Ride Day 20

I spent last night camped next to the Coyote Bar and Cafe in Aguila, Arizona. The locals were complaining about the lawlessness of the little town. They have no police and rely on police coming from 25 miles away they said. Crime has been rampant and lots of people have just left the town rather than try to fight back. Sounds like Clint Eastwood could still find work. I had no problems at all.

I pigged out on food and drank a couple beers while we talked about the crime and life in general. I hope I did not stir up too much animosity with all my questions and opinions about the crime problems. I checked out early and went to put up my tent and went straight to sleep for the night.

I left before 6AM and by 8AM I ate breakfast 25 miles up the road at Wickenburg. The ride to Wickenburg was a long slow climb of about 1000' there were a few smaller climbs later that totalled maybe another 500' otherwise the ride from Wickenburg to Phoenix was downhill or flat on a good smooth road with a nice shoulder. I made it to Phoenix in only 6 hours for an 86 mile ride. Once in Phoenix however there was suddenly no shoulder, a rough road and crazy drivers. This town is not real bike friendly so far as I have seen. Cars were zooming by me with only inches of clearance and usually blasting their horns like I was a criminal for being on their road. I felt like I was back in Florida again where they are the worst in the country.

I tried to follow the directions on my map to a campground and got totally lost when the directions did not match up with the streets. I tried to use my phone but the sun was so bright and I had so much salt in my eyes from sweating that I asked a kid on the street to look at the phone and tell me how to get there. That worked out ok. The campground is nice and clean and quiet. They did warn me that several bikes have been stolen from the park in the last month, never a good thing to hear. I am here though. I did laundry and showered. I have recovered now from my century ride today. My usual burrito for dinner. Now I will catch up with my computer stuff and be off to sleep. I may stay here and rest for a couple maybe even three days...we shall see. I am taking it a day at a time.

Ride Day 19

I left Quartsite early today. My ride started out on the interstate 10. I climbed about 1000' but it was a slow climb and I had very little trouble with it. After a dozen miles on the nice smooth interstate I switched to US60. The ride was nice scenery wise but the road was a bit rough. The scenery went back and forth from high to low to arid deserts with rough rocky mountains. I took more pics today which are all on Jimfrogs@Blogspot.com.

Today's ride was about 75 miles with about 2000' of climbing. I did it without a problem and considered going another 31 miles but then did the math and decided that my tired old body did not need another century ride. I am holding up quite well physically. Other than my slight loss of power and cramps from Oceanside to Live Oak Springs I have felt pretty strong for an old man.

I again was thinking about the pioneers today as I walked out into the desert a few times and got stuck by spines, worried about snakes and scorpions and just tried to picture the first people trying to push through this dry, rough, tough terrain. I was again impressed by what they had to do to get through this area.

Today I saw coyotes, California quail, jackrabbits and a road runner. The roadrunner ran right up to my bike just like one did back in Bakersfield last year. The jack rabbit displayed why they are the main food source by not running away from me but rather posing for a pic. I still have not come across any snakes other than a single baby gopher snake just outside of Live Oak Springs. I did enjoy seeing the various cacti. Everything is blooming as I go through because of recent rains. There are lots of wild flowers but I can only take so many of the same types of flowers.

I am camping here in Aguila next to the Coyote Bar. Tomorrow off to Phoenix...

Ride Day 18

I did my usual early morning start out of Palo Verde today. The ride started out going through farming for the first few hours. I never heard the name of the valley I was riding through but it was the next one East of the Imperial Valley.

The scenery slowly changed after I left Blythe and Erenberg. It started looking dry and rugged as I climbed about 1100'. }I enjoy watching the various desert areas go from low desert to high desert and vice versa. I did not take many pics today. I guess I am getting used to this type of look and I can't take a hundred pics of the same things. I always look for something unusual or eye catching. I also tend to take pics when I am tired and need a rest. I think I do that to make it look like I am not an old man that is too tired to continue but rather like an artist taking a picture. I doubt if anyone is fooled though.

I rode until Quartsite which was kind of a short day of riding for me. Quartsite used to be a big center for dealing in gems and jewelry. Like everywhere else it has lost a lot of shine on its star. The town was kind of empty looking. I talked to some locals and they blamed everything from Obama to too many police for ruining the local economy. I enjoyed listening to their rants. I can be evil getting them started talking and then just sitting back listening while they go off. The town is not alone in being on the skids. I reassured them of that after they finished their rants.

I camped out at the Super 8 Hotel after talking to the owner in town. He was very nice and wanted to support my ride. I slept well despite the noise from the freeway. I enjoyed finally leaving California and entering Arizona. Tomorrow off to Aguila.

Ride Day 17

I started out in Brawley this morning. I thought I was in for a fairly easy day's ride but I was caught off guard with a strong headwind that made the entire ride seem like I was going up a mountain. I went over one hill expecting to coast down the other side and I had to peddle to keep going down the hill because the wind was so strong in my face. When semitrailers went by I had to hold on tight, especially when the real tall ones carrying hay went by. The effort required to push pst the headwind really beat me up. I got totally exhausted riding. I drank six bottles of water and power drinks.

I went through such a range of scenery though. I started out in the Imperial Valley with rich farmand and flat roads. I went past a feedlot where they had big screen TV's for the cows to keep them happy! No it was really a combination feedlot and solar farm. I have never seen anything like that in the past.

Then I started to climb up out of the valley. It was an 1100 foot pass to go over but it seemed like 10,000' due to the wind. The farms disappeared and high desert plants appeared. Then I went through the Algodones Sand Dunes area. Awesome huge dunes of sand. I continued to climb up and the terrain was totally arrid with rocks and cacti but not much else. After I crested there were 25 miles of "dips" as the signs called them where the road went up and down continuously. The wind stayed in my face and made for a brutal day. The Border Patrol gave me some water at their checkpoint or I would have run out. Between working so hard in the 90 degree heat and the wind blowing on me I was going through a lot of water.

I finally made it to Palo Verde and put up my tent at the trailer park in the center of town right by the river. There was another rider there and we talked a bit about all kinds of stuff. He was like a younger version of me. We really had a lot in common. I enjoyed his company.

One thing I thought about a lot today while riding was the early pioneers coming across this same terrain with no maps, no roads, no stores, no food, and water hard to find. They had to pull their wagons through the soft sandy soil and over the rocky mountains with no idea what was on the other side. I don't know how they did it. It makes my complaining about my tough rides pretty petty by comparison. I have it easy compared to those hardy souls. I still wonder how they did it. If I was around in those days is that what I would have been doing? I wonder....

Ride Day 16

I rested up and waited out the rain yesterday. I also pigged out on food. I can eat as many calories as I can stuff in since I am burning so many off. I still have a negative caloric gain.

I met five other riders last night at the campground. Three of them are riding the whole way to Florida and two were going up through the Grand Canyon and the Rockies. I considered riding with them but I am just too independent to ride with others. I need my freedom to stop and take pics or to push my pace or slow it down. I enjoyed talking with them they were a great bunch of fun nice people, my ride would be more entertaining riding along with them.

I left around 7AM and rode down grade for a few miles then uphill for a gain of 900'. The rest did me good as I was able to handle the hills with ease again today. I totally enjoyed my ride down the mountain. Early in the morning there was a strong headwind but it let up after about an hour. The ride through In-ko-pah gorge was on the freeway I-8 and was awesome views for the entire descent. I posted pics on my Picasaweb site if you want to see them.

I am currently at Starbucks in El Centro. I have riden about 65 miles so far today with about 1500' of climbing and a lot of flat and down hill so it has been a good day of riding. I am going to try to make it to Brawley this afternoon which is another 15 or 20 miles. The road is mostly flat but has some climbing. I will be tired tonight. More later.

A Day of Rest

I am at Live Oak Springs today taking a day off from riding. The ride so far has been very entertaining for me. Before I began this ride I was not sure if I would be able to maintain a long ride because I have so many physical problems with my lack of walking mobility and my high chronic pain problems. So far, two weeks into the ride I have been dealing fairly well with my tired old body. I did run out of gas the last couple of days which is why I took a rest day.

Along the road I see lots of roadkill and litter. There have been thousands of bottles full of urine along the route. They look like some sort of lemon flavored drink that people threw out because they didn't like the taste. I found one plastic goldfish on the side of the road which I rescued. I mounted it on my handlebars for a while and it got a chuckle from some people. Made me think of Paul Newman and Plastic Jesus.

I have also encountered lots of frogs croaking. It is springtime and this is their mating season so all species are going at it. I have heard Pacific Chorus frogs, Bullfrogs, Leopard Frogs, and several that I could not identify which may have been red or yellow legged frogs or something like that. I enjoy listening to them. At my campsite a couple of nights ago I was talking with the chorus frogs. I used to raise them and can mimic their call enough to get them going back and forth. One camper listening thought it was pretty weird that I could talk with the frogs.

It rained again last night but I slept through most of it except for when the wind was howling strongly at one point. My tent held up well and nothing got wet. I watched the NCAA games here at the campground yesterday. Lazy quiet days is what I am looking for.

WI did some stretching and found that my legs are really tight. That might be one reason I have been having leg cramps the last two days. I am going to try harder to stretch more before I ride, as I ride and after I ride. This is still a learning curve for me. At least my knees have held out so far. If I started to have trouble with them it might end the ride and I don't want that to happen.

More later when I get a good wifi.

Ride Day 14

Yesterday I gassed out on my ride up the mountain. I was weak, had lots of cramping and had no wind or energy. I am not sure what went wrong. Maybe I have just pushed it too hard for an old man like me. I might need more rest to recover from the harder days of riding. I tried to eat well and get the things like protein and potassium that I know I need. I pigged out after I checked into the campground at Viajas Indian Reservation.

After my stop at Starbucks yesterday I rode another ten miles or so before I stopped for the night. The campsite was clean and had all the facilities including good showers and a pool. But I just showered and then laid in my tent eating and drinking. I was still getting cramps even just being in the tent resting. I rested until 5:30 in the morning then I got up.

I broke camp and headed up to the top of the mountain. The scenery was nice with a thick layer of fog in the lower valleys and the peaks standing proud. The first thing I had to do was backtrack to the freeway about 3 miles uphill then 8 miles were also uphill on I-8, just one of the few areas they let bikes on the interstate because there are no other roads. Then I did the next thirty miles on old 80 which mostly ran along the side of I-8. It was a hard ride with a good 3000' of climbing and a few downhill rushes.

I did poorly again today on the hills. My legs are still weak and started cramping while I was on the freeway. I toughed it out to get somewhere to camp but now I am taking it easy for the next day or two up at the top of the mountain. I am the only one camping there. There is a restaurant right next door where I can watch the NCAA games this afternoon and try to rebuild my health a bit. I will try to eat as healthy as I can and hope that I can beat this cramping and weakness problem. The next part of the ride is downhill then mostly flat through the Imperial Valley. I hope I get better so I can enjoy the ride more than I did the last two days of riding which were serious hard work for me.

I tried to add pics but the wifi is not up to it so pics will have to wait till later.