After getting half way to Globe, the day's destination, I head back to
AJ due to shimmy problems that have intensified to serious levels. I
decide that a new headset will probably fix it - I hope! I have been
spending too much time trying to ride steady to enjoy the day even
though it was beautiful! Sara is driving past El Paso and I locate a
shop there and she sends it overnight to the local shop. Maybe it will
even work, 50% chance I think. I am staying the night at a motel next
to the bike shop. This is the first cheap motel that I don't like. The
room is 1/2 of a house trailer, and not in such nice shape either.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Day 11: Apache Junction to Apache Junction 55?
Day 11: Apache Junction to Apache Junction
Day 10: Preoria to Apache Junction 69.5
Day 10: Preoria to Apache Junction 69.5
It seems crazy to me to ride 70 miles and never leave the city, but
this is the reality of the Phoenix area. This city is so spread out
that there is no comparison to anyplace else i have been. It is also
quite flat. I end up at a KOA which is a bit expensive at $27. I talk
to another camper there, Kevin, for quite a while. Good showers and a
beautiful view of the Superstition mountains.
After riding thru the Phoenix area, it seems to have the highest
concentration of sidewalk cyclists I have ever encountered. I don't
think I saw anyone ride on the street. Traffic is not heavy, drivers
are not hostile, but not friendly either. They kind of want to get
past you and put the whole disturbing scene out of their mind.
Day 9: fix bike day
Day 9: Fix bike day
I find out that one of the mounting hooks for a front panniers is
loose, so I drill out the rivits and replace them with nuts and
screws, and the freewheel is very loose, so I tighten it's lockring. I
am not very happy with that freewheel. The shimmy problem seems
better.
Day 7: Aguila to Phoenix 70.55
Leaving late as per custom, I head "up" the climb towards Wickenburg.
The grade is mostly imperseptible, except four a few spots, but once
over the top I made good time, arriving perhaps an hour earlier than I
expected. This evening i am staying at a relative's house along with
Sara and Joanna. Tomorrow will be a rest day, and we'll see some
sights together.
The grade is mostly imperseptible, except four a few spots, but once
over the top I made good time, arriving perhaps an hour earlier than I
expected. This evening i am staying at a relative's house along with
Sara and Joanna. Tomorrow will be a rest day, and we'll see some
sights together.
Day 6: Quartzsite to Aguila 73
Got up late, left even later... I actually stopped at an RV sales
place on the way out of quartzsite to look at a spiffy RV built on the
sprinter frame - it was really nice inside, and only about 95
thousand.
The first part of the route was on I10 for about 10 miles. Then we
take hwy 60 toward Brenda, which was kind of another RV town. This
stretch was easy with a slight downhill and helpful side wind. There
are, however, psychological problems with straight roads. For
instance, the 20 mile straight stretch leading into Aguila just would
not go down. Even though I was making good speed (15-20, mostly 17),
there is a sensation of not making progress. Features that seem close,
never seem to get closer, and you obcess about it, which really
doesn't help. Next time, the iPod comes out! Finally I am nearly
there, and the Fairview RV park comes into view. It's $10.61, with
showers and laundry, and even grass for the tentsite. The guy knows
the drill - " which direction are you headed?" east. "going to
Florida?" yep! I ride into town for a grocery, stop at the first one.
It is a Mexican themed grocery; I select my stuff and notice they take
credit cards, which is a bit unusual in these parts. They run the
card, but it doesn't work. For the next five minutes they mess with
the phones and start tracing the wire route, moving stands of
merchandise to get behind them... I didn't want to wait another five
minutes, so I paid in cash. I got the feeling the phone is not used
too much! Continuing on, I eat at Coyote Flats cafe, had an excellent
steak for $10 - I almost wished I was staying another day so I could
get another one! The specials menu said you can cook it yourself, or
we can burn it for you!
Weather, I haven't mentioned it much, but the pattern is cold nights,
perhaps mid 40s, and pretty warm days, usually in the 60s, and sunny.
It's no wonder this is the high season for the desert.
Day 5: Blythe to Quartzsite, 25 miles
Got up late, got off late, talked to people. Went to MCD for
breakfast, and an older guy struck up a conversation, asked me about
the bike,then the usual stuff, then we talked about all sorts of
stuff. I gave him my contact info, the first one to go out! It seems
to me that San Diego area people were not very inclined to talk with
me. At all. Then again, that could be me infulencing the situation.
So back to the hotel to get going! Finally ready at about 10:30. I'm
just gone a quarter mile when I remember some email tasks, so back to
the hotel! I'm sitting against a palm tree with the iPod, and a guy
starts talking to me, asking about the ride. He used to live in Austin
and his father taught philosophy. Turns out that he is the son of Raja
Rao! I had taken a course from Raja Rao! Talked perhaps an hour.
So I left late, but the legs were tired, and I decided to just look at
stuff, and coasted and soft pedaled almost the whole way to quartsite.
Now, people are talking. The lady at Carl's, her husband rides, the
folks at the gas station who took some pictures for me, the people who
saw me riding with the lights (if they can't see you with those
lights, they shouldn't be driving! - two different people said the
same thing!).
Quartzsite, BTW, is sort of an RV city. So much so, I was disappointed when I saw the chamber of commerce, and it wasn't an RV.
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