The Day 6 post called Interstate 40 “America's greatest bike trail.” It added an eagle and a flag, just in case the joke was not clear.
The route that day ran from the red rocks around Sedona through Two Guns and onto the interstate. The previous post had reported mechanical trouble in Peach Springs. Day 6 did not explain the repair. The bikes were moving again, and the caption moved on to the road in front of us.
The photographs show how large that road felt. In one frame, a single rider enters a wide mountain curve under several yellow chevron signs. In another, an empty strip of pavement runs through open land beside a railroad grade. The images do not provide a complete safety record, but the caption makes it clear that Interstate 40 was not our favorite bike route.
The workbook gave us planned stops and a route across the state. Each section still had to be judged in person. Shoulder width, traffic, debris, pavement, visibility, hills, and alternate roads could all change what looked reasonable on a map.
On a bicycle, those conditions are immediate. A rough shoulder means choosing between debris and moving traffic. A long exposed section means more time without shade or water. A road that is ordinary in a car can be loud and uncomfortable for hours on a bike. The Day 6 joke came from that difference.
The Day 6 place names covered several different kinds of road. Sedona meant red rock and mountain curves. Two Guns was an old Route 66 stop. Interstate 40 carried the current traffic. Those roads can look close together in a route plan and feel completely different on a bicycle.
That is why the “bike trail” line worked. We were riding on a road built for vehicles much faster and heavier than us. The post did not need a long complaint. Four sarcastic words covered it.
Day 7 moved through Winslow toward the Arizona state line. The caption used “Take It Easy” and referred to the corner from the Eagles song. It was an obvious road-trip stop, and we let it be fun. The trip did not have to treat every mile like a test.
Winslow also put us back into the familiar Route 66 version of an American road trip. We were doing it at bicycle speed, with the day's road surface and weather much harder to ignore. The public posts moved between those two views without much explanation.
Day 8 reached the Continental Divide on Route 66. The update said Arizona had brought tough luck and rough roads. It also said New Mexico seemed promising.
“Seemed” is accurate for that day. We had just crossed the state line. We did not know yet what the next several days would include. Santa Fe, Ojo Caliente, Taos, the Rockies, Cimarron, and more mechanical or road problems were still ahead.
The Continental Divide was another clear route marker, but it was not the halfway point of the work. It told us where water would run. It did not tell us whether the next shoulder would improve. The post kept the claim small: Arizona had been rough, and New Mexico looked better from the state line.
The strongest image candidates from these three days need a rights check. Another rider or a support person probably made the road photographs. Some riders are identifiable, and the manifest does not name the photographer. The fact that an image appeared in the Instagram carousel does not prove who owns it or whether everybody shown has approved another use.
Days 6 through 8 were a direct line through Arizona road history and into New Mexico.
We rode past red rocks and Two Guns. We used Interstate 40 and complained about it. We stopped in Winslow. We reached the Continental Divide on Route 66. Arizona had given us rough roads and some bad luck.
Then we crossed into New Mexico and hoped the roads would improve.