This was a mixed day.  Matthew and I took the advice of the property owner to try cycling a little utilized country road, and this has become one of the 10 most memorable roads on which I have cycled.  Almost zero cars, landscape that went from canyon rock to infinite vistas, antelopes in the fields all around us, and a well maintained surface.  And we were really moving.  I’m proud of my performance and I would tell my top speed but, depending on who reads this, I would either hear that I was crazy and should know better or “that’s it?”

But, it was not as cheery for everyone.  The road designers have a nasty habit of either providing too small a shoulder (or none at all) or, just as bad, providing a reasonable shoulder and then running a thick rumble strip up its centre.  Bicycles can manage it okay, but tricycles cannot.  They end up cycling in the lane of traffic and, even with flags and flashing lights, it is tough to feel safe when you hear a vehicle approaching from behind.  To this, I would add that the shoulder dimensions are unreliable, changing in size and shape along the way, making it very difficult to predict  which routes are trike friendly without getting trapped by changing shoulder conditions.  This has been a constant challenge to our route finding, and it made for a trying day for several of the team.

It is now seven days left before we cycle through Phoenix with our sister teams from the West Coast and Utah.  This time is passing too fast now.  But there is still much more to come.