The Biggest Climb of All

Day 17 was another hard day after a 2 day break in Sedona.
Sedona is a special place as many of you know with remarkable red rock formations & scenic drives in all directions. We played golf on a beautiful course, rode our bikes & took a drive through surrounding canyons. Yesterday we came upon a resort called "Enchantment" where we had tea. That was about all we could afford there! Rooms run from $350/night to about $2,000. It's setting in a canyon surrounded by magnificent hills is breathtaking. So we had a good rest & a great time.
I was thankful for my rested legs as today presented a few challenges. The distance was just over 60 miles but I was on the road for 7 hours with over 4,300 feet of climbing. 30 miles were easy but the other 30 kept me honest. This included the toughest climb of the trip up past the little town of Jerome & beyond for a total of about 15 miles. Then of course a wild ride down before I had the last 15 miles to Prescott. Once off the mountain & into the Prescott valley the wind hit. So although it was only about a 3-4% grade, with the wind I often was slowed to 4-5mph I have been concerned about this leg of the ride from the beginning & didn't expect the last few miles to be so hard. So at last all the major obstacles have been handled & I am grateful to be feeling strong & ready to complete this ride. So excluding the short ride from Flagstaff to Sedona there has not been an easy day
Tomorrow to Wickenberg about 70 miles & unless the wind is really bad it should be a reasonable day with a net elevation drop of 3,000 feet. The news here is full of the story of the wind & a few fires which are hard to control because of it The temperatures are comng down though, so by the time we finish in Phoenix it should be no warmer than the 80's- a big improvement from the 100's recently..