We loaded up the bikes after not touching them for a whole day. The day off on Sunday was much needed but we all couldn’t wait to get back on the road! Before leaving Flagstaff we wanted one last taste of happiness that everyone was having in this town so we went to Macy’s for some coffee and breakfast.

There we met more happy people sitting outside while we fixed Shane’s flat tire again! Luckily everyone in this town is active and awake early so the bike shop was open at 8 am. One man Jessie talked with us for a while about our route to California and knew all about the roads. I got to share with him a bit about Street Soccer USA and left him with one of our stamped pictures. The more I get to tell people about SSUSA the more pumped I get to return to NYC and get back to work!

We left around 10 am against our will because Flagstaff was so good to us. It’s always hard to make your legs pedal after having a great day off and being back to normalcy for a while. Riding 8-10 hours a day is not normal and hard to get your mind ready for another 12 days of riding hard.

The road was good to us all day. Mostly downhill with a tailwind except when we came down the other side of the Arizona Divide. The wind was blowing hard in our faces but that’s probably just because we descended 2000 ft in 6 miles reaching top speeds of about 38 mph.

The next town was Williams, “The Gateway to The Grand Canyon” about 30 miles away from Flagstaff. We made it there by 1 pm and ate at the Pine Country diner thanks to a recommendation the police officer gave us when he pulled us over on I-40. We weren’t doing anything wrong but he was responding to a call someone made about cyclist on the road that looked like they were in need.

In actuality we had just pulled over to help some tourists fix a flat tire a few miles back. Maybe that’s what someone saw because it did look like a wreck with our bikes laid out on the ground and Dave underneath their rental car. The couple thanked us over and over and called us “Bearded Heroes” and we parted ways.

The real heroes are the men and women representing the USA at the Homeless World Cup. Follow Street Soccer USA’s National Team in Santiago, Chile! They are making friendships and memories that will last a lifetime. I know for a fact because a Street Soccer National Team player from the 2014 Poland Homeless World Cup that I coached still calls me often. I’m so glad we got to catch up yesterday while I was riding. I used the Sol Republic speaker so both hands were on the handle bars!

We arrived in Seligman, AZ around 5 pm at our comped room (We owe Roxy big time!) at the Historic 66 Motel. We ate next door at the Roadkill Cafe and then got some good sleep around 9pm! This was much needed if Day 50 is going to be a 115 mile day adding to our 3,000 mile marker that we broke yesterday!