Since the bike has never handled so badly in the years past, I assume
that I have done something new to cause this. The only new things I
can think of are the new double taillight and bracket, which stick out
about 3-4" farther behind the rear rack, and the way I am packing up
the tent, sleeping bag, and air matress. In years past I would pack
the tent in it's bag, then wrap the sleeping bag and pad around it,
put the mess into the compression stuff sack, and tighten the straps
to squeeze it all down to a small size. What I was currently doing was
putting the sleeping bag into it's stuff sack, then wrapping the tent
and air matress around it, and putting that into the compression stuff
sack. Going back to the old method appears to have put things right -
I was not bothered with shimmy today. This is hard for me to believe,
but I did notice that putting the tent (the longest item) in the
middle of the bag allowed me to shove it up farther under the saddle.
So I set out at about 11:20, and I'm treated to a tailwind for the
first 12 miles, averaging almost 17 to Florence Junction. At that
point the wind becomes a headwind, and the road starts really climbing
to Gonzales pass. 
Just outside of Superior I stop at the botinical
gardens and get a book on cactus. Then I take an alternate route thru
Superior, but it's more like riding thru a ghost town.
Finally going
back to the main road, I eat at a very old dairy queen. This has used
up a lot of time, so now the schedule is tight for getting to globe.
Leaving Superior, the road starts climbing in earnest thru ruggedly
beautiful country.
About 2/3rds of the way to Globe I meet another
bicycle tourist! We stop and talk a bit. He started from northern CA,
rode to the east coast, and is now riding back! 8,000 miles so far.
His bike is festooned with fake flowers he picked up from the side of
the road. (and i didn't think to take a pic!) I notice he is wearing
gloves, and he says he's been thru some very cold weather. I sense all
those extra clothes I haven't been using might be useful after all.
About 10 min later I am pulling out gloves and arm warmers, since my
arms are bare under the coat. Descending into Globe, the bike is
handling fine at 25-35 mph,although I am shivering. I eat some fast
food and quickly put on the insulated pants and jacket when I come out
of the restaurant. Unable to find the RV park (it is now fully dark) I
check into a motel which turns out to cost only a dollar more than the
KOA. While riding around I get a sense of the town, and it's pretty
appealing. Lots of restored historic buildings and looking lively.
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