Day 10: Flagstaff to Holbrook

May 15, 2023

Nearly all day on the hard shoulder of the I40 / Highway 66. So far as I can tell, all but one of us punctured, some as many as five times. My first puncture of the trip.

If truth be told there’s not much between Flagstaff and Holbrook. I do like this barren desert though. We came off the I40 for a quick stop at Winslow Arizona to take photos of the corner from the Eagles song. Nice coffee shop.

My highlight was to go off route to visit the meteor crater 40 miles east of Flagstaff. Pretty spectacular, even after the last few days of spectacular views. Unfortunately it cost $28 to get into the visitors’ centre to see the rim, and I didn’t have time to see any of it as I’d had to make the 12 mile detour to get there. That was a shame as they seemed to have a nice museum and bits of the Apollo spacecraft. Nice toilets though! The trip did give the chance to look back at Humphrey’s Mountain, this time 40 miles to the east.

Some drama as the crew worried they’d lost me. Three of us had planned to visit the crater (Simon, Mark S and I), but we got split up because I punctured when I was just behind the others and they didn’t realise. I got delayed as I tried a repair with a dodgy tube. Thank you Dana for your help. In the meantime Simon had his first puncture, so he and Mark decided against the detour and when the crew saw them they assumed I’d done the same. They got worried when I didn’t pitch up at the first SAG and went looking for me. All resolved when they saw me approaching late.

I made an effort to get to Winslow fairly quickly, where Gary waited for me. He’s not been able to walk for the last three days because of a musculoskeletal problem, but can cycle carefully. As we rode the 16 miles to the second SAG his leg got stronger. He was still glad to get in the car though.

Rode the last 20 miles on my own, feeling pretty good. Passed lots of people fixing punctures. The crew have been busy today, as some slight moisture has helped the wires from old truck tires stick to our wheels and work their way in.

Holbrook does not have much to commend it. Nearly all one storey buildings, many dilapidated and a lot abandoned. We passed a good few closed down hotels until we got to ours, a couple of miles out of town, standing isolated and brand new.

Not the best meal tonight (burrito, beans and rice) in a Mexican / American restaurant a few hundred yards back down the road.