Day 16 Millenium June 27, 2001

When ! got up this morning there were cows in the parking lot. The sun
was out and !'ve had two days of resting MY legs. MY arms are sore from
swinging the crowbar. After twelve miles ! had gained 1,200 feet. A long
steady climb to begin what would be a tough day for the Jackal. @ the top of
St. Michael's Summit ! noticed the front tyre was low so ! pulled over and
pumped it up. A couple miles later it was flat again so ! patched it. Once !
got it reinstalled POW. Another hole. Patched that one and off ! went for a
few more miles until it blew out again. This time ! peeled off the bad
patches and put better ones on. Just as ! was about to depart HISS. ! had to
repatch again. Then onto what ! was told would be a small town @ Ganado. !
had to get some groceries there if ! was going to go across the reservation.
No luck. ! changed plans. Down to I-40 then to Flagstaff before the Canyon.
!'d be out of clean clothes by then and that would give ME a couple more days
between hotels. !'ll be going to Vegas next to pay for the trip and the new
sports car. While eating @ the deli in Ganado the tyre went soft again. No
point in patching it again. New tube. Just what it needed. A few miles after
getting on I-40 ! hit 1,000 miles. Just a few to go to the campsite in the
Petrified Forest. ! had 92 miles. They told ME ! could ride in 2 miles, leave
MY bike and hike a mile in and camp or ! could ride all the way through the
park (28 miles) and out the other side to camp. That would put ME a couple
miles farther away from Flagstaff. ! opted to make progress to the next exit.
! found a spot to camp and managed 101.7 miles. Third century so far. Right
after the 1,000 mile mark ! broke a spoke. Then on the dirt road to the camp
spot ! punctured MY back tyre. It's all fixed now. 60 or so miles tomorrow
then a short ride into town to spend a lot of time in the hotel.