I woke up at first light to a temperature reading of 17 degrees F.  It truly had plummeted temperatures all night long.  A cold wind blew from the east making the temperature feel like 12.  There was no way I was going to start biking until more sun hit me and warmed the air.  By 7:30-8 am, I finally dragged myself out into the ridiculous cold, packed up my gear, and got going.  I was feeling the urgency of covering miles as I had finished yesterday about 15 miles short of my desired camping.  Plus, today I was going to have the largest elevation gain of the whole ride.  

​I knew yesterday was the long day (~60 miles), so I planned on today being only 50 miles or so.  I was shocked by the temperature in the upper 20s as I left in the morning, starting with a great breakfast place in Williams.  Afterwards, I headed down a side frontage road paralleling the highway to the Grand Canyon where I eventually swung onto beautiful ochre/red gravel and passed through open grassland interspersed with junipers.  By mid-morning, the Sun had warmed the temperatures enough to remove my multiple jackets and begin a good sweat.  The gravel routes passed by several tanks and reservoirs before t-boning into the highway leading to the Grand Canyon.  I turned north and rode the shoulder of the highway while loads of tourists passed in RVs and buses on their way to the canyon.  

​It was finally Fall Break after a tumultuous first quarter of teaching at a new school.  I was burnt out and in need of some desperate outside time.  I had been wanting to do the Craters and Cinder Cones Loop for some time now and the weather up north looked absolutely perfect for taking it on.  Plus, it would serve as a chance to escape the late-season desert heat and seem some fall foliage.