2000 PAC Tour Central Transcontinental
Day 4, September 13
by Ken Bartholic, Cheryl McMurray, and Chuck Bramwell

Daily Map
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Lon's Description: During the fourth day we start some serious climbing up Yarnel Hill. When the Race Across America came through Arizona this 12 mile grade comes at the 350 mile mark. Many tired riders have cursed the next fifty miles into Prescott. Steep twisting climbs and great canyon views are the highlights of this day. As we near Williams we follow along Old Historic Route 66. If anyone wants to go exploring the "Old Road" Lon can show them some forgotten sections of red granite pavement.

Williams, Arizona Yellow Pages
Weather.com Forecast for Williams


THE NUMBERS

Estimated Distance: 135 Miles
Actual Distance: 127.3 Miles
Total Tour Actual Distance: 471 Miles
Estimated Feet of Climbing: 9,000 Feet
Actual Feet of Climbing: 8,340 Feet
Elevation of Destination: 6,750 Feet
Average Speed on the Bike: 15.1 MPH
Maximum Speed on the Bike: 36.5 MPH
Chuck's Heart Rate Data:
Max Heart Rate was 196 BPM a few weeks ago before PAC Tour
Time above 160: 0:28
Time between 140-160: 7:16 (most at 155-160)
Time below 140: 1:37
Chuck saw 166 at near 100% on a climb into Prescott
Dairy Queen Count: 1 Blythe, CA

As we rolled out of Wickenburg, Les Drake mentioned that Team BMB missed a great Homemade Ice Cream Parlor in Wickenburg

Twister's Ice Cream Parlor in Williams made Ken and Chuck a couple of incredible Shakes with REAL ICE Cream!! Twister's was so fun ... old Route 66 memorabilia including a beautifully restored 1955 Ford Crown Victoria.

Yarnell Cheryl cranked right up the Yarnell Grade!!


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See forever The Yarnell climb is one of the best in the world.

It's not too steep and you can see forever in the distance as you motor up it.

We were greeted by clear, crisp, air as we climbed up and up.


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Billy on Yarnell Billy McManus from Humble, Texas is cranking right up to Yarnell here on his Trek Y-Foil Bike


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Switchbacks The switchback climbs going into Prescott were so beautiful.


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Switchbacks Fun climbing through the forests.


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Prescott Lake On the North side of Prescott, Cheryl and Carol Clark are in front of a beautiful lake. Carol's a great cyclist from Cupertino, California.


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OUR THOUGHTS

Highlights: Today we left the lower desert area at about 2000 ft elevation and climbed to Williams, AZ which is 6200 ft elevation, and is in the Kaibab National Forest. In terms of overall difficulty, today was the most difficult day on the tour, taking into account the distance and elevation gain (130 miles and 8300 ft total climb). Departing Wickenburg we were treated to a spectacular sunrise. The first major climb was up Yarnell grade from a tiny town called Congress to Yarnell at the top. The vistas were spectacular, and the road was excellent with a wide shoulder. From Yarnell, we continued on Highway 89 thru the rolling countryside, which was for the most part ranchland. There were several short hills with one sustained climb. We saw many wildflowers on this segment. After the second rest stop, we continued into Prescott via several short climbs and a fast downhill into town. Departing Prescott, we continued into the Chino Valley area, then northbound on Highway 89 through the pine forested terrain. The final segment was about 15 miles on I-40 with some shallow but annoying climbs (because we were all so tired), then into Williams.

Temperatures didn't seem quite as hot as days 1-3, since we were at higher elevations. Ken and Cheryl rode at a somewhat conservative pace today to save enough energy for all the hills. Chuck was feeling friskier, and finished a full hour ahead of us - he had an excellent day. Overall the 3 of us all had a successful day, with the saddle sore and foot problems much improved from yesterday.
Ken
Memorable Scenery: Sunflowers were beautiful on the side of the road at Mile 50.

Mechanical Problems: None - our bikes are running flawlessly!!
Biomechanical (Engine)
Problems:
Our engines are now running at full throttle

Chuck had to see how well his engine was firing and found that it ran strong enough to get him to Lunch in 6th place, out of Lunch in 1st place, and into the last Rest Stop in 1st place. He was on a solo breakaway hoping for a stage win. His legs were on fire. GU was firing him up. He had a blast carving out the switchbacks on some of the descents.

However, there are some guys on the tour who have MUCH BIGGER ENGINES than Chuck and two of them cranked by him on the last stretch of the day on I40 going into Williams.

The reason Chuck had such a good day was that Team BMB rode at a smart pace on the first three days ... and Team BMB launched Chuck off the launch pad on the way up to the Yarnell climb today. Thanks Ken and Cheryl!!

There are many ways to ride PAC Tour: Fast, slow, and many speeds in between. Sometimes it's fun to see what you can do. Chuck got that out of his system and is very happy with his 3rd Place Stage Win on the Wickenburg to Williams Stage. Of course, no one is recording any of this stuff ... but it's fun to imagine you're in the Tour de France, talking to your Team Director on your microphone, with crowds of people on both sides of the road. Now that he has that out of his system and he's ready to settle down.
Chuck
What Worked: Chamois Buttr
Stretching
GU's - It was a 6 GU day for Chuck (Thanks Marcia)
Vaseline Lip Therapy (Thanks Bro. Rick)
Pasta for Dinner in Wickenburg even though it took forever

Breathing Technique: "He Blows 4 to 1" from Carol's Childbirth Classes worked well for Chuck on climbs (Thanks Carol)

What Didn't Work: Ice Sock because Brain Dead Chuck didn't load it with ice at the last Rest Stop
It's hard for an Ice Sock to work without Ice.

Strawberry Banana Power Gel tasted horrible in 95 Degree weather
Quote of the Day:
"Is it getting better
or do you feel the same? ...
Love is a temple
Love's the higher law"
"One" by U2
Chuck sang this song all day long

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