Day 5 on our trip across America was filled, let me repeat that, FILLED with excitement over 106.9 miles (plus the extra 1.5 I got in my attempt to find the hotel). When we left Cottonwood it was 65 degrees and we knew that we may face some thundershowers on the way to Flagstaff, AZ. Most of us had on a couple shirts and our rain jackets. We rode a casual 15 miles to Sedona where we all marveled at God's handiwork. The cliffs are a spectacular rust color and engulf this humble little town from end to end. We were sliding along at 25-30 mph for about 30 minutes and slowing down to gaze at this natural beauty. As soon as we left Sedona, the rain started and increased steadily over the next hour. About 8:30 it began to hail for about 15 minutes and we could hear thunder over the mountains, although we never saw any lightening. Meanwhile, we continued our climb up to Flagstaff which was at 6906 feet above sea level. The road up through the canyons is a narrow 2 lane road and there were lots of cars headed in the same direction we were going. As we ascended the temperatures began to drop while the rain remained steady and we all were getting colder and colder. By the time we arrived at Flagstaff for our rest stop "next to the Chevron Station", it was 39 degrees and many of us were on the verge of hypothermia. One of the support vans picked up about 5 of our riders and brought them in off the course because of the extreme conditions. When I rolled into the rest stop, Karen Bauer, one of our ride leaders told me to go into the Hampton Inn next door to warm up. I stumbled in and found two ladies sitting on comfortable sofas, reading their IPADS by the warm fire. Since I saw no riders anywhere in sight, I kind of stumbled to the far left side of the foyer, and attempted to take off my helmet and gloves. Since my fingers and brain were both operating at about 20 percent, I'm sure this looked amusing. After getting that equipment off, I asked the front desk attendant, Morgan, if I could use their restroom to clean up. She pointed me down the hall and I walked shaking violently and to my great pleasure, found the large rest room unoccupied. I yanked off my nearly frozen rain jacket and two shirts and turned on the hot water in the sink. I was really in a tough place having been rain soaked for over 2 hours while pedaling at speeds over 30 mph at 6900 feet. I haven't checked to see what the wind chill factor is, but I can assure you I was REALLY cold! After getting rid of my upper garments, I put on a lesser soaked shirt I had been carrying and I decided I'd ask the maid for a couple towels. She kindly assisted and I continued the drying process. The next step was to get my bag out of the travel trailer (usually prohibited during the day) and get my warm clothes on. I continued warming but my core took almost a full 2 hours to warm back up. As soon as I got my dry clothes on, I asked Morgan if we could have some of their hot water to make some tea to warm our folks as they arrived. The entire hotel staff was incredibly gracious to us and we were not even staying at their hotel. We all put tea and coffee in the hands of the shivering and weary, and even used emergency blankets and human hugs to get our folks back to health. And as we sat warming ourselves and eating our lunch inside the hotel breakfast nook, we watched it snow for over 30 minutes and about a 1/2 inc accumulation. Fortunately, no one was injured and most of us continued the ride around 2 pm after the storm had passed and the temps rose to a dry 50 degrees. The next 60 miles were a blur as we all pedaled to Winslow, AZ with a 40 knot tailwind. We were zooming along I-40 for almost 2 hours at speeds will over 30 mph. Except for yet another flat tire, I was having a wonderful time flying at speeds I'd seldom experienced even though we were pedaling at about 5000 feet most of the time. We are all settled into the Econolodge tonight, and dined on some of Safeways finest take out cuisine. My room mate, Greg Lehr, and our lone female rider, Jonielle, enjoyed a picnic on our coffee table. We then called the front office to inquire about a cab, but instead, we were given the hotel shuttle to take us to the Eagles famous "standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, such a fine sight to see . . ." Tomorrow we head out for Gallop, NM and then it's on to Albuquerque. We've now completed about 600 miles in 5 days, distances that none of us had accomplished before. Most of us are feeling pretty good and excited about the adventures ahead. Stay tuned my friends. Take care and stay healthy! Steve