Today, we Ride!

Newport Beach, Beach has been such a wonderful place to rest.   Can’t thank the “perfect host and hostess”, Dick and Marcia, enough.   They have nursed me back to full fighting strength and its time to start home.

Immediate travel plans are to get on the Amtrak train tonight at 6:45, sleep as much as I can on the train, pull into Albuquerque just before noon on Thursday and complete a 71 mile ride before I stop for the night.   Going East should be easier due to the winds but I will have to figure out how to adjust travel times for the sun.   Having the sun in my face the first half of the day will be new and it also makes me harder to see by car drivers since the sun is in their eyes as well.   I am a big fan of ensuring the cars see me easier.   It will be worked out.

A couple of things about Miracle Go (MG):

1. I just a “wet” oil for her chain.   This works great if there is a lot of rain but there wasn’t.   So the heavy oil basically collected all the dust in the air on the chain and every now and again would fling it on the bike – it was filthy.   I am now using a dry oil which works great when there is no rain.   If we do run into regular rain then I will have to reapply on a regular basis.   In any case MG does look good.
2. The only things lost thus far (that I know about) are my two water bottles so I picked up a couple of new bottles.   One of the problem with water bottles is their shape makes it hard to wash them.   The latest thing?   Water bottles when both the top and bottom unscrew for easy cleaning.   What a great idea.
3. When I started to get flats in the back, I got tubes, at the recommendation of a local expert, that were filled with a liquid that seals itself should there be any tube punctures usually called “slime”.   There is a new stuff out that doesn’t use slime (which I was told slows the link but doesn’t really seal) but a nylon fiber kinda’ stuff that actually does seal.    It is now in both tires.
4. Replaced the batteries in my “Cat’s Eye” device that records trip parameters.   The funny thing is how the simple things can cause problems.   When the batteries were replaced I lost the odometer and clock settings.   The odometer is a non-issue since I can just add the 2590 miles out to the new total (that will start at zero) and that is that.   The clock is more important because after hours on the bike the time helps answer the ever present question, “am I there yet?”

On a personal note you have to laugh now and again.  This morning as I am trying to get my daily post completed, my “vision” just didn’t seem right.   Turns out I was wearing the glasses where the lens fell out and I put it back in and the lens was again, gone.    Backup up glasses on, vision restored, now where did the lens go?

Something we don’t talk about much is trust.   Here I am 2500 hundred miles from home, bike in poor shape, and you need the bike fixed.   My uncle found a shop here in Newport Beach called “Trail’s End Cycling Center”.    When we delivered MG to them yesterday it was like putting your best friend’s future in the hands of a stranger.    However, I trusted that they would do a good job.   When I picked MG up and heard what they had done and the price charges for the services, I KNEW that I picked the right place.    Highly recommend the Trail’s End Cycling Center to anyone that wants their bike fixed right the first time.   I am willing to stack them up against any bike shop (same sentiments about “Baer’s Wheels” in the Columbus, OH area.

As I am packing and getting everything to go my schedule will be a little off.    The last thing I will do is to publish this post.   I will be on the train all night and then trying to get 71 miles under my belt on Thursday.   I may or may not be able to get a post done on Thursday since I may not make it all the way to Santa Fe and the small towns in between don’t look like they are big enough to have basic services (WiFi).   Worst case is I don’t post on Thursday but will certainly get something out by Friday (with at least one train picture).

Also want to thank YOU!   It you could read my mind you would have “heard” the many times that I doubted myself and wanted to give up.   Your comments and wishes kept me going and WE made it!    You are my heroes and I am in your debt.

Interesting quote of the week, I saw this comment in a weekly financial commentary sheet, “Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it. It flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it.”   I would add to the end of this quote, … and each citizen that supports it (American ideals).

As I said in the beginning, today One last thing . . . We ride!

 

 

 

 

 

Quick status (no pictures):

Miracle Go: She’s looking like a teenager and back to her fighting trim.   She looks good, feels good, and is willing to carry me (and I am no lightweight) back home.   Condition Green.

Me: It is amazing how tired I was and didn’t really know it.   Leg muscles were tired and they were willing to continue pedaling but they didn’t really have any power left in them.   Yesterday after walking a bit with my wonderful hosts, my legs actually “picked up speed/energy”.   Can’t explain it but they communicated that they are ready to go.   This occurred because of rest, food, and good company! Condition Green.

Mapping:  My experience has been that any plan I have falls apart due to one or another unforeseen circumstance.   This has led me to map general land marks and then do a detailed plan for 200 miles which gives me leeway to go longer or shorter as conditions warrant.   My general plan is to go to Mequon, WI, Ferndale, MI, Troy, OH and then home.   This would be about a 2200 mile trip.   My immediate objective is to get to the South of Sante Fe day one (71 miles) and then to Questa, San Luis, or Fort Garland (CO) day 2.    This is a bit ambitious but I am thinking that it will be easier riding East in the evenings with the sun and wind at my back.   The first couple of days will help me judge if I am correct. Condition Green.

Transportation: The idea and soon to be executed Amtrak plan has me excited for a lot of reasons.   Wasn’t really clear what can stay on the bike and what I will have to carry.   For this reason I plan to carry everything.   I may have a 4 bag limit and for this reason I also have a big bag that can be used to consolidate 2 or 3 things to ensure I stay under the limit.   Not excited about being on a train all night and half day on Thursday but the mileage I cut off using the train can be used to go more north and go to states that would not have been considered earlier. Condition Green

Route: My initial route takes me again through New Mexico which gave my navigational skills a run for its money due to wide spaces and towns that didn’t really exist.   I am hoping that my increased experience reduces the need to change routes.   New Mexico is the only state that I will travel through twice except for Ohio.   I expect to add Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan as new states which will give me a total of 15 states visited.   Condition Green

Did you know:

Pedaling: Most people think that if you use the bigger rings you can go faster.   This is true in the sense that your muscles can be fully engaged to go at your top speed.   The problem comes in when your muscles start to tire and you continue to drive them.   This can often cause cramps.   Often when you feel your muscles tire (like into a wind) you just can’t use strength to keep up your speed.   The secret?   Go down a gear or two and increase your pedaling cadence.  This more fully engages your cardio vascular system which typically has more staying power and can be faster than using your tired muscles.

Deserts (from my observation):   There are really a number of animals that live in the desert although I don’t know how to do it.   The creatures I saw most in the really arid sections were lizards.   In Ohio when you see a lizard or salamander (which I do see by my house on occasion) move but not very fast unless they are threatened.   The lizards I saw in the desert are rockish grey color and fast as lightening.    I never saw them still they were scared and then they were gone.  The rabbits (cotton tail and Jack) were the second most numerous animal I saw.   I was told by some of the locals that there are also a number of panthers, feral hogs, and coyotes.

California: Stretches along the Pacific Coast for nearly 900 miles.   If you like to see gorgeous sites, the beaches and scenery along this stretch can’t be equaled anywhere.

Amtrak:  Serves more than 500 destinations in 46 states and three Canadian provinces operating more than 300 trains daily over 21,300 miles (34,000 km) of track. 

Domestic Dependent Nation:   As I traveled through the Western states I saw many roadside signs that referred to Indians (indigenous tribes).   I looked up what “sovereignty” means.  Tribal sovereignty in the United States refers to the inherent authority of indigenous tribes to govern themselves within the borders of the United States of America.

Indian Sovereign Nations:   The items above led me to look to see where the Indian Nations are located.   The US map below shows the location of the Indian Nations as “white holes” in the map.The map below is a very different map of the US.  It’s a map of the US minus the sovereign Indian nations within the continental US.  Sort of looks like Swiss Cheese doesn’t it.  Some of these areas are much larger than one might expect.  

 

 

Okay the fix is in and tentative plans are being made.   First the pictures:

1. This is the main pool (one of three) that surround me at the moment.
2. Dick and Marcia, my marvelous host and hostess.   They have really helped me organize and get the tentative plans in place
3. This is part of  Arroyo Park behind our (see now it is part mine) condo.   Gorgeous walking trails.
4. This is call a Newport Beach bike.   It doesn’t make good distance but it is air conditioned and I have had no traffic problems to date (I also rode it for .0001 seconds).
5.  Wanted you to get a sense of the suffering I am going through at the moment.  The look on my face is a “grimace”.
6. Most important my ticket.   I am very much the Amtrack novice.   I started at a $230, 30 hour, 5 transfer (bus/train/bus) trip to Denver Colorado and ended up with a $108 ticket, 16 hour, no transfer trip to Albuquerque – thanks Uncle Dick!   Will be leaving at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday night arriving in Albuquerque at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday with Miracle Go riding in the baggage car (she has her own ticket).

My trip to the West Coast has been wonderful in so many ways.    The benefits include gathering donations for the Pelotonia, meeting many new and terrific friends, feeling good about making the and of course the new knowledge of much of the country.

As stated I am going to take the train to Albuquerque and then continue by bike on a northern route.  The funny thing is I will be going through Vaughn, NM that I bypassed on my southern route.   Why the train:

1. Never rode the Amtrak and with their safety record this might be the most dangerous part of the trip
2. Made it through the desert once and it was all the “desert fun” I need in this lifetime
3. Most importantly I miss my wife Jill and Shupe the wonder dog (it’s a wonder that I like a dog that is no bigger than a large rat
4. Almost as important is getting back a little early to create/increase communication channels to collect more donations.   I will speak to any group about my trip for transportation costs (if any are involved) and a donation to the Pelotonia.   Let me know if you have any ideas!

Tomorrow morning I will put the general travel plan together which seems to change inter and intraday.   At least I will have an idea.   Miracle Go will be going to the bike shop in the hopes that she will be back to her youthful self.

Getting excited because in two days, we ride!

Pictures:

1. Probably 70 miles of today’s ride (113 miles) was done with the Pacific Ocean keeping me company.   The trails on the coast for bikes are extensive and often times very scenic.   This is a picture of Dana Point when I accidentally got off the Pacific Coast highway and was amazed at the activity level and number of people that filled this and many other marinas and harbors.
2. My beloved Uncle Dick and Aunt Marcia.   After 28 days on the bike I can’t tell you what a warm and grateful feeling it is to have folks welcome you with open arms “making” me relax for a couple of days.
3. I have been keeping this quiet but MG (Miracle Go) isn’t doing so well.   You do know about her two flat tires.  But never told you that she lost a back spoke, she is rattling and creaking in the front, the chain is coated with oil and sand, and her back rim is out of true (caused by the missing spoke) and the rim is scored for the same reason.    She needs an “emergency” doctor.    Uncle Dick has her lined up for a Tuesday appointment.   Note I gave her a “Fat Tire” beer.   I was told that this beer was invented by a European bike rider.   Surely he would know what a good bike needs.

Seriously, I can’t tell you how great it is to be on the West Coast.   My wife and I lived her when I was in the Navy many, many years ago and grew to love many attributes of this state.   When my son Nick and family lived here (he was stationed at Camp Pendleton which gave us even more great memories.   Turns out that part of my ride necessitated me going through Camp Pendelton.   So many good memories of places that Nick and  family visited with us.   Having an Uncle and Aunt that live in Newport Beach and offered to take me in make the California memories even more special.

My day started at about 4:30 a.m. when I got up.   Dave, the retired, San Diego police helicopter pilot was up shortly thereafter.    He made me a peanut/jelly muffin which got me going.    He then took MG and I to the edge of town and dropped us off.    I don’t think I mentioned that Dave did something similar going from his home to Louisiana and other points South years ago.   He reluctantly let me go.   You see he wanted to go with me (kinda’ gets in your blood).   Its funny that I didn’t know Dave until yesterday morning.   In one day he became a friend that I will cherish.   This has been the pattern of this whole trip.   My “new” friends will never be forgotten.

Today’s ride was spectacular.   I wasn’t going very fast but this wasn’t because of the wind or mechanical difficultly.   It was because I was remembering all my CA adventures and savoring the CA spirit.   I saw many restaurants, kids playing at the beach, spectacular views of the Pacific ocean and so many other things that made me reflect.   I would never want to live is CA but I will be back to enjoy the weather and ocean sometime soon.

Dave gave me a lot of tips.   One was that I could get on an Amtrak Train with MG, go to a desired starting point and then start home to Ohio.   I think it would be fun getting on an Amtrak train and starting the journey home at a place of my choosing.   I will be figuring out the trip tomorrow and Tuesday.   I have abandoned my plans to ride my bike to Washington State as I have no desire or memories of those states.   I decided I want the trip home to be “fun” on a path that has some interest to me.   Stay tuned since at this point I have no clue what this means.

According to my calculations I have been on the road 28 days.   I have gone through so many cities that sometimes I find it hard to remember where I was the day before.   Will the places are forgotten, the wonderful people will never be.   Also according to my calculations I have averaged 92.5 miles a day.   This seems high to me but I have the original odometer reading of 374 which if taken from the current odometer reading of 2964 leaves the 2590 miles.   Divided by the 28 days I got the 92.5 average.   Warning I have had two beers and am now having a glass of Merlot so the number may be suspect.

Tomorrow is Memorial Day and Tuesday MG has her checkup.   I plan to be back on the road on Wednesday.    Will post sometime tomorrow and Tuesday showing you some scenes of CA.  I will not count this in on an average since the plan is to rest.

Note to Jill:  Aunt Marcia said I do not look emaciated but I am going to enjoy the beer anyway.

Thanks to all my supporters out there – we have 50% completed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both of these pictures were used previously so no explanation is required.   Trust that everything I have done to date will never be eclipsed but the memory of these two pictures.   As funny as this is to say, these memories made the trip.   I never want to go through a similar situation but after living through it, it is a moment of pride and vivid memories.

So this morning I followed the business 80 Westbound route “knowing” that the wind was finished.   Wrong.   I also knew that I would have hills that started to go down – still looking for the previous days descent) and also wrong.   I was climbing again to an elevation of 4000′ with the same crazy wind in my face.   I was going to make it to Newport Beach tomorrow if it killed me and to do so I had to get at least 60 miles done.

At mile 14.41 a car stopped a couple of hundred feet ahead of me.   The driver was a San Diego retired helicopter policemen but the name of Dave.   I wondered if he was having some car trouble since it was a funny place to stop.   When I pulled next to him he couldn’t believe how cold the day still was, the strong winds, and the fact that I was pedaling up the hill to get to San Diego.    He asked if he could help and I instantly said yes.   While I could have continued I still was far from 100% and the weird diet because of the lack of stores wasn’t doing me any favors.

So what did Dave do:

1. Immediately gave me a bottle of water
2. Provided me some nutritious snacks
3. Turned his heater up
4. Talked about options eventually
5. Offering me a place to stay tonight.

While I could have continued on and perhaps made my 60 mile objective it wasn’t looking real good because without WiFi and a place to look at my phone I was going North and West to get out of the wind and planned to worry about the route.

Turns out Dave did something similar no long ago going from St Augustine to home in Alpine. CA.   He knew what I was going though and admired my attempt to fight the wind and cold.   I admired Dave for understanding that I was struggling and willing to stop for a stranger.   Again I found a “true friend” that I didn’t even know existed.   I am somewhere between 99 and 118 miles from Newport Beach and will be back to 100 (okay 85%) percent by tomorrow.   Uncle Dick and Marcia will see a very different rider then they would have seen otherwise.

Dave continued to help by giving me tips on the route and driving me along part of the route so I was familiar with the path.   Dave’s wife Patty and two kids (both studying in the medical field were equally kind.   Because of their kindness I will have clean clothes, a hearty dinner, a clear route to travel, and a good night’s sleep.   I will never be able to thank this family enough and hope one day we can host them at our house (Patty is from Cleveland).

No new pictures because I was dealing with a personal situation and that was the bigger problem.

The Scotts Kid continues!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry about not writing yesterday.   There was no WiFi, no real town, and no real services for miles and miles.    I can honesty tell you that this was the worst day of my life.   I was ready to declare that the ride through the Arizona deserts was the worst day of my trip but the California desert has them beat hands down.   Let me get through the picture descriptions and then I will tell you my sad, sad story.

Picture:

1. While driving in the morning I saw this sign and thought that it might be fun to visit Mexico.  Didn’t have my passport, found out it was 130 miles or so the wrong direction and stayed true to my course.
2. When I was much younger I drove my motorcycle to California.   I found a Jack in the Box and ordered the hamburgers.   They had a drive-in widow and I recall they were the first drive in hamburger joint ever.   Fun to see them still in business
3. Sometimes when I am riding all day on my bike I get into a trace like state and don’t notice the surroundings.   In this particular case I looked up and saw dunes.   It really surprised me since I hadn’t seen any before or after.
4. A much appreciated “Welcome to California” sign since this is my West Coast goal.
5. This sign that says “Wind Gusts Possible”.   What it should have said is “Wind Gusts Probably”.   This is what made today’s trek so hard.
6. My camping spot on Friday night.   This is the first time I have ever just put a sleeping bag on the ground and gone to sleep in the mountains.

The story I alluded to earlier was not one that I want to relive.   The morning started off as usual.   Up at 5:00 a.m., on the road at 5:30 a.m. and cranking out the miles looking for about 70 miles by noon and trying to complete 120 by the time I stop at 3:30 or 4:00 p.m.   I was amazed by the CA scenery that had large vista, crops of corn, sunflowers (both growing to only about 4′ high, soy beans, grass (for hay) and other crops.    I passed rivers and canals (in the arid areas) that flowed to places where the crops needed to be irrigated.   This part of the story was fine.   While there was a wind it was what I expected and I was making about 12.2 MPH – on schedule.

I passed El Centro stopping to resupply my Gatorade.   This is where the story changed for the worse.   My first inclination that life was going to get bad was when I saw a sign (pic #5) that said wind gusts could be expected for the next 83 miles (no picture of the first sign).   My thought was that the wind I had been going through was what could be expected and like I said I was on schedule.

The wind picked up considerably.   This was evidenced by the huge wind turbines that were in fields.   When I say the winds picked up I went from the 12+ MPH to about 7 MPH.   I still had 50 miles to go and willingly shouldered the time necessary to get to Ocotilla.   The sun was strong, the wind was strong but I preserved.   There were a number of hills that didn’t make the trip any easier.   Just prior to hitting Ocotilla, I ran into a dust storm.   It wasn’t one of the storms that promised zero visibility but I did get dust in my eyes and mouth and was just another irritate.   By this time I was at the end of my rope and the desired city was just ahead.

Pulling off the road I saw a service station and Cafe.   The day didn’t get any better.   I found out that the cafe was closed, there was no place to sleep, and no WiFi for my posts.   I decided that I could force myself to do 17 miles to the next stop.   Little did I know that there was mountain in front of me that required 3000′ of climb.   I did get a Gatorade and a couple of sandwiches to power the last couple of miles – poor head work but I didn’t know about the mountain.    I started off at 5.5 MPH and figured that I would make the new stop in 3 hours.    Well this was not to be.   My 5.5 MPH went to 4.2 MPH which went to my legs no longer had the strength necessary to pedal.   I got off my bike and started pushing.   My speed went to 3.3 MPH (5 hours) decreasing to 2.2 MPH during the hard points.   I tried to get on my bike and pedal a couple of times but again not strength.    I thought of and did hitch hike for 5 minutes.   My thinking was that was a “poor” way to get out of my current situation that I put myself into.    My mind made up I decided I would hike to the top of the hill if it killed me.   My legs started to cramp but I was able to adjust so it never got bad.   I got more and more tired and each time the hill made a turn with another incline my heard fell – but I was determined thinking that I would at some point have a decline taking me into the second town.

The top of the hill appeared at mile 13 or the 17 mile climb.   I was spent before and decided that it was time to shelter in place.   I was too tired to continue.   There was sign that said all bikes had to go on Historic 80 which I took.   About this time there was a sign announcing a off road park.   The wind would have blown the tent down.   I parked my bike by the sign (picture #6) had to stay close in case the off road guys came by (lots of tracks).   As soon as I got off my bike I started to freeze.   For whatever the reason the weather was down to 65 and further fell the high 50s.   When I say freeze I am saying uncontrolled shivering.   I knew the tent would blown down in the high winds so I laid my ground cover and mat down with the sleeping bag thrown over it.   At this point I couldn’t leave this site since the wind would blow everything away without my weight weighing it down (which actually did happen during the night).   I got in the sleeping bag fully dressed (yep, wet sweaty clothes, no shower, no teeth brushing) and pulled the top over the pillow so there were no exposed areas.   I was able to warm up.   Later that night (stop reading the rest of this paragraph if you are squeamish) my stomach had a discussion with my brain.   It basically said that whatever I ate at Ocotilla needed to be removed and place on the ground.   Thank goodness I wasn’t in the tent because that would have been a real mess.

Don’t want you to think everything was bleak.   A woke up many times that night trying to figure out if it was time to leave yet.   My watch light wasn’t working, it was cold, so I kept saying later.   During these times I would look at the sky.   Beautiful moon, lots of stars, the wind was crisp and clear, and I couldn’t help but admiring the beauty of the world (but it was cold so I kept going back into hibernation mode).

See next entry.

Well only two pictures tonight, not because I don’t have some better pictures but because I couldn’t get them loaded.    Read on to understand why this has been a real exhausting day.

Pictures:

1. Solar Farm: This is the first solar farm I have seen with many 100s of solar panels.   Seems like there is plenty of space in AZ for more.
2. Picture of the Sonora Desert.  It just goes on and on.

What would you do answers for last night with the understanding that what I did may or may not be the right thing to do.

1. Back Tire: Changed in later that night.   I was waffling on whether or not to change it and decided to do it while I was on the phone with my wife.   While I was talking to her I looked at the tire and saw that one ply was gone.   There are several plies so this isn’t necessarily bad but I would rather change the tire at a place that I can wash up afterwards.   Did it work?   Nope, early today the tire started to leak and I found that I had hit another wire.    Luckily I saved the old tube which has a very slow leak and allowed me to get to Benson.
2. Red Rock: Went to the intersection of I-10 and I-8 and talked to some locals.   Turns out that if I had gone onto I-8 (which I got very close to doing) I would have had a 73 mile ride to a gas/souvenir shop that probably would have been closed.   Never go anywhere in NM or AZ if you don’t know what services are available.
3. Service Road: I got on I-10 an rode for about 5 miles when the service road opened.   Had I gone to find another way it would have  been at least 5 miles.

Summary: Exhausting day . . . I-8 was the road that I dreaded.   It had a 63 mile stint across the desert and then a 38 mile run with no services in between.   The temperature climbed to 106 which didn’t help.   You could feel the heat radiate from the road.   The difficulty started this morning.   The back tire was low again.   I went to the rest room that had a light on and filled the tire again worried about what might happen since I only had the old tube packed and no other spares.

At mile 30 I noted that the back tire was low on tire pressure again.   I filled it up and at mile 50 it was again low.   This time it wouldn’t pump back up.   I put the old tube in and went the final 65 miles (total mileage today was 112.5 miles).   Arriving in Benson around 2:00 I got a tent space reserved and sat down at the gas station/Quiznos/Souvenir shop to do today’s post.   When I went out to the bike to get my notebook the back tire was low again.   I had no other tube and no patches (fatal flaw in my planning.   Had I brought patches they would have easily fixed the small wire holes and I would still have two spare tubes).   This was troubling since Benson was still a remote area with the next service area 28 miles away and no guarantee that they would have any patches or tubes.   Even worse, the internet at Benson kept going up and down which meant I might not be able to get a map for the tomorrow’s ride.

So, what do you think I did?    I first filled my tire with air again to see how long it held it while the bike was stationary and then pulled it and myself to the front of the gas station.    Any truck that came through received this question from me, “are you going west on I-8.   You got it, MG and I started hitch hiking to make up for my planning flaw.

Thirty minutes went by when I asked Henry this question.   Turns out that Henry is a professor at ASU.    He and his compatriots readily agreed to take me all the way to Yuma 67 miles away.   Again the generosity of people is amazing.    On the way we discussed the politics around the indigenous (the work “Indian” is a pejorative word which I never knew) people that live in the west and the fact that you need to think different about biking in AZ as even the plants will get your tires.   The discussion was very insightful for me on both topics.  They dropped me off at a Yuma Walmart, I picked up tubes with stop leak in them and will shortly replace the back tube.

So I did make it to Benson today across some of the hottest, most desolate pieces of earth I have ever crossed and learned a valuable lessons on tires, tubes, and patches.    Once again I was very lucky because if the old tube had not held air for 50 miles of riding or refused to fill up I would have been a very unhappy young man (all because I chose not to pack tube patches I have in the garage.

Would also like to take a moment to point out bad behavior.   When I had to stop and change my tube a couple of guys on the other side of the rode saw that I had a problem and honked their horn laughing at my dilemma.   With all the goodness I find in the world around me I still have a difficult time understanding the few morons that I chance to meet.   It takes all kinds I guess.

I am 268 miles from Newport Beach at this point.   Will be mapping out the route shortly.   Still don’t know where I will be sleeping tonight but that will come after the post, mapping, and tube replacement.

Will do a better job with tomorrow’s post.   Hopefully I will have an uneventful day!

Good night and God bless!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life is again good.   We made good time today with no struggles.   Arizona countryside views continue to amaze me with the variety (mountains, canyons, cactus, and just beautiful vistas and I am now only 460 miles from Newport Beach, CA.   Let me explain the pictures and then to a new category that I call, “What would you do?”

Pictures:

1. Many of the cactus I passed today were in bloom.   While they don’t bloom often, when they do the flower is uniquely beautiful.
2. Last night was my first experience with a KOA campground in my continuing efforts to find affordable nightly housing.   The problem is no matter how cheap the price, it still throws me outside of my budget.   Checked a couple of hotels and they were all about $50.   I decided a KOA would be the place to go since they have showers, laundry and campsites.   I figured what could a one night stay cost.   Well to my utter amazement it was $28 a night and that was with every discount that I could get in place.   While I thought the cost exorbitant, the manager was a treasure.   She is the one that gave me the KOA membership price, let me pick a campsite (that really wasn’t a campsite) in the shade, gave me money for the laundry, and walked a bottle of water over to me as I was setting up camp.   Again, people are wonderfully kind and considerate.   The cabin behind the tent was vacant.    The cool thing was that I saw a Roadrunner in the evening.   I did not see Wil E Coyote but know he was around someplace.
3. There was an Arizona souvenir shop I stopped in since they had a Dairy Queen and I had a strong desire for a large Blizzard.   It was cramped full of fireworks, jewelry, gun supported lamps and candle holders, dolls, leather whips, and all kinds of Western “must haves”.    If would have been fun to have a grand child or two around to see what they would have conned me out of.
4. Got off my bike and looked around for a place to stay.   The motels were all in the $50 plus tax range which is just too much for me to pay.   I went to an RV Park in the hopes they accepted tents which they don’t.   I was on my way out when the lady called me back.   She said that she had a change of heart (husband died of cancer a couple of years back and she was a cancer survivor) and said she would find a place for me – no charge.   I have a place to camp, a shower, a pool (but no desire to sit in the sun no matter how much water is waiting), Wifi, and a laundry.   When I asked her about the laundry she said I would need some quarters and went to get them for me.   See what I mean?   People are just so kind and thoughtful and without whose help I would have given up long ago.   Truly I am blessed.
5. I always have trouble going through the big cities and today’s test was Tucson.   I would first like to say that Tucson (based on my ride through evaluation) is a hip, modern, well designed city.   Can’t tell you exactly why I felt this way but many streets had bike lanes, the streets are laid out well, the stores were many but not crowding into one place and the feel was right.   This picture was taken when I was winding around the eastern and northern parts of the city.   There were thousands (no kidding) of places.   I saw C-130s and P-3s but know other types were mothballed waiting should they be called back to service.   Kinda’ neat knowing we have many, many planes available.   Wonder if they would sell me one?

What would you do. . . So in the last couple of days I have been faced with some decisions that had to be made.   Curious what you would have done in the same situation and if you agree with what I did.

• The Back Tire: One week into my ride I went to a bike store and had the pressure in my tires checked.   Usually the pressure in the front and back tires go down at the same rate.   If you remember MG’s back tire was 30 pounds low while the front tire was fine.   While in Benson, waiting for the sun to come up, I checked the pressure in the tires.   This was really and afterthought since I had checked the tires 3 days previously.   The back tire was soft so I gave is some air.   That night I checked the tire and again it was low.   What did I do:
  • Fill the tire with air, carefully checking the pressure, with the intent to compare the pressure in the morning.
  • Change it later that night.
  • Plan to fill it with air daily since it was clearly holding air for a day.
• Red Rock (This is why the title has a question mark next to it): Today’s ride was planned for Red Rock.   I had the directions for getting around Tucson and an 87 mile ride felt right after completing two days in a row of 100+ days.   The wind was at my back and I was making good time.   When I arrived at Red Rock I still had energy and knew that about 20 miles ahead was the turn off from I-10 to I-8.   I did not plot this course and didn’t know exactly how far or what provisions were ahead.  What did I do:
  • Stop as planned at Red Rock since it is dangerous going in AZ when you don’t know how far the next provisioning stop might be.
  • Decided to go for broke and go to and make the turn to I-8.
  • Went ahead to the I-10 / I-8 split and checked with some local folks to see what towns might be waiting for me on I-8.
• Service Road: I had just finished winding my way around Tucson and found I-10.   It had a service road  (parallels the interstate) but it was closed for construction.  The sign on I-10 said bikes were not allowed on the interstate.   What did I do?
  • Went back to the earlier road I was on and keep going West hoping the service road would open.
  • Got on I-10 with the plan to get off as soon as the service road construction stopped.
  • Stopped and asked directions.

NOTE: How I handled these situations will be revealed tomorrow if I remember that I promised to do so.

Pictures:

1. “The Thing” the “mystery of the desert” was on about 30 billboards for over 200 miles.   Nothing else was said about it but it must be a big draw if it is advertised on so many billboards.   Amazing what curiosity will make people do.
2. This picture announcing my arrival in Arizona is one of my favorite pictures.   It has the welcome sign, Pear Cactus, a train, and seemed to capture my idea of AZ.
3. This picture was taken after a long, hot, afternoon climb to the top of a mountain.   There was a rest stop at the top called “Texas Canyon” (don’t ask why an Arizona Rest Stop would have Texas in a name cause I don’t know).   I will explain more below.
4. MG (Miracle Go) and I stopped at a rest stop early in the morning.   I try to ensure that all of my bottles stay as full as I can keep them since towns on the map may not really exist.
5. Of the sites I’ve passed in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, Arizona has the best scenery.   The roads are surrounded by mountains that just give the whole area character.    This was a rock formation I saw early in the morning and I wished I had a rock climber and some time to explore some of these hills.

Tough, tough day.   It started out good enough as the wind was behind me and I was again in my top gear letting the miles flow by.   This lasted about 45 minutes when Myriah (remember the wind) decided I was having too much fun and didn’t want to give me a pass two days in a row.   I was even thinking that I might try for South Tucson today which would have been about 140 miles – what was I thinking?

Myriah turned herself around and was in my face all day the early 15.5 or so average decreased over the entire day.   How tired was I?   When I was in the small town of Wilcox at the 75 mile mark I almost called it a day.   It had a KOA, food, restaurants, and my day would have been over.   Then I remembered I planned a 109 mile day, any mile I didn’t do today I would have to do tomorrow, and I thought maybe the wind would die down.

Rather than dying out Myriah redoubled her efforts the last 40 miles.   To make a bad situation worse the road started a gradually climb at about mile 80 that lasted 10 miles (or so it seemed).   I was going no faster than an anemic turtle, I was tired, and had a decision to make.   I could either pull into Texas Canyon Rest Stop and have a slug of Gatorade and some munchies or grind out the last 17 miles.   I choose (wisely I think) to stop at the rest stop.   The food and drink combined with a good ride “down” the hill into Benson worked great.

I decided to get some spaghetti at Denny’s.   When I asked that the waitress bring a little extra spaghetti she brought me another whole helping and a salad – Denny’s I love you!

Also got some great news yesterday.   An uncle and aunt that had been traveling are back at their Newport Beach residence.   He asked if I would like to recharge my batteries at his place for a couple of days – boy would I!!!!   So, I will swing up and around Tucson headed for Red Rock, AZ which is about 87 miles.    From that point I will wheel to the east on I-8 the following day bee lining it for the coast.    My LA target was just a city that was big enough so even my limited navigational skills couldn’t miss it.   Now that I have a real destination with “family” waiting, I have now turned into a guided missile and am very excited to arrive.

Need to go find a place to stay.   Heading to the Benson KOA to see how to get a tent site.

As always, may you enjoy the peace of the world and the wisdom of the ages.

Stories:

1. It is true that the deserts get cold at night.   I always thought this was really just a fiction where the 120 degree temperatures vary so much from the night time temperatures that people just said they were cold.   I found out differently today.   I checked the temperature this morning and it was fine, probably in the 60s.    I started on my trip and went down a short descent to the desert floor and the temperature dropped 10 or 15 degrees.   Not sure if this is due to the lower elevation or the winds that blow the heat away.   My belief that the desert sand held heat evaporated.
2. I saw it, I saw it – a dust storm!   It was really a miniature dust storm.   I was riding along when across the road the wind kicked up and I saw sand in a tornado form gathering dust and speed.    It then gushed across the road and dissipated.   I can see something like this on a grander scale really causing problems.

One word for today, glorious!   Many, many moons ago when I was taking MG (Miracle Go) out for our initial training rides I predicted that we could average from 13 to 15 miles an hour when loaded.   My reality has been about 11.7 MPH due to the strong Western Winds.   Today the wind was sleeping.   MG and I completed 120.8 miles in 7 hours and 21 minutes for a 16.5 average MPH.   Let me get on with the pictures and then I will tell the story.

Pictures:

1. As you know New Mexico has confused the navigator in me to no end.   I would plan to go a northern route, collect a piece of information from someone, and then decide to go south.   This happened about 4 times.   In Roswell I decided to go for broke.   The only way I figured I could ever get out of New Mexico is by going out via Interstate.   I didn’t know if this would be legal or not but all other avenues seemed to go well out of the way.   I made a beeline for Las Cruces, rested the afternoon and just completed 120 or so miles on I-10.   This sign made me smile more than you’ll ever know.
2. I ate lunch in Lordsburg in a restaurant called the Chatterbox.   This “scene” was out front and I think the cars and latticework are representative of mining work.
3. How many of you out there know of the Continental Divide?  Basically it is a series of mountain ranges that stretch from Alaska to Mexico and control the flow of water (east or west).    This sign properly documents that I am now on the Pacific side.    I think this means the rest of the trip is downhill and I don’t think I will see any more mountains (conjecture at this point).
4. The “Welcome to Lordsburg” sign.    Lordsburg is a small town of about 2000 people.  While I wouldn’t recommend coming to this town for any action, it is a perfect place to let Miracle Go catch some sleep.
5. Loved this sign “Zero Visibility Possible”.    It makes more sense when you see some of the other signs that state “Dust Storms are Possible for next 45 miles”.   I had some time to think about this since I have zero defenses for this possibility.   Had I gotten in a dust storm the dust would have inundated my packs, chain, cables, eyes and mouth.   I might have mounted a “pretend” defense but my belief is when it was all said and done I would have had to spend a day getting sand out of and off of everything.  I am still in the cross hairs for the first 30 mile of tomorrow’s run.  Cross your fingers I don’t want to see I would fare in a dust storm.

The catch word for today was glorious all the beginning of the day was somewhat suspect.

One hundred and twenty miles for me is somewhat of a challenge and the longer I spend on the bike the harder it is.   The fact that I will have three days of 100+ biking made me somewhat anxious.   Translated this means I didn’t sleep soundly and when I woke up it was hard to go back to sleep because I wondered how the days trip would go.

Gave up all attempts to sleep at 4:00 a.m.   I decided I would go to the “Whataburger” a block away and get some breakfast to bring back to the motel room.   That way I could watch TV while I was eating and brush my teeth in private.    At 5:00 a.m. I headed down the road.   This was 30 minutes earlier than any other day but I figured it would be 30 minutes I wouldn’t have to spend in the sun later.

Public Announcement: My friends and advisers in Las Cruces were great.   They recommended that I backtrack to a hotel 2 miles up the road.   If you know me then you know I hate to backtrack but decided to go with the experts.   You see I needed supplies and they put me in a central place so everything I needed was within a couple of blocks of the hotel.   Translated I was able to pick up Welsh’s Fruit Snack for bike energy recharge breaks, a laundermat was available to wash my clothes, and a Pizza Hut was available for my large “Pizza Supreme” dinner (which I finished).   Getting all the chores done allowed me to stay off the bike most of Sunday afternoon.    The rest of the story includes the hotel knocked off $5 since I am riding for a charity and the waitress at Pizza Hut felt sorry for me (not sure why) and applied a coupon to my pizza saving me another $5.

Story continues . . . It was dark but there were streetlights.   I had my tail light on so that the few cars on the road could easily see me as I headed to I-10.   The first 10 miles to I-10 was on 70 W.   All I could think of was “will I be allowed on I-10.   The further I went out on 70 W, the more convinced I was that I-10 would be workable.   The big sign said I-10 left and the airport road right.    I proceeded to I-10 where a big sign said ‘bikes not allowed’.   Doomed I thought.   Will I be in New Mexico forever?   I pushed my bike over some undergrowth to get on airport road.   I was hopeful that it would allow me to figure out some options.   Shortly thereafter a 70 W sign appeared.   The airport road and 70 W were the same thing.    I went another 15 miles on 70 W when it ended and pointed to I-10.   I again went to I-10 and held my breath.   I saw a sign that looked like it was going to forbid bikes when in fact it stated that bikes on the berm were fine (picture 1).   I started breathing again.

Wind had be a factor while on 70 W.  My average speed was 12.5 MPH.   When I turned on to I-10 I had a slight shift in direction which PUT THE WIND TO MY BACK!   All of a sudden things were looking up.   Often in the morning the winds are calm and then pick up around 10:00 a.m.   This morning the wind kept sleeping.   At 9:00 I had completed 45 miles (not my usual 30) and by noon I was at 90 miles (not my usual 60).   Does it kinda’ make sense why I choose the word “glorious”!

Tomorrow I will go basically West and then in the second half of the day turn SW for the last time.    After tomorrow’s stop at Benson Arizona I will start going NW toward Tucson and Phoenix which should put the wind more at my back.

Milestones:

1. Miracle Go and I had a personal best 16.5 MPH across 120 miles.   Told you MG could do it!
2. Today we also cracked the 2000 mile mark finishing up with 2004 miles since we left Ohio.   It feels good to get another 1000 behind us.

Upcoming Attractions:

1. Tomorrow we should finish in the mighty state of Arizona.
2. I believe we move from Mountain time to Pacific Time.

As always wishing you my very best!