Tuesday April 1, 2008, 78 miles (126 km) - Total so far: 514 miles (828 km)
I'll start off with some advice Jim sent today...it's very good!
From Jim:
"If you become very bored and suffer from sensory deprivation while pedeling, I have a very simple solution-Take a deck of playing cards and affix one or two on the frame of your bike-make sure they just glance the spokes. This has a three-fold effect. One-it elimates boredom as you can play tunes at various pitches with varying speeds, two-no-one will bother you as they really think you are a flake, three, it keeps the rattlesnakes at bay. I know of an instance of a biker in arizona who arrived at his destination with 22 rattlers on his back like streamers-he did not die because of his speed-the snakes could not catch their breath long enough to pump in their venom!---sedentary advice from jim higgerson........"
I bought a deck of cards so we'll see how this works tomorrow. So far I've only had 2 or 3 dozen snake bites a day, this should drop it to less than a dozen.
Now onto serious stuff...
Today started off boring and gross. 15 miles of strip malls, retirement RV parks, industrial sites and unplanned run down sprawl. Mesa and Apache Junction were nice places to leave. Onto the highlights and lowpoints:
Highlights:
-Leaving subsprawlin Phoenix
-tons of freshly bloomed wild flowers
-taking no rest breaks
-smooth pavement for some stretches.
-getting buzzed by 2 F-15's
-riding on a freshly paved but not yet open to traffic section of road for a few miles... Until captain safety drove up to me and asked me "where do you think you're going??" I replied, "well, I think I'm going to Florida." He thought for a moment and chirped back angerly "you're going the wrong way!" I raised my eyebrows and said "what?! They told me it was this way (pointing) if I go that way I think I'll end up in California." Surprisingly my smart assness didn't get me physically removed from the road, instead he said he'd have to escort me in his truck. So he drove 10mph as I pedaled behind him up to the top of a pass and cheerfully waved goodbye.
-big 'ol smokin fast downhill for miles
-seeing some british or aussie fellow climbing the big uphill I was racing down at 50mph and waving to each other (he had a small flag, couldn't tell exactly which it was)
-Staying in a much nicer (no hookers) motel 6 that was almost as cheap.
-strawberry milkshake after dinner.
-not a single flat tire- thanks armidillo!
-making it to Globe, AZ and not dying on the 4000+ft of elevation gain I did today
-great great scenery. Rode through some cool narrow canyons.
Lowpoints:
-mesa and apache junction suck.
-road construction
-tons of traffic
-No shoulder with blind curves occasionally- scary.
-climbing 4000+ft was not painful but felt more like a chore. I felt really good and could have done 120 miles or more if I was on flat ground. Climbing sucks speed out of you, and in turn time/daylight.
-rude guy at the days inn when I asked if there was a AAA discount. He yells "no! This is the final price! No discounts!" Okaaaayyyyyy... Someone has been asked that too much and doesn't know how to handle it.
I got the discount at motel 6 though :D
That was it on the lows, not too bad.
Now I'll talk a little bit about horns. Not animal horns, or rock horns, not even fog horns... Car horns. These pesky little noisemakers are found on just about every moving vehicle nowadays, and as most cyclists can relate, we are often at the receiving end of their noisy fury. This is an everyday occurance, so ingrained in my experience that its not worth mentioning each event, just as I wouldn't mention running over a bump or seeing a crow on a fence post. Its everywhere.
There are a few distinct types of horn blasts that may be encountered, and they go like this:
1) Toot toot!... "Way to go! Do your thing man! Yeah! Go for it!"
2) Toot toot toot toot toot!!! ..."Yeah! I am even more excited than the last guy and like honking my horn so I'll keep doing it!"
3) Beeeep! "I'm the 4000th car to pass you today but I thought you might like to know I am a half mile behind you and closing in. Be ready!"
4) BEeeeeeEeeeeeeeeeeeeeep! "You fu#*+@?! Bikers don't belong on MY roads!!!!"
5) BEeeeeeeeeeeep bEeeeeeeeeeeep bEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep! "I'm even more of an ass than the last guy but I really want to make sure you know you're not welcome on MY roads!!!"
That's the sum of it for horns. It happens all the time. Sometimes its scary sometimes annoying and sometimes it just startles you!
I've got some other thoughts of the road but I'll share those daily to keep you hooked and coming back.
Coming soon: The constant reaction to my Alaska jersey. Peoples reactions when you tell them what you're doing. Trash - where it collects and what it's made up of. Roadkill (and recipes). Stay tuned.
From Jim:
"If you become very bored and suffer from sensory deprivation while pedeling, I have a very simple solution-Take a deck of playing cards and affix one or two on the frame of your bike-make sure they just glance the spokes. This has a three-fold effect. One-it elimates boredom as you can play tunes at various pitches with varying speeds, two-no-one will bother you as they really think you are a flake, three, it keeps the rattlesnakes at bay. I know of an instance of a biker in arizona who arrived at his destination with 22 rattlers on his back like streamers-he did not die because of his speed-the snakes could not catch their breath long enough to pump in their venom!---sedentary advice from jim higgerson........"
I bought a deck of cards so we'll see how this works tomorrow. So far I've only had 2 or 3 dozen snake bites a day, this should drop it to less than a dozen.
Now onto serious stuff...
Today started off boring and gross. 15 miles of strip malls, retirement RV parks, industrial sites and unplanned run down sprawl. Mesa and Apache Junction were nice places to leave. Onto the highlights and lowpoints:
Highlights:
-Leaving subsprawlin Phoenix
-tons of freshly bloomed wild flowers
-taking no rest breaks
-smooth pavement for some stretches.
-getting buzzed by 2 F-15's
-riding on a freshly paved but not yet open to traffic section of road for a few miles... Until captain safety drove up to me and asked me "where do you think you're going??" I replied, "well, I think I'm going to Florida." He thought for a moment and chirped back angerly "you're going the wrong way!" I raised my eyebrows and said "what?! They told me it was this way (pointing) if I go that way I think I'll end up in California." Surprisingly my smart assness didn't get me physically removed from the road, instead he said he'd have to escort me in his truck. So he drove 10mph as I pedaled behind him up to the top of a pass and cheerfully waved goodbye.
-big 'ol smokin fast downhill for miles
-seeing some british or aussie fellow climbing the big uphill I was racing down at 50mph and waving to each other (he had a small flag, couldn't tell exactly which it was)
-Staying in a much nicer (no hookers) motel 6 that was almost as cheap.
-strawberry milkshake after dinner.
-not a single flat tire- thanks armidillo!
-making it to Globe, AZ and not dying on the 4000+ft of elevation gain I did today
-great great scenery. Rode through some cool narrow canyons.
Lowpoints:
-mesa and apache junction suck.
-road construction
-tons of traffic
-No shoulder with blind curves occasionally- scary.
-climbing 4000+ft was not painful but felt more like a chore. I felt really good and could have done 120 miles or more if I was on flat ground. Climbing sucks speed out of you, and in turn time/daylight.
-rude guy at the days inn when I asked if there was a AAA discount. He yells "no! This is the final price! No discounts!" Okaaaayyyyyy... Someone has been asked that too much and doesn't know how to handle it.
I got the discount at motel 6 though :D
That was it on the lows, not too bad.
Now I'll talk a little bit about horns. Not animal horns, or rock horns, not even fog horns... Car horns. These pesky little noisemakers are found on just about every moving vehicle nowadays, and as most cyclists can relate, we are often at the receiving end of their noisy fury. This is an everyday occurance, so ingrained in my experience that its not worth mentioning each event, just as I wouldn't mention running over a bump or seeing a crow on a fence post. Its everywhere.
There are a few distinct types of horn blasts that may be encountered, and they go like this:
1) Toot toot!... "Way to go! Do your thing man! Yeah! Go for it!"
2) Toot toot toot toot toot!!! ..."Yeah! I am even more excited than the last guy and like honking my horn so I'll keep doing it!"
3) Beeeep! "I'm the 4000th car to pass you today but I thought you might like to know I am a half mile behind you and closing in. Be ready!"
4) BEeeeeeEeeeeeeeeeeeeeep! "You fu#*+@?! Bikers don't belong on MY roads!!!!"
5) BEeeeeeeeeeeep bEeeeeeeeeeeep bEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep! "I'm even more of an ass than the last guy but I really want to make sure you know you're not welcome on MY roads!!!"
That's the sum of it for horns. It happens all the time. Sometimes its scary sometimes annoying and sometimes it just startles you!
I've got some other thoughts of the road but I'll share those daily to keep you hooked and coming back.
Coming soon: The constant reaction to my Alaska jersey. Peoples reactions when you tell them what you're doing. Trash - where it collects and what it's made up of. Roadkill (and recipes). Stay tuned.
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