September 3rd, 2026 - Day 9

Day 9 - September 3, 2026
Route $66,000 - Arizona & New Mexico
Bike: 44 miles, 1,066’, 3 hours 27 minutes

Done biking today by 9:30am and had 0 flat tires. Had a great breakfast sandwich, iced coffee with oat milk, and a cookie bar while waiting for Jeri to catch me in the van. She had a peaceful morning sipping her coffee and watching the wild donkeys.

When we met up at the RV park around noon, it was time to get ready for tomorrow. Fill water bottles, charge all the electronic stuff (No I do not have an electric motor for my bike. It is all me!) Lay out food and my bike kit. Do laundry. And then take a shower. Not only does Jeri dump all the waste every morning she also has to smell me for 1-2 hours before I shower. She is a champ.

This afternoon we hit our second National Park - The Petrified Forest. It was cool to see. What was even cooler was the perspective. These trees had been petrified 125 million years BEFORE a T- Rex roamed the earth. These chunks of tree/rock are 220 million years old. How was that for perspective?

SHINE!
The Road Rider

PS A friend asked why “Route $66,000”? Because starting today I am raising $22,000 for three separate organizations. Today I rode for the Pan Mass Challenge which is the fundraising arm for Dana Farber. This is where my primary oncologist is a Doctor and where I will go if the shit ever hits the fan. If you are interested/willing to make a contribution, please copy and paste this link in an internet browser.

https://profile.pmc.org/JM1309