June 26-29 Second Half of First Week

June 26 - Wednesday
The Stehouwer family was quite spread out for this ride.  We climbed ~2000 feet over 24 miles and then had a slow downhill slope for most of the rest of the ride.  We winded up a few canyons and it seems that most people were feeling a little slow or down today.  We finished at a man-made oasis in an air conditioned hall with a pool (but no shower...who cares!?).  I (Joel) discovered that the "Skratch Powder" drink is actually quite tasty and began to prefer it over normal water.  Day began around 5:30 with breakfast and an early start to hopefully (and unsuccessfully) beat the heat.  For supper we had tacos with a shell diameter easily 12-14 inches across!
12 flats and 2 falls

June 27 - Thursday - Last day of the week
Joel, John, Larry, and Sherry began the day biking together but soon John and Joel went ahead with two other riders due to expected excessive heat.  We biked along I-10 East for most of the 76 mile ride.  Definitely quite a new experience dodging shredded car tires, rumble strips, and bumpy cracks in the shoulder!  My (Joel's) group had 3 flat tires, none of which were Joel's.  So far I have had no flats or other problems with my bike!  Most of the riders (that made it) stopped at a McDonald's for a few hours rather than sit outside in the heat without shade at a park, which ended up having an air conditioned building anyways...  Something like 20 riders did not finish the day due to heat and the climb towards the end.
At Peloton we learned that the next 3 rides (Friday-Monday) would be cancelled due to the heat (record breaking) and we would be taken by bus to Payson, AZ.  Many of us were disappointed but agreed that this would be the best decision considering the circumstances for the group as a whole.
29 flats and 3 falls

June 28 - Friday
Very laid back morning waiting for the bus that would bring us to Payson.  Left Quartzsite around 12 (noon) and got to Payson around 4.  Also a relaxing afternoon and evening with only volunteering at a Habitat for Humanity house Saturday morning.  We drove the route we would have biked and some of us realized how hard Monday would have been (100 miles, heat, and mountainish areas).

June 29 - Saturday
Painting at the Habitat for Humanity house in the morning, lunch, and a great walk/swim down a nearby river with a few waterfalls.  The river was by far the most enjoyable part of the day!  At supper the Stehouwer family learned that Eric had volunteered the "Stehouwer Clan" to make "leftovers supper" the following day...  Larry was (and maybe still is) thinking to do an ice cream sundae bar and popcorn and let anyone who wants different go get it themselves!  Right now using a McDonalds for wifi due to the school hosting us being locked and closed...  I'm really beginning to appreciate McDonalds now!  Heading back to camp soon to go to bed so I can wake up to go to church (one will supply brats for lunch and the other hamburgers... which to choose?) and then be ready to prepare supper.  We will very much try to help everyone be ready nutritiously for the upcoming week!  I'll upload a few photos whenever I can after I copy them onto my laptop.  So check up in a night or two for them!