Winslow, AZ to Springerville, AZ onto Sorocco, NM

I attached a picture above of the entire tour map. When we arrive in Socorro, NM this evening, 16 Sepember (Sat) we will be 28% through this tour towards or goal of Tybee Island, GA.

Payback was big time all day yesterday, 15 September (Friday). We left Winslow, AZ at our usual 6:45am time and we rode past the corner made famous in the Eagles song (Standing on a corner in Winslow, AZ (photo above). Next, we started our trek on I-40 for several miles with a headwind or crosswind for the entire day. The wind was blowing at a constant 20+ knots with gusts to 40mph - it was absolutely relentless all day with 4,407 feet of climbing in wide open desert, upward terrain (photo of desert above, no trees for protection from the wind). I have to say that in the end this was one of the hardest days I’ve ever spent on a bike...., I was (and others agree) totally exhausted when we pulled into our hotel in Springerville, AZ on the New Mexico line (still in Mountain Time Zone). Just in case we were thinking today (Saturday) might be a recovery day, it’s not..., it's the longest trek of the tour at 157 miles with over 4,000 feet of climbing. Wish us luck today.

Donna/Mom