Prescott to Cottonwood

GREAT!!! We get to sleep in today as it is a short ride. It is never a good day though when the tour guys tell you to put on your climbing hat for the day. We get to sleep in until 7:00 am and don't leave until 8:45. We are officially part of Chet and the Jets! This is the group/pace line we rode with the other day. Everyone is willing to ride a a nice pace but will stop for photos, unlike some others, who continue to race from start to finish. Chet has taken charge of the group and is very good at organizing the herd of cats/us to start and every time we stop after that. He makes sure everyone drinks, takes their pills, gels or whatever else they need.

A little excitement today as they have created a new intersection/overpass where Wendy managed to take the wrong way so we had to correct and continue.

We had 4600 feet in elevation gain today so when we start to climb at mile 14 and top out at Mingus Mountain summit elevation 7023 you know you are in for a climb. About 1/2 way up the climb the group ahead of us got lucky as some guy going downhill, too fast, lost control of his Porsche 944. After going between two of the cyclists he went over the bank and rolled 3 times before ending up in a tree. The driver escaped without a scratch (unbelievable) and was more concerned about something in his vehicle!

We continued to the top for a quick snack and drink and the started down to Jerome. 8 miles down as fast as you want to go but the crosswinds played havoc at some spots so we only maxed out at about 40 mph. Arriving in Jerome, which is very touristy we Went to the Haunted Hamburger,a former insane asylum, for lunch. They did a great job at serving 25 people who stopped without warning. The reason we could stop for lunch was that we had another 6 miles down and then 4 miles of rolling terrain. The wind played havoc with the rest of the trip down but everyone arrived safe and sound.