Saturday March 29, 2008, 113 miles (182 km) - Total so far: 257 miles (414 km)
Day #3... 113 rolling miles through agricultural valleys and inhospitable desert and dunes.Highlights:
-getting up at 5:30am and on the road at 6:15am to beat the days heat.
-meeting Ed at the hotel as we were leaving at the.exact same time. Ed is doing the same trip.. More detail below.
-beautiful sunrise to ride into.
-fast smooth roads almost all day.
-eating a philly cheese steak with peppers for breakfast and downing it with a big cup of lemonade at mile 29, in Glamis-one of the biggest Off road vehicle destinations around.
-getting buzzed a few times by air force F-16(s) on bombing traing missions.
-going 12 miles at 24-30mph without stopping
-getting passed by a motorcycle gang.
-Riding through the Chocalate Mountains - beautiful!
-resting in the shade.
-feeling the humidity increase through the agriculture areas... neat!
-listening to tunes and hammering out the 22 miles between Palo Verde and Blythe, CA.
-rolling into Blythe and coming up on an old man on a tricycle carrying brocoli in a basket on the back - hillarious, wait till I put up a photo!
-Crossing the Colorado River and entering Arizona; one state down!
-using the google maps feature on the blackberry to secure a room in the only hotel in town after discovering that the other two listed on the Adventure Cycling maps were shut down.
-the last 7ish miles into town with not a single car in either direction and great scenery.
-meeting Judy, the desk lady at the super 8 who used to live in Alaska; on Attu, Kodiak, the slope, seward, homer, seldovia, talkeetna, and anchorage. One of her sled dogs was Susan Butchers lead dog when she won her first Iditarod! And now one of her daughters lives in Chicken, of all places... Population 20.
-doing real laundry, not in a sink.
Lowpoints:
Few today, just bumpy but scenic road the last 7 miles and almost bonking around mile 95. 1 bananna, 1 apple, 2 energy gels, and 15 minutes rest saved me!
I had mentioned yesterday the curious substance which seems to cover my arms and legs each day, and after exhaustive research and consulting with medical experts around the world, Rose finally found the name of this stuff. She listed the Latin name, I can only assume the common or laymens term is something like "gunk, slime," etc.
Here's her message:
Name for the body slime you describe in your day#2 post.
Definition: C. Cucamungosis: Combination of road dirt, insect bodies, brake dust, sunscreen, etc. covering the entire body. Acquired on cross-country cycling trips. Can be easily washed away by common soap and H20. Causes permanent memories of the adventure, though not in itself fatal.
Wow, I wonder how many other cyclists aquire this?
Now on to Ed.. He's a recently semi-retired attorney/prosecutor from Kentucky who wanted to do the same big trip I did, at a more leisurely pace. We rode on and off the first half of the day and eventually split off so I could make Quartzite tonight. We of course ended up talking about gear which led to the revelation that Ed is pulling behind him almost 70lbs of stuff.. Including the trailer. I try to let people figure out their own system but I couldn't help but try to motivate him to mail most of that stuff back. After awhile the idea started to sound better and better to him, so we'll have to wait and see if he ends up dropping some gear. His trailer alone weighs almost twice as much as all the gear I'm carrying. Ed, if you read this, I wish you well and hope the load lightens at least a little!
To read more about Ed's journey, check out his journal at:
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/retirementtour
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