These were two pretty easy days of riding. Thursday was Salome - Wickenburg AZ. 58 miles, 1400 feet of climbing. Today (Friday) was Wickenburg - Phoenix AZ. 68 miles, 1300 feet of climbing. We have definitely found the hot weather! Both days were mid-30s C by mid-day. We're fortunate to be biking, though, as we create our own cooling breeze as we ride.
On Thursday morning I checked my tires just before heading out to breakfast. Imagine my shock when I found one to be very soft!! I guess my record of 17 years without a flat is now history. But then I amazed myself by getting it off and changed before noon. We had ridden so many miles on the Interstate the day before where there were literally tons of shredded tires. I must have gone over one and picked up a piece of tire shard. Needless to say I was last out of the parking lot that day. A somewhat meditative ride today with little elevation gain for the first 40 miles. Desert scenery (Sonoran Desert) with mountain ranges on both sides of the road (Harquhala on the south and Harcuvar on the north). Later on we hit some agricultural land, obviously requiring some significant irrigation. A few little bumps got us up to Wickenburg in good time. Time for a red raspberry milkshake and a tour around historic downtown Wickenburg. Dinner was marvelous - pork roast, lentils, spinach salad, mashed sweet potatoes and cookie bars for desert. Yum!
I was last out of the parking lot again today. The whole day seemed to be mostly downhill although my GPS told me that we also climbed 1300 feet somewhere along the way. The first 40 miles were blissful rural scenery - gradually getting greener, but still lots of giant Saguaro cactus. At 40 miles we crossed I-17 and entered the greater Phoenix area. There was a fair bit of traffic along the way but all the streets had good bike lanes so it wasn't too bad at all. We finally have decent wifi coverage so everyone is catching up on correspondence tonight. Dinner tonight was salmon, fingerling potatoes, salad, carrot cake and cheesecake. Linda, our chef, just keeps whipping up these marvelous meals out of the back of the trailer!
The bike is still holding up well. One woman who did have one as heavy as mine just bought a new lightweight model this afternoon. I'm pretty sure mine is now about the heaviest of the bunch. Quelle surprise!
Everything is going well. Still enjoying it, and there is already talk of future trips.
Sue, the first pic looks like 'Josua trees'? Later I'm guessing is your 'red rocket' bike? And, yup, that's desert! Enjoy Phoenix!!
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