Jerome

This image was taken in Jerome, the mountain-side town in Arizona. It felt as though we were in Europe and appeared to be full of galleries and cafes, worth a repeat trip. The ride through the town was hair-raising as tourists were completely unaware of the bike race.

Tail Winds

Throughout the race, the wind was incredibly strong. Luckily, it was more often from behind than a head wind. The flag on the van was almost destroyed by the time the guys had ridden six hours.

Favorite images

Early morning in Utah

The Finish Line

Having read the wrong finish instructions (the ones for the Race Across America), the guys blasted through the finish line and kept going, looking for the escort for a final 8 miles. The crew and finish line workers were yelling and chasing them down to stop. Bob and I had been waiting at the line for ages since the guys decided to get lost one last time. With no other teams hanging around and just 3 volunteers standing around to meet them, the finish was a little anti-climactic but welcome.

Not quite the end.

When I called my sister today and she was surprised we were already home, I realized I should let people know the race is complete and we are not still following Jeff and Jon around days later.

The team completed the ride on Saturday in an exhausting 49 hours and 21 minutes. Despite getting lost four times, they won the two person category, looking alarmingly fresh after the 2.4 mile climb to the finish.

Jon, Nadine and Stephen stayed in Durango for the wrap-up while Jeff, Bob and I hopped into the camper for the drive back to Phoenix. I did promise Bob a few more posts and he assures me he will find people to read it so, if nothing else, the next few posts will show some of the beautiful areas we went through.

Congress - Bull Shifters

We came into Congress, Arizona around 10am, 22 hours into the race. This transition area was handled by the Bull Shifters Bike Club from Phoenix Arizona (very enthusiastic group), they had shower facilities, coffee and snacks, fresh fruit from their gardens in Phoenix, wifi and a pool. One of the course officials, James, gave me a quick camera lesson, switching lenses etc before we hopped back in the van to chase down Jeff.

Night Rides

From 8pm to 6am, the support vehicle had to be directly behind the rider. The first night, Jeff and Jon did 4 hour rides, 10-2 and 2-6 with Bob and I following 530 until 2am, handing over to Nadine and Stephen. By midnight, we were likely impaired, fighting to keep eyes open, eating handfuls of grapes, chewing gum, downing litres of water (unable to stop for a pee though). The evening views were 'spectacular', a word used far too often during the trip.