Day 3 (mile 210-268)

My initial plan to complete this thing in roughly a week was to push an average of 90 miles a day, which got completely thrown off by elevation gain, heat exposure, and ultimately road condition. Much of the charm of RAAZ is the old mining roads which are now used almost exclusively for off-road vehicles, and are embellished by enormous, dried dirt tracks following any big rain. Having pushed so hard the day before, we’d afforded ourselves a recovery day; an easy 60 mile cruise into fellow Route 66 town, Williams. Nothing too eventful.... beautiful open roads in the dry woodlands and chaparral just south of the Grand Canyon. It’s all too easy to convince yourself of “deserving” little treats on a trip like this. And so, Evan and I again decided to split another cheap motel. After an order of spring rolls, a Panang curry, and a pint of vegan Ben N Jerry’s, we crashed out and set the alarm for 5:30 am.

Day 4 (mile 268-340)

The brisk, pre-dawn air, while tough on the bones, gives me a general feeling of 'aliveness'. Layered up in every article of clothing we had, and water bottles filled up with hot gas station coffee, we rode Southeast 44 miles toward Flagstaff and eventually Happy Jack. Having spent a significant amount of time in Flagstaff, I was eager to get to sections of the route more familiar to me (again, an incredibly unhelpful impulse). We were greeted by an absolute slog of what I’ll call “un-cruisable” roads, especially with no suspension on our bikes. When we arrived at the Circle K, just off Lake Mary Road, I warmed up some leftover Thai food in a microwave, which ultimately melted some of the plastic container. I'm only a little ashamed to admit that I still ate the food, knowing the vegan options for real food had been limited. I charged my phone and power-bank behind the ice chest, grabbed some Oreos, and then we started our descent to Mormon Lake. One small tip I’ve learned over the years is to take advantage of random power outlets, especially if you’re chilling somewhere for more than 15 minutes.

A mass of smoke from what appeared to be a wildfire halted us in our tracks on the open expanse of Lake Mary Road. After some light research and hesitation on whether to stay in Flagstaff a day or two, I persuaded Evan to push through. Given my relatively short window of one week, I was worried that getting off schedule would completely derail my now fading motivation. The fifteen (or so) miles down to Lake Mormon was almost apocalyptic. Flames ran through the forest just a few yards from our bikes. Four story dust devils, combined with smoke, taunted us as we cruised past. It was at once awesome and asthma-inducing. With the smoke at our backs, we pushed on towards Happy Jack, riding what for me were some of the most memorable climbs and hill bombs of the trip; late-day light shimmering through the pines, long, fast descents on forest roads connecting tiny little cabin communities. Though I wanted to continue through the setting sun, I obliged when Evan found a nice little campsite next to a stream. We did some creek laundry, took a birdbath, cooked some re-fried beans, and crashed out before 8 pm.

I slept nearly 11 hours.

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