Friday the 28th

So today, we took a bus to cover three days of biking. It was, of course, disappointing that the tour was suspended for these days. It must have been a difficult call to make. I felt really sorry for those doing only the one week. One third of their biking days were cut, whereas for me it is only three days out of nine weeks. But it does mean I cannot claim to have cycled completely from sea to sea. There will be a gap. That's disappointing, as I wanted to do the whole thing.

But if we attempted it in this heat of 120 degrees, it would have wiped us out, especially the Monday ride. We drove it by bus and it would have been the most challenging day of the tour. Even in cool conditions, it would have been a great challenge for many of the riders, including myself. But in these conditions, one strong rider guessed only two people might have made it and he did not include himself. So it was probably wise to have suspended the tour.

Instead, we took the bus. As we waited for the bus, we amused ourselves in the community Center (see pictures on Smugmug). At 10 we boarded the bus. In Phoenix, we made two short stops: at the river and for a shake. We arrived at Payson at 3:30, but the gear truck only arrived at 8. In between I walked with three others for ice cream. Pizza was ordered for the group. Tents set up in the dark. We are staying on school grounds, with no access to the main building. We do have washrooms, but have  improvised outdoor showers. No Internet here, but am presenting using it at Denny's with Saturday morning breakfast.

We now have the weekend to spend in Payson.