ConversationsCoasttoCoast

Peach Springs, AZ - Bellemonte, AZ
Miles today - 105
Total Hamburgers we've eaten already - 4 (and this is just Day 5)
Trains whistles through the night - every 15 minutes (ear plus provided by hotel)

Today we got up especially early so I could finish my stuff on FindPenguins and also my blog. I'm trying to do a blog a day. Its pretty strenuous task to keep up.

Glenn and I did sit down to eat b'fast this morning in the restaurant. We ordered eggs and bacon. And we split the order. Basically, we've been ordering 1 hamburger,, or 1 sandwich or in other words, just sharing a meal each time. Its working great. I can't imagine how we would do it by eating every meal.

As we were packing the van, Wes pulled a fast one on Glenn. Glenn knows that his green suitcase, he will never need during the day. However about 15 minutes before we were pulling out, Wes asked for some item out of THAT green bag. So, Glenn graciously pulled out the 5 or 6 suitcases to get too Wes's. He apologized profusely! And we'll ribb him about it. If there is anyone on the team that we have a great relationship with, that is Wes - the calm cool guy. Wes is always miked up and we can communicate with him from the van.

There was some confusion let the entrance of the hotel about the time we were leaving. Jeff C noticed another group of people that were waiting for a tour to the Grand Canyon and he was wearing a Young Life T-shirt with a bicycle emblem on it. Jeff had reached out to a particular YL group from Tulsa about them riding a little ways into Tulsa on the day Neil rides, however they kinda dismissed it. Come to find out, this particular guy is from Tulsa. Jeff exchanged contact information with him and I believe he has already reached out to the YL folks in Tulsa and because of this "Devine appointment", it looks like this will happen. How cool is that.

There was some filming going on several times during the day, where we would have to pull back or speed up ahead. Coming out of Peach Springs, the guys had a really big climb. Then just about 1 hour into the ride, we pulled over at the Grand Canyon Caverns for people to stretch, get more water, etc. This was a unique stop with lots of Route 66 stuff all on the wall.

As they were riding into Segliman, the film crew wanted to film some shots. There were 2 restaurants that were highly recommended. One was Road Kill Cafe and the other was Snow Cap Drive Inn. The bikers chose the later one. Vela was being our comedian and reading the menu. Road kill Rabbit, Road kill, chicken, etc. She is hillarous!

Everyone ordered hamburgers or hotdogs, milk shakes and fries. We sat on picnic tables. This place was quite unusual. Signage everywhere. Route 66. I bought about 10 post cards. I DO NOT KNOW when I'll have time to write a note, but I will.

At one point in the journey today, the head winds were so strong, that Glenn helped by being in front and "drafting" for the cyclists. I mean it was very strong. Once we got to the interstate, the shoulder was pretty rough, so we elected to pull off at a stop and load up the bikes. We then drove about 20 miles down the road to when the Old Hiway 66 was not part of the Interstate. At this point, the #CC2C or otherwise known as the Chuckwagon 16 drove on to the hotel to check in. No sooner had we pulled up than when we got a distress call that Neil had a flat tire.

We quickly peeped out of the Van, and Glenn turned around to head back the 10 miles to retrieve the folks. Also there was an urgency to get John W. bike to the bike shop, where they'll ship it next week. Now with a flat tire, there were some other minor repairs that has to be done on Wes's bike and probably Caroline's also.

Glenn darted off in the van to take them into Flagstaff to meet the 7pm cut-off time. I helped deliver the luggage that was placed on the sidewalk.

I'm also trying to edit this FindPenguins so I can keep up today. There is a changing of the guards tonight. Una flies in and John W, Joy and Paul fly out. So, there will be some relearning this stuff again. But it'll be good. Glenn took a van load of folks back into Flagstaff for dinner. He is resting in the van, because he'll have an early morning "run" to the airport on Saturday before he packs up the gear and we start Day 6.

There were some meaningful conversations along the way. The night before, Neil walked next door to the Baptist church to meet with some folks there. He talked with Joe Montana, not the famous football player, but another Joe. And then on Friday morning, someone came to the hotel to meet with Neil. Along the day, I know Neil talked with the one guy who was very animated and excited, talked to him as he was getting on a tour bus in Selgiman, Arizona. While we were eating lunch, a biker stopped and Neil talked with him.

So often, we wonder how these Devine appointments happen, or why stuff happened this way or that way. Glenn came back to the hotel on Friday night after having taking 3 of the bicyclists to the bicycle shop for a "tune up", Glenn was outside chatting with a young couple. He was American and she was full blooded Indian. They met on Tender. And have 2 kids, and he is into Martial arts. Again, I don't know all the details to each of the conversation, but they are Devine appointments that happen.

If you have read this far.....this is what Neil posted on his Instagram account.

neiltomba
Okay. I am exhausted after 5 days. If this car was operational I would have driven away. I have a beef...I have been hearing people say that @velatomba has way more interesting posts and stories. Please remember I have ridden 458 mile in 5 days and have been filming what is shaping up to be a blockbuster. Top it off with 15+mile an hour headwinds and another 5000 feet of climbing today. PS—feel free to follow her account too. Especially her instastories...they are kind of funny. #cc2c#conversationscoasttocoast #cycling#herjobismorefunthanmine
#3300miles33strangebeds
#desperatedependenceRead more