Day 8 – Tucson, AZ to Benson, AZ: the Winds Wage War

Cross-country cycling is one of the most adventurous and exciting experiences that a cyclist can ever have. It is an experience that is physically and mentally challenging and requires a lot of hard work and dedication. On day 8 of our 55-day cross-country cycling trip, we rode from Tucson, AZ to Benson, AZ. We covered a distance of 54.62 miles and climbed an elevation of 2,943 feet. It was one of our shorter rides, but also one of the toughest rides of the trip so far. The winds waged war on us.

We started our day later, so we could spend as much time as possible with our families before they had to head for the airport. We started the ride with high spirits after visiting with our family and having a rest day. As soon as we hit the road, we realized that we were going to have a challenging day. The headwinds were strong, with speeds of up to 23 mph, and they were blowing against us the entire way. This made it difficult for us to maintain our usual pace of 15-16 mph. Instead, we had to push ourselves harder and could only maintain an average speed of 12 mph (sometimes we were moving as slow as 8mph).

The road was constantly climbing, and we had to pedal harder to maintain our speed. It was a real test of our physical fitness and endurance. However, we were determined to make it to Benson and win the war against the wind, so we kept pushing ourselves.

After cycling for 4.5 hours, we made it to our campsite at the Kartchner Caverns State Park, and then enjoyed some dinner and karaoke at a dive bar called the Mescal Bar & Grill.