Last evening we stayed in a quaint, quiet, quirky,
hotel. There were only four rooms available, and we were the only customers, so
we had the place to ourselves. The covered courtyard was very pleasant in spite
of the mid nineties readings. The beers that Susan offered us upon arrival
didn’t hurt. The Westward Motel offers its clients a common kitchen and eating
area as well. After having dinner across the street we bought fixin’s for breakfast.
It was as though we had our own place. After Sara and I started off, Susan
loaded the van and came following.
Ok, for all of you polytheists, the wind gods, the
road alignment gods, the flat-tire gods, and the temperature gods all cooperated
today. We had the wind at our back for
80% of the time; we rode 75 miles with 1145 feet of DOWN, and only 141 feet of
UP, we had no flats in spite of riding 13 miles of I-10; we had temperatures
that stayed below 100. It is amazing to me how good 95 degrees can feel after
spending time in 110 degree air. All said, it was a great day to ride a
bicycle.
With the wind at our back, Sara used her big chainring
much of the day. We moved down the road at 16+ mph. We had agreed to meet Susan
six times in our 75 miles, and she was surprised at how early we arrived each
time. Upon arriving at a designated spot, we got in the cool van to rest, eat
and water down. Then it was on the road again.
We left Salome at 6:00am taking Salome Rd southeast
toward Phoenix. The road was newly paved
with a wide shoulder. Every few miles we were rattled by three sets of rumble
strips reminding us that cattle were crossing. Matching the strips in frequency
were the periodic crossings of washes. Thirty miles later we met Susan at the
entrance to I-10. We did not stop. Instead, we rode 7 miles on that highway to
a rest area midway to our exit at Tonopah. There we met up with Susan who was ready with food
and cold drinks. The highway was busy with mostly truck traffic. It was a glad moment when we rolled up the
entrance ramp to escape the growling semis.
From there the roads became quite. The traffic was very light with at most half
dozen cars passing us each hour. To a person, the drivers gave us plenty of
room. After meeting Susan two more times, we rolled in to our hotel for the
evening. We debated last evening in
Salome whether it was time for a rest day. Sara and I had had three grueling
days on the road contending with the two “H’s”, heat and hills. After today’s performance, no one is talking
rest day. The subject might come up at dinner. Stay tuned.
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| Headed to Tonopah on I-10 |
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