Today: 44 miles, 1148 feet
Cumulative: 421 miles, 17460 feet
Today was a blissful little hop back across to the California side of the Colorado River, up to Parker Dam which forms Lake Havasu and on to Lake Havasu City on the Arizona side.
This is what they're calling a rolling recovery day. Just what the doctor ordered! Not a whole day off, but only a three hour ride with the rest of the day to recuperate, do laundry, have a few waking hours off the damn bicycle besides just ride, eat, sleep, ride, eat, sleep... And, it was heaven! I felt really strong, even up the few substantial hills, despite my aches and pains and exhaustion. I've already begun losing belly fat--guess my body is in a big hurry to accommodate and adapt to this crazy new lifestyle. No complaints from me on that front. I'm saddle sore (saddle weary, really--my sit bones hurt), my knees ache a little, and I have limited strength and feeling in my right hand, my lips are chapped from the desert heat and air, and oh, and my quads are sore, duh. But the masseuse helps tremendously. I still have the cold, but that's another story.
I had lots of energy left after arriving and had a recovery milkshake with one of the riders, Mike, viewed the London Bridge (which was bought and reassembled here), showered, did the laundry, and tried the hotel pool. I attempted to get a group interested in renting jet skis, but strangely, not a single person was interested in returning into the blazing sun and 100 degree heat. So I went by myself. I took the jet ski up and down the lake a fair distance, drove it under the London Bridge (one of those things it seems you just have to do), and took a dunk in the wonderfully cool water of the Colorado River.
And now I'm ready to collapse and start again at 5 am tomorrow! We're off to Kingman, Arizona, 85 miles through, you guessed it, more desert, including lots of climbing. Forecast is for sun and 103 degrees. I have to keep reminding myself that I paid good money for this.
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