Day 100 - 85 miles

     In the morning I packed up and started riding at 9:30am.  Before I got back onto the highway I met a guy named Greg who was sitting in a van on the road taking a phone call.  He was impressed at my trip.  He told me about his experience as a sailor.  The next adventure I take on will likely include a crossing of the Pacific Ocean as a crew member on a boat.

     The weather was sunny and nice.

     I stopped in Black Canyon City to get a snack at the grocery store.  I used my iPhone to navigate as I neared Phoenix.  I stayed away from main roads and began traversing the giant grid of city streets.  It got dark when I rode through the city and it was surreal to be reaching the end of my trip.  I thought about all the miles I had ridden and all the people I had met on the way.  

     I called ahead to my dad and stepmom who had a house in Avondale.  I reached their house without getting lost in the dark.  They were waiting for me with dinner when I arrived at their house.  I was happy to be done with the bike ride.

     My total trip odometer was 5271 miles.  I took 2 weeks to visit friends and then I flew back to Alaska. 

My last campsite of the trip.

Welcome to Phoenix.

Happy to be finished.

Done riding.

Day 99 - 65 miles

     I left Flagstaff on a Monday morning and headed to Sedona.  I took Highway 89A.  The high elevation made me ride slow initially but soon I was going downhill.  Before long I was surrounded by he red rocks of Sedona.  The weather was perfect as I rode past Sedona and onto I17. 

     It was mostly downhill except after I passed Camp Verde there was a long, steady climb.

     After that climb the sun was going down so I camped where Highway 169 meets I17.  I found went down a dirt road about 200 feet and then turned off into the desert.  I set up my tent next to some bushes so I was not visible from the road.

     At night it was cold enough that I woke up and boiled water for a water bottle in my sleeping bag.  

Riding out of Flagstaff.

Red rocks in Sedona.

Nice view in Sedona.

Riding in Arizona.

Leaving Sedona.

Red rocks.

Day 92 to 98 - 0 miles

     I stayed with my brother and the fraternity for a week. 

My brother Iden, me, and Tyler in Flagstaff.

Day 91 - 35 miles

     It poured rain all night.  At 4am the rain had stopped and I was woken up by a screeching sound.  The noise kept going on and I got out of bed with my slingshot.  I climbed a rocky hill and I saw a metal communications tower.  Near the top of the tower there was an owl screeching.

     I shot pellets at the tower and on my last pellet I hit the metal near the bird and it flew away.  I couldn’t fall back to sleep so I got dressed and packed my things.

     There was a gas station next to where I camped so I was able to have coffee.  I started riding at 6:30am and the sky was clear.

     I climbed a 10 mile hill that rose 3000’ feet.  It was a massive hill.  I rode through a broad valley and over another pass and I came to Kingman.  I called a bike shop and headed to it to get spokes replaced.  There was a breast cancer rally going on and I got a free hot dog lunch.

     At the bike shop I got the spokes fixed and a few adjustments.  I also bought a patch kit.

     I knew it was going to be a long push to Flagstaff.  I was at 3300 feet elevation and Flagstaff was at 7000 feet.  I was about to get into cold weather.  I saw snow on the mountains nearby.  I had been told there would be snow on the ground between Kingman and Flagstaff.  I was considering riding all night, skip sleep and push to Flagstaff.  I thought this would be better than sleeping in the cold.

     By chance, my younger brother had a meeting in Kingman that day for a fraternity meeting and he drove past me about 3 miles outside Kingman.  It had been 10 days since I last talked to him.  He saw me and pulled over in a car.  I was able to dismantle my bike and fit it in the car.  He gave me a ride and it saved me 140 miles of riding in the snow, uphill.

     I was 15 miles from hitting snow when I got picked up.  We drove to Flagstaff and I showered and unpacked.  It was Saturday night and I had fun celebrating with the fraternity.

     I had been initiated into this fraternity in Flagstaff the previous year so it was good to see friends I hadn’t seen in awhile.

Climbing a hill at dawn

Riding on a long straight road.

Good weather.

Day 90 - 29 miles

     The neighbor across the street from Amanda’s house greeted me as I was getting ready to leave in the morning.  The man there gave me a bag of homegrown dates.  They were delicious.

     I crossed the state line into Arizona and went to a laundromat.  While my clothes washed I bought fruit and snacks.

     There was a tailwind as I rode on but there were rain clouds ahead.  I hadn’t seen rain clouds in a long time.

     I saw Laughlin across the Colorado River as I rode through Bullhead City.

     I stopped at a visitors center and Sam’s Club.  When I got back on the road it had started raining.  Soon it was dark and raining hard.  It was dark, rainy, and cold so I looked for a place to camp out of the rain.  Just ahead was a building for lease.  I went to it and the driveway was gated so cars couldn’t enter.  There was no one in the building and it had a carport.  I setup my tent there and went to sleep early.

Crossing the Colorado River.

Entering Arizona.

My bag od dates.