Day 62

Thursday November 11, 2010

We had some coffee with George this morning. What a cool guy. Today we rode up Emory Pass. It is 8,228 feet and the highest point on our route. It was a brutal climb and took most of the day. I had to stop several times to catch my breath and stretch my legs. I was pounding cliff bars and energy gels and was still hungry and tired the whole time. When I got to the top I was wearing my bib, my jersey, a wool shirt, and a thin pair of tights. Within moments of stopping my sweat cooled down and I began to shiver almost instantly.I just didn't realized how cold it was getting on the way up because I was working so hard, but when I stopped it hit me like a ton of bricks. I threw on fleece pants, a fleece jacket, a rain shell, rain pants, my warm gloves, and a balaclava. The winds were freezing at that altitude and the weather was taking a turn for the worse. It was sunny all the way up, but just as I got to the top gray clouds started rolling in. It was 4:15 with less than an hour of light and a storm rolling in we were preparing for a rough evening. It had taken a bit longer than we thought to get up the hill (mostly on my part) As we were gearing up to head down the mountain we met Michael and Kathy as they were walking down from a hike along the pass. They were headed to Lake Roberts and offered to give us a ride. Lake Roberts is north of our Route, but it's down from the mountain and the closest town to the Gila Cliff Dwellings, which we had been considering checking out. but it's down the mountain and only a short ride from the Gila Cliff dwellings. So we decided to take them up on it. We saw an Elk! They took us out to a delicious BBQ restaurant that was apparently the only restaurant around. Half a baked chicken, potato salad, baked beans, and blackberry cobbler. We couldn't have asked for a better ending to the day.

Day 63

Friday November 12, 2010, 32 miles (51 km) - Total so far: 2,172 miles (3,495 km)

We decided to leave our gear in Lake Roberts and ride up to the Gila Cliff dwellings with just the bikes and a small backpack. The cliff dwellings were built by the Mogollon people in the late 1200's. They are almost 40 rooms made of rock, mortar, and timber within a series of natural caves. The ride there was steeper than Emory Pass, but much easier without all the gear. After we rode up to the peak of the mountain we had seven miles of steep downhill. Let's just say I broke my personal land-speed record by a good bit. We stopped at the general store at the bottom for some ice cream and frozen burritos. It was only another mile or so to the trailhead to get to the ruins. We locked up our bikes and started the hike. The trail took us through a canyon over lots of small creeks with small bridges. I enjoyed a delicious apple on my way up. After a few hundred feet of climbing we could see the cliff dwellings. It was a surreal feeling to finally walk inside. Just imagining what it was like for these people to live here. It must have been amazing. You can almost feel the energy and spirits of the people who lived there. We spent way to long there and by the time we got back down to our bikes we only had about an hour of light left and about 2 hours of riding and didn't have our lights with us. We met a couple from Alaska that offered to give us a ride. We put our bikes in the back and crammed into the front seat of their truck. We picked up our gear from Lake Roberts and rode with them down to Silver City, which is back on our route. When we were in El Paso Gavin met a guy named Todd on a morning bike ride. Todd is a freelance landscape architect/ avid cyclist who lives both in El Paso and Silver City. He offered to let us stay at his place in Silver City while we rode through. He has a girl named Stacy living in an RV outside his place to look after things and feed his cat. When we got there Stacy let us in. We ordered a pizza and got a good night's sleep.

Day 64

Saturday November 13, 2010, 47 miles (76 km) - Total so far: 2,219 miles (3,571 km)

We got a super late start today. It was just too nice in the apartment and too cold outside. We made coffee, watched Stars and Water Carriers, and had some good breakfast. By the time we got on the road it was almost 1. We had a good bit of downhill leaving Silver City, which was nice, but even with that, We only covered about 40 miles before it got dark. We stayed at an RV park and it was in the 30's by 6pm. We spent most of our evening huddled in the laundry room reading and snacking.

Day 65

Sunday November 14, 2010, 54 miles (87 km) - Total so far: 2,273 miles (3,658 km)

Everything was frozen this morning. The water, the fruit, the energy gels, and even the tuna! First moose crossing sign. We crossed into Arizona today! Shortly thereafter we went over another mountain pass. It was tough, but the view from the top was amazing. We had cell phone reception from the top as well, which was the first time in a while. After a few phone calls we headed down the mountain. It was great. Almost 14 miles of downhill. We were shooting for a town called Safford but still had about 2 hours of riding with less than an hour of light left. We decided to thumb it and got a ride from a guy named Josh. Josh and his girlfriend were moving from Safford and on their way back with an empty U-Haul trailer. It was great, we just piled in and enjoyed a beautiful sunset from our U-haul express.

Day 68

Wednesday November 17, 2010, 56 miles (90 km) - Total so far: 2,432 miles (3,914 km)

All you can eat pancakes for breakfast. Gavin broke the record at the restaurant. He managed to put back eight of them! I threw in the towel at 7.5. Last night we stayed in a town called Globe. A friend we met along the way told me of a "buried treasure" of sorts and gave me directions of where to find it. Unfortunately the last part of the instructions was behind the rock, and there were hundreds of rocks. So I gave up quickly. Today was the most exciting downhill I've ever ridden. It was a pretty big climb leading up to it, but it was totally worth it. We went down a 7% grade for over 4 miles through a rocky canyon. It was kind of scary though. Big rigs were passing us at 45+mph and we had no shoulder. It was the biggest adrenalin rush I've had in a while. We went through the Queens Creek tunnel today. I was going fast enough to be able to hold my breath for the entire tunnel! We stopped in a town called Superior for lunch. We spilt a large pizza eating six slices each. After a couple more hours of riding through the desert our friend Michael called .Michael and Cathy are the people who helped us off Emory Pass last week. They offered to let us stay with them at their house in Tempe, which we were pretty close to today. Michael offered to pick us up outside of town. They made us a delicious dinner of steak, sautéed vegetables, beans, zucchini bread, and fruit. It was delicious. Michael is an excellent craftsman and has a really cool woodshop in his backyard. He has made a good bit of the furniture in his house and lots of artistic pieces as well. They have three really cool dogs as well. It's nice to hang out with dogs from time to time.

Day 66

Monday November 15, 2010, 59 miles (95 km) - Total so far: 2,332 miles (3,753 km)

Today was probably the most unpleasant day thus far. We had a constant headwind the entire day. Our pace was slowed to a grueling 10-12 mph and if we stopped pedaling even for a moment the wind brought us to an immediate halt. The only campgrounds around were on the San Carlos lake Apache Indian Reservation. Being on the reservation requires a permit. The permits are only good from midnight to midnight, so we had to buy two each to spend the night there. When we got onto the reservation we still had 23 miles to go to get to the first campground. The road conditions were horrific. The road was built in the 1930's and has not been maintained since. There were more cracks and potholes than there was level ground. It was miserable. The sun went down after the first 7 miles or so, forcing us to ride blindly over the bumps. It was spine jolting. Gavin was a good bit ahead of me and I'd already been riding in the dark for over an hour when I made a wrong turn. I went over a mile down hill on a dirt road in the middle of the desert. I hit a soft patch of sand and realized that there were no bike tire tracks. We had very limited cell phone reception and we were not able to get in touch with each other. I finally made it back to the main road and continued riding into the darkness. I eventually saw two trucks in the distance. When I got up to the vehicles there were two Apache hunting guides and their clients. I asked them for directions they told me how to get there. They asked how far I'd been riding from and when I told them they offered me a ride. They were incredibly nice and even left us with several bottles of water. I was relieved to finally see Gavin and we made a delicious dinner and followed it up with a cupcake and half of a payday candy bar.

Day 67

Tuesday November 16, 2010, 44 miles (71 km) - Total so far: 2,376 miles (3,824 km)

More head wind, all day. No fun. We crossed the Coolidge Dam. It was pretty impressive. Then I ate a frozen burrito, a muffin, a laffy taffy, a Pay Day, and half a powerade. I regretted all of that because we hit a grocery store about 30 minutes later with a good hot deli. I stocked up on groceries none the less. Instant coffee, hot cocoa, tortillas, wheat thins, granola bars, and a few pieces of fruit. We went uphill and against the wind for the next ten miles. We were pedaling at the pace of a sprint, but barely keeping above 10mph. At the top of every hill I just kept expecting a good descent. But no, just flat for a while then more uphill. We were planning on staying in a town called superior, but decided to call it a day in the town of Globe to avoid riding 2+ hours in the dark.

Day 68

Wednesday November 17, 2010, 56 miles (90 km) - Total so far: 2,432 miles (3,914 km)

All you can eat pancakes for breakfast. Gavin broke the record at the restaurant. He managed to put back eight of them! I threw in the towel at 7.5. Last night we stayed in a town called Globe. A friend we met along the way told me of a "burried treasure" of sorts and gave me directions of where to find it. Unfortunatly The last part of the instructions was behind the rock, and there were hundreds of rocks. So i gave up quickly. Today was the most exciting downhill I've ever ridden. It was a pretty big climb leading up to it, but it was totally worth it. We went down a 7% grade for over 4 miles through a rocky canyon. It was kind of scary though. Big rigs were passing us at 45+mph and we had no shoulder. It was the biggest adrenalin rush I've had in a while. We went through the Queens Creek tunnel today. I was going fast enough to be able to hold my breath for the entire tunnel! We stopped in a town called Superior for lunch. We spilt a large pizza eating six slices each. After a couple more hours of riding through the desert our friend Michael called me. Michael and Cathy were the people who helped us off Emory Pass last week. They offered to let us stay with them at their house in Tempe, which we were pretty close to today. Michael offered to pick us up outside of town. They made us a delicious dinner of steak, sautéed vegetables, beans, zucchini bread, and fruit. It was delicious. Michael is an excellent craftsman and has a really cool woodshop in his backyard. He has made a good bit of the furniture in his house and lots of artistic pieces as well. They have three really cool dogs as well. It's nice to hang out with dogs from time to time.

Day 69

Thursday November 18, 2010, 69 miles (111 km) - Total so far: 2,501 miles (4,025 km)

Michael was kind enough to give us a ride out of town to avoid the horrendous Phoenix traffic. The shoulder was wide and smooth allowing us to ride side by side and play some 'hotshot trivia.' Hotshot trivia is a game Gavin picked up while working on forest service fire crews. You think of something or someone obscure, that you know the other person has heard of and tell them the first letter of the word or name. The other person then has to come up with 'stumper' questions with the answer beginning with that same letter. If you stump them you get to ask a yes or no question. Confusing, but very fun. It's a great game for bike touring because you can think of the questions while you are apart then ask them when we catch up to each other. We were flying today. The terrain was fairly flat all day and we even had a little bit of tailwind. We stopped in a town called Wickenburg for a bit to eat and ran into a fellow bike tourist. Leo has been pedaling from Minnesota with his dog Max on a trailer! Not only that but he's doing it in cowboy boots. He was a trip. We were planning on staying at a town called Aguilla, which our maps said had an RV park. When we got there we discovered that the RV park had been shut down by the health inspector a few months prior. So we went to the hotel. It was full. We went to the Fire station, but there was nobody there. We called the emergency number and got connected to some man who wasn't sure of anything and gave us the number to the fire chief. He didn't answer. There was no police station in town, but we got the number of the station that had jurisdiction of that area. The line was busy for more than half an hour. The next town was 30 miles away so we bought some water and were planning on riding into the night. I called the hotels that were there and neither answered. We figured that it wasn't really worth it to ride that far and be in the same situation when we got there. We rode a few miles out of town and found a nice patch of sand behind some shrubs in the desert. There was a beautiful sunset followed by a drastic drop in temperature. Our backs were sore from riding all day and hunching over the stove to cook our dinner so we took a lesson from Forrest Gump. 'Forrest ima lean on you and you just lean right back up against me so thisa way we don't gotta sleep with our heads in the mud.' So that's just what we did. We leaned against each others backs and split the last pack of cupcakes we had while gazing at the desert stars. We observed some VERY strange lights in the sky. First there were two simultaneous bright lights that appeared for a moment several miles apart then faded away in unison. About fifteen minutes later we saw a similar light, then a light branched off of it, then again, then again, then twice more. I'm not sure what to think of what we saw. We went to sleep to the sound of howling coyotes.

Day 70

Friday November 19, 2010, 67 miles (108 km) - Total so far: 2,568 miles (4,133 km)

It was very cold when we woke up, so we made some hot cocoa and watched the sunrise over the desert mountains. We stopped for breakfast/lunch a couple hours later. When we were leaving we saw Ann and Norb again. Ann and Norb are doing the same trip we are. We ran into them several weeks ago in eastern Texas. They usually leave a few hours before us and we ride a few hours after they stop. We have been within a day or so of them for the past month. It was nice to run into them again and compare some stories. We wished each other the best of luck and parted ways. A little while later we stopped at a Mexican fruit market. I got a bag of grapes and two apples for one dollar! Best dollar I've spent yet. I almost got hit by an oversized load. It was a house on a truck that was hanging way out into the shoulder. I saw it in my mirror at the last second and managed avoid being crushed. We made it to our destination by about 4:20. The first place we stopped in Quartsite was the bookstore. It is owned and run by musician/comic artist.... I bought a few vintage postcards and he gave me some lemonade. Quartsite has a population of 5,300 people in the summer and 1.2 million in the winter! Making home to over 80,000 motor homes of people from all over the northern part of the continent. 'Snowbirds' as they are called all flock to the desert in the cooler months to buy, sell, and trade goods. They also come to Get Down. We saw a girl play a washtub bass. A guy named Bob sold me some neat stones and the supplies to make a bracelet. It's my first souvenir that isn't a postcard. We set up camp at an RV park. Tonight will be our last night in Arizona.

Day 71

Saturday November 20, 2010, 67 miles (108 km) - Total so far: 2,635 miles (4,240 km)

More head wind. The forces are acting against us and acting hard. We procrastinated getting started for a while and went to a few of the local swap meet areas. When we finally got on the road it was looking like it might rain. All day we just dealt with direct headwind and big gray clouds that blotted out the sun. WE CROSSED INTO CALIFORNIA TODAY!!! It was a monumental moment for this trip and truly signified the beginning of the end. We stopped to get some lunch and some groceries at an Albertsons. Got some chicken wings, potato salad, and casear salad for lunch as well as about 3 days of groceries. We called the RV park listed on our map in Palo Verde. The woman answered and told me that the office would be closed, but we were welcome to camp there. She also said that it was FREE, had showers, and was on the lagoon. It seems like the worst places we've stayed have been expensive and the best places have been free. After we got set up we lit a campfire and sat by the lagoon while we made our dinner. We got rained on a little bit off and on through the evening.

Day 72

Sunday November 21, 2010, 58 miles (93 km) - Total so far: 2,693 miles (4,334 km)

We woke up to discover that cats had savaged Gavin's food. Yep, Cats. Ferrell cats. He was understandably frustrated. I re-lit the fire after we woke up, which made our morning routine stretch just a little longer. I laid by the fire and soaked up the sun while Gavin worked on his crossword puzzle. The wind was still blowing due east. Today was truly a miserable day of riding. The winds were blowing at over 35 mph right in our faces. It's like pedaling through molasses. We went through about seven miles of loose gravel. It was just like adding insult to injury. Every truck that passed by kicked up rocks. The ones that hit me felt like BB's and frozen paintballs. No fun at all. We got to Glamis at dark. Glamis is the sand toy capitol of the world. People come from all over to ride their dirt bikes, quads, and dune buggies on the massive sand dunes. By the time we got to the camping area it had been dark for almost an hour. There were over 100,000 other people staying in Glamis. 3 miles of RVs and mobile homes, then there was our tents. The sand hills look like what you would see in the Sahara desert. We found two cool guys who let us lean our bikes against their dune buggy and use the mobile man cave to block the wind. The sand was too soft to hold my tent stakes. I took off two of my panniers and used carabineers to attach them to my tent straps and managed to erect my tent in the sand. They sell passes for Glamis by the week. For this reason we were kept up most of the night by people who rode their sand toys 24/7 to get the most of their week long pass. Overall today was not an awesome day.

Day 73

Monday November 22, 2010, 42 miles (68 km) - Total so far: 2,735 miles (4,401 km)

EVERYTHING was sandy. Everything. We left Glamis and the sand dunes and rode into Imperial Valley. It's the first time this trip we've been below sea level. On our way out we found some flags that had blown off peoples sand toys.. Now we ride in style. We were shooting to stay at Brawley last night, but were cut short by the wind which was why we had to stay at Glamis. The wind was still whipping and it took us most of the morning to make it to Brawley. We got some burgers at Carl's Jr. and sat around soaking up the lack of wind. When we left the restaurant the wind had actually stopped! For the first time in days we rode without wind. It was amazing. I remembered why I enjoyed bike touring. We decided to make it an easy day and stay at a motel in El Centro. We went to a buffet stuffed our faces and spent the evening laying around .It was a well earned relaxing evening.

Day 74

Tuesday November 23, 2010, 49 miles (79 km) - Total so far: 2,784 miles (4,480 km)

Today was pretty gray. For the first few hours we travelled through the last bit of the desert. It was enjoyable. Then we reached the foot of the last mountain pass that stood between us and the Pacific Ocean. We met a crazy British guy who was headed from San Francisco to San Diego. He had almost the exact same pannier set up as I do. Ortlieb is the bees knees of bike touring gear. He was also on the same saddle as I was. 'Once they become your own, you just can't imagine riding anything else.' I agree with him fully. We stopped for lunch at a small diner at the bottom of the In-Co-Pah pass. Greasy burger and some pancakes, food for the soul. This climb was a 6% grade for ten miles. The winds were incredibly strong again today making it even more challenging to get in the miles we wanted before dark. We decided to shoot to stay in Boulevard and just decided to meet there. The sun went down and I still had several miles to go before I got to Boulevard. The temperature really started to drop so I decided to ride with my thumb out for a few minutes. A guy named Larry pulled over and we loaded my bike and gear into his truck. Larry is a biologist who lives in San Diego and was working in Devils Canyon, which is on the side of the pass. He was headed home and gave me a ride to Boulevard. I got checked into the Hotel and was sitting around reading waiting to hear from/see Gavin. He thought I was still behind him and went ahead and booked a hotel in Jacumba. It was completely dark and below freezing so neither of us wanted to ride the miles of mountainous roads to meet up so decided to just get together in the morning. Gavin's place had a hot tub, an indoor pool and pool tables. I was the only person staying at mine, and the T.V. didn't work. The owner let me borrow one of his DVD players and a few movies

Day 75

Wednesday November 24, 2010, 78 miles (126 km) - Total so far: 2,862 miles (4,606 km)

I woke up to the sound of howling wind and raindrops hitting my window. Gavin got there at a little after eight. We went to the only open store in town and got some muffins and free coffee. We had two more 1000+ foot climbs ahead of us. It was 33 degrees when we left the store. There was a constant mist coming down on us forcing us to ride in our rain gear. Once we finished the hills we stopped to get some hot cocoa in Pine Valley. It was a neat 50's style diner that was playing Christmas music. We rode downhill for the next couple hours passing through some really cool  small southern Californian towns. We went through about 10 miles of busy semi-residential neighborhood areas and a really pretty National Park during the sunset. The next fifteen miles were pretty intense. We were riding on really busy roads at night. There was a small shoulder that diminished to nothing at times and the speed limit was 55mph. Not a good place to ride at night. We finally made it to the last part of our route. It was a bike path that lead out to the beach. And then we were there, staring out at the Pacific Ocean. It was surreal. I went up to it and splashed my face with the cold water. Then I just stood in it, letting it soak through my cleats and into my socks. It felt amazing. Some of my family came down from LA to see me finish. Michael and Henry waited for several hours for us to get there so they could give us a warm welcome. Henry took me out to get some dinner and then dropped me off back at Gavin's mom's house. She was kind enough to let me stay with them and have my parents and I over to join them for their Thanksgiving Dinner. There had been a light feeling of euphoria stirring inside me since we started the downhill descent earlier today. When I laid down to sleep the feeling was stronger than ever. I did it.

I hope everyone enjoyed reading this blog as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please help support the Ronald McDonald House Charities as they supported me to help make this trip possible. An online donation can be made at www.rmhcharleston.org (Click on Riding for Ronald). Checks (made out to RMH) can be mailed to Riding for Ronald 81 Gasden Street Charleston, Sc 29401. Thank you!