Run Forest, Run

According to Tara's maildrop research, Flagstaff is where the scene in Forest Gump was filmed where he's running cross country and wipes his muddy face with a yellow t shirt to give birth to the smiley face revolution and the shit happens bumper sticker. I think Forest may have been running faster than I cycled as I hit a new all time low of 3.2 mph at one point and the whole 45 mile ride took about 11 hours. To be fair, I was on sweep today and there were tons of fun activities along the way so it wasn't a big deal. One of our shortest ride days mile wise turned into our longest day time wise. Sweep always has to stay behind the whole group and make sure all the riders are in front of them. This often calls for extra detours so the process isn't entirely monotonous. Gillian was my sweep partner for the day and the first detour we took was a two hour stop off in Red Rocks State Park at mile 6. We took the park loop and just explored the humongous natural structures around us. We knew there was much more of this to come so we headed back out on the route and got into Sedona where we hung out at a diner and then marveled at the enormity of red in every direction that dwarfed us. We rode past a church built amongst the rocks that had the most beautiful view. It was a big tourist attraction and for the right reasons. This house of worship doesn't just expand your faith, it convinces you of the existence of God. I can't imagine hearing a sermon with the most majestic views in the background. As always everywhere we stop, people talk our ears off about the trip. Some have awful awkward introductions and questions while others use the talk as an avenue to boast about their own cycling experience. I'm only concerned with talking to those generally interested in the goal and goodwill of our program. Others I will quickly feel out and shut down the conversation as best as I can. For lunch it was on to Slide Rock State Park where the admission fee was waived and we had lunch at some picnic tables before we hit the water for natural aqua slides and cliff jumping. We also had time to get a hike in on some random trails a couple miles before the lunch stop. I was really trying to bool it so I could get to Arizona Cardinals training camp which had a practice session in Flagstaff from 3-5. But as sweep, I got stuck in the back and dependent on the speed of other riders. This didn't work in my favor as the switchbacks reared their ugly faces and started punching lactic acid into everyones thighs. At the top of the switchbacks at some crazy elevation in the 7000s, there were authentic native American stands selling jewelry and crafts. I soaked up the greenery in the distance as girls took their time exploring the hand crafted intricacies of stainless steel charms. Finally it was off on our last leg to Flagstaff. I hustled but just missed training camp. As I pulled up, practice had just disbanded and players went to get treatment and hit the showers. I was able to hang around for about a half hour and see some cool stuff but I missed out on the Jay Feely meet and greet some of the other riders got. Flagstaff was named for a ponderossa pine set up as a centennial celebration flagpole by a Boston expedition on July 4, 1876. They have some of the clearest skys in the nation for stargazing because of their strict light ordinances. Down the street from us was the observatory that discovered Pluto. Unfortunately, there were too many trees around us to see the night sky and the church lawn was wet from high sprinkler activity. So I was content to sleep inside knowing that nothing would beat the upcoming grand canyon stargazing. Wiggling fingers came together in the hallway to form imaginary stars and constellations at their proper bearing in the sky as we learned in Cottonwood. Shooting stars flew overhead and the twinkle of Venus flickered in our eyes as our night of make believe transitioned into the sweetest of dreams.