Day 4 Desert Center to Quartzsite

 Day 4

As we were sleeping all together in one large room people started stirring early 3:45 AM.  Everyone was pretty much packed up ready to  go by 445 and were waiting for breakfast and lunch food to be put out.

Jane, Barb and I were planning to ride together and as we were saying a prayer for the rode, Barb decided she could not ride as she was not really very well and thought it best considering availability of restrooms along the road, not to ride.  Jane and I started out at 5:20 and it was 79 degrees.  The ride to the first  SAG went very well.  The road was smooth and temp was still below 80. However the next section of road, the shoulders on I 10 were brutal.  Every 10-20 feet we had bumbs 2-3 inches were the payment was buckling and we were going kurplunk kurplunk as the front and back tires were hitting the bumps.  My hand was not handling these bumps well.  I also found I was getting fatigue much quicker this morning as it was the fourth day of riding.  I told Jane that she should move on at the next SAG without me as I did  not want to hold her back.  I was having difficulty keeping up with her this morning.  When I got into the 3^nd SAG at ,27 miles I decided not to continue trying to ride the 50 miles into Blyth were the hospital for my x ray.  Fortunately Bev Prium our tour nurse was there and she agreed to. 

Sorry to report but the xray indicates I have a hairline fracture on the scaphoid bone  and needed a cast. The doctor did indicate I should call my doctor to schedule an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon.  I thought I would consult with the doctor on tour to see what she thought.  I have a copy of the xray on disk which I plan to send to my doctor when I can.  I have decided not to ride for a couple of days before I make a decision.  I don’t want to leave the tour if I can avoid it. 

I rode with Bev and Jay Pruim back to camp and we checked with cyclists along the way and at all SAG stops.  Each SAG had cool wet towels that cyclists could put over their heads, around their necks to bring down their body temps.  This provided a temporay reprieve till the next SAG but helped cyclist get through the ride and into camp.

Jane, Barb and I had decided to stay at the Super 8 hotel as we were told there would be not air conditioned place to stay.  It was a pleasant surprise when we did get into camp  and the Senior Centre was open to us and we could eat and sleep inside it.

Today it was decided the tour will be suspended till Monday evening due to extreme heat warnings.  Temperatures are forecast to heat 120 and surface temperatures eg pavement to hit 160-170 degrees.  When we ride the pavement just radiates the heat up to us and it is very hot riding.  We will leaving this morning Friday to Payson Arizona and miss Phoenix for the weekend. We decided we could only move people once as it is an expensive deal to rent a bus to transport cyclists and tractor trailer to transport bikes and gear. Since ride to Payson would be very difficult with the heat we decided it did not make sense to do it in these heat conditions.

myself Christy Statemire and Brando Hann with our Alma mater jersies

Trying to upload more pics but I am having difficulty posting some fun shots

I did have Ava our doctor check my xray and she could not see a significant break and recommended I not ride for a few days and to have another xray 10 days from the date of  accident so I will get another xray July 5th.  Hopefully I will get the current cast off. 






Distance32.60 mi  flats 26 falls 5

Duration2h:14m:27s

Avg. Speed14.5 mph

Max. Speed22.4 mph

Calories580 kcal

Avg. Heart Rate126

Max. Heart Rate142

Min. Altitude359 ft

Max. Altitude918 ft

Total Ascent134 ft

Total Descent530 ft