon.
We reach our hotel in the pouring rain, Dan finally dumps the fake Nutella and gets validation on his bike maintenance skills. My bike shines anew.
Day 12: Winslow, AZ to Flagstaff, AZ; 60 miles, 2,661 feet elevation gain
48 miles on I-40
Day 12: Planned on Ride with GPS (Part 1) | (Part 2)
Intraday Stops: Meteor Rest Stop (18 miles), Chevron exit 219 (17 miles), Winona Trading Post exit 211 (9 miles), Chevron Flagstaff (12 miles)
We got up at 5:30 a.m. to get a jump on the day. We wanted to make it into Flagstaff early, ahead of the weather, so we were on the road by 6:30 after eating breakfast and discarding even more of Dan’s food. I finally convinced him to ditch the maltodextrin-filled fake Nutella. In the end, he was still skeptical.
The majority of the ride was once again on Interstate 40. The day was beautiful. The air was crisp, the skies were blue, and the temperature was perfect for riding. We were slated to climb nearly 2,000 feet into Flagstaff, so we wanted to give ourselves a head start. We also knew we wanted to get to REI as soon as possible to have my bike serviced.
The ride itself went smoothly. Our lunch stop was at Navajo Blue, home to the cleanest bathroom on Route 66. There was even a Native American man playing the flute. At our third stop, I noticed my slow leak had reappeared. I’ve decided to count this flat as 3B — a continuation of 3A from yesterday. Instead of changing it, we just pumped some air into the tire and kept going.
Navajo Blue on the way to Flagstaff is worth the stop. The bathrooms are immaculate, there’s sometimes live music (see the video), and there is Fizz!
We made it into Flagstaff with about 10 miles left to go just as the sky opened up and poured rain down on us. Thankfully, we were already off the highway and in town by then, and traffic was heavy enough that cars weren’t flying past us. Even though it got very dark, we simply slowed down and made it to the hotel ten minutes later. When we arrived, it felt like a shining beacon welcoming us in.
We unloaded our gear, took showers, and headed straight to REI.
There, we found out that REI didn’t stock any of the parts I needed. Everything would have to be custom ordered, which would take at least a week. My choices were either to risk riding through the Mojave Desert with questionable bike components and very few services nearby, or try an authorized Trek dealer called Single Track Bikes, which might actually have the parts on hand.
So, with 45 minutes until closing, we rushed over to Single Track Bikes.
Paul was our guy, and he managed to restore both the derailleur hanger and the shifter — without replacing either — back to full working order. He also explained tubeless tires to me in a way no one else ever has (more on that later). It turned out to be a very good thing that we hustled into Flagstaff and got there as quickly as possible, because the shop wouldn’t have been open the next day, Sunday — though REI would have been.
With the bike restored, we celebrated over beers and pasties.
Back at the hotel, we congratulated ourselves on our good fortune, ate freshly baked cookies, and watched Raiders of the Lost Ark before drifting off into a restful sleep.
Note for future riders: We did not stop at Meteor Crater, which adds about 15 miles to the total distance and includes additional climbing. Allegedly, it’s really cool. Also, get your cameras out when you exit the interstate into Flagstaff — it’s an incredibly picturesque ride into town.