This was a hard day to ride a bicycle, but we were
unaware of it at the start. We left the parking lot at our usual 6:00am. It was the coolest of all the mornings since
San Diego. Although it was not Ohio fall weather, it made for very comfortable
riding.
I expected better, but the berm on US 70 was not good. For a dozen miles we were dodging weeds,
rumble strips, broken glass, pavement gaps, etc. We dealt with the berm issue
while contending with a heavy stream of traffic including many trucks. A series
of back-to-back flats slowed us down and Susan overtook us well before the
assigned first rest stop. I was glad to see her pull over so that we could
replenish our supply of tubes.
As we moved further away from Globe, the traffic
thinned out and the road improved markedly. The thin traffic allowed us to use
the regular travel lane. As autos and trucks approached, most of them yielded
to our use of the lane. A couple drove as though they were going to make a
point. There were times when we relinquished the lane, as when a long line of
cars approached from behind, or when cars used the road from both directions.
Our route passed through the San Carlos (Apache)
Indian Reservation. The second rest stop
of the day was in Peridot, AZ, where the San Carlos Apache Cultural Museum
exists. I would have enjoyed seeing the exhibits, but we were well behind
schedule and with the temperature forecast to reach 100 today it was imperative
that we move on.
Move on we did as the route moved up and down through
the foothills containing Arizona’s Gila River. The river came to the road gradually
from the right, revealing itself by the lush vegetation covering its banks. We eventually
met up with the river on a newly constructed bridge. I looked to see the color
of the water, and it was … brown. There was no water to be found. The riverbed
was as dry as a stick. This is not the first time on this trip that we have
seen a river/creek/wash containing no water.
We met Susan several more times to rest, fuel up and
fill our water bottles. Finally we had seven miles to go. At that point I
discovered that we had not yet secured a hotel room. Susan was having trouble
because a military plane had crashed near Ft. Thomas, and investigators were
using most of the rooms.
Tomorrow should be a repeat of today, sans the flats
and bad berms, I hope. Stay tuned.
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| Enjoying the scenery during a break in the traffic |
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