Cycling Ellen

46 miles
705 total

I had to get my numbers today from some of the other riders. When I stopped on a hill, I must have bumped my bike computer. When I checked to see how fast I had gone down a long hill, I saw that it was 53. When the “miles” started to go by faster than they usually do, I realized that I had somehow shifted over to kilometers. Oops. I have tomorrow to get back into miles. Can you figure out how fast I was going in MPH?

This was a great day on the bike! We started out climbing right away out of Lordsburg but at an easy angle. As we got up into the mountains, the climbs got steeper and longer and we were shedding our early morning clothes layer by layer. At the sag stop, the car was filling up with extra clothing. It’s finally time to explain that the SAG is a Subaru wagon (we call it Bo Peep) which jumps ahead of us as soon as the last riders leave the motel in the morning. SAG originally stood for support and gear but some of us call it sweets and goodies.  At about mile 20, she stops and we all stop to check in, refill our water bottles, eat snacks, dump extra clothes and use the bush facilities. There are four great women who take turns driving the sag. After everyone has filtered through, she jumps ahead to about mile 40. If you ride too fast, you can get ahead of her especially on a challenging day when she has to wait for the slower riders. She’s also available to pick up riders who have mechanical problems or are just not able to do a whole ride that day for whatever reason.

After the stop, we kept on climbing and climbing and finally at about mile 25 there was the Continental Divide at 6355 feet! We stopped for photos and felt quite virtuous for making it up there. On the down side, we had some great rides downhill and lots of rollers. Rollers have their ups and downs and the trick is to pedal fast at the bottom of the uphills and try to get as far as you can up with the momentum. It’s a little like catching a wave when you’re surfing.

We had heard about the great 2 mile downhill into Silver City and indeed it was – a 4 lane highway with smooth roads and great visibility so you didn’t have to ride on the gravel shoulder. What we didn’t know was there was another huge uphill on the other side. I bet there will be some grumbling at dinner tonight. I felt strong, though, and just kept pedaling.

When I reached Silver City, I detoured off into the downtown section to find the local bike shop. It was closed for lunch so I found a place for a recovery milkshake to kill some time. I got new cleats (that clip into my pedals) as they had worn down so far that I couldn’t even clip in for the last climb. It’s going to feel good to be able to clip in again! I also got a new pair of New Mexico socks (simple pleasures, I know). I never saw another rider in town (we are all getting used to seeing others in our group wherever we go) so I headed up to the hotel out of town.

Here, I’m glad to find a good internet connection so I could download my photos from the last couple of days and settle in for a rest day tomorrow. I need a new cable on my bike so I’ll be back into town in the morning but we don’t need to set an alarm. We are only 2 hours different from Eastern time now. Between that and crossing the Divide, Florida seems closer all of a sudden!

77 miles
659 total

Before I forget, the internet connections in the last couple of places have been slow at best.  Today, I can’t even read my e mail, it’s so slow.  I’ll be very lucky if this gets posted overnight so don’t worry if you don’t see anything current.  Be patient, and I’ll hope that the next connection is better than these have been!

Today started out slowly as it was quite cold (enough to see your breath) and what looked like a flat road was actually climbing along the way.  The scenery was gorgeous with snowy mountains off to our right and rows and rows of fields ready to plant.  Eventually, the fields slipped away and we were out on the flat desert but without the saguaros.  At the 20 mile sag stop, the terrain got more ups and downs including a wonderful downhill on new pavement where we were coasting over 30 mph.  There were more hills, buttes and mesas off to the side.  Carol and I rode together and as we descended into town she stuck her leg out to the side.  That was a cyclist signal I’d never seen before but I slowed down to give her room.  Good thing.  When a gust of wind hit her on the side, she rolled onto her rim and got a flat.  Since we were on a fast decent and it was her front wheel she had to hang on just to stay in control.  We stopped, got her flat fixed and headed into Duncan.

By the high school, the whole student body, just over 100 kids, were out by the road cheering us on.  Apparently, one of our group knows a teacher there and she had arranged for our welcome. The students were happy to get out of class for awhile and we were happy to hear their cheers.  Just beyond, at mile 40, we all stopped at Old Joe’s Café for a lunch stop.  The service was really slow and I killed some time visiting with a local family and their children, one of whom was 5 years old.  They were telling me that the town almost went under from a flood back in 1983. Now that copper prices are picking up they are recruiting miners and the town is growing again.

After lunch, Carol and I stopped again to help another rider with her 3rd flat of the day.   There was a big hunk of glass in her tire.  From the long lunch, and two flats, it took awhile to get back into the rhythm of the ride.  We perked up at mile 47 for our state line crossing into New Mexico, gaining the hour we didn’t get in Arizona.  The terrain flattened out and the road turned into chip seal, a challenging rough surface for cyclists.  We bumped along without a turn into we got into Lordsburg, feeling a bit shaken from the rough road.  It’s funny how the same mileage can feel so different from day to day.  Tomorrow is a shorter day but we’ll be climbing up into Silver City.  I think we’ll all be ready for the rest day after these 8 days in a row of cycling.  Off to the margarita party – 2 states down, 6 to go!

78 miles today
582 total

The first 20 miles today were not fun. It was about 34 degrees and raining when we left Globe and everyone was suited up in the clothes we didn’t use yesterday when rain was only a threat. I headed out on my own, slogging along through the rain, wondering why I was doing this ride. I passed into the Apache Indian Reservation about 6 miles out and saw the huge casino on the left and an airstrip on the right. Along that stretch, I saw more roadside memorials than I’ve ever seen in one area. It was very sad and may explain why there are so many rumble strips along these roads. They are very annoying for cyclists but I hope, have saved some lives.

The sag stop was at a grocery store at mile 20. By then, my feet were cold (although the rest of me held up well). Carol had hot tea in the back, thank goodness. I headed into the store to get warm. I noticed people staring at me and felt like the white girl from New England in a land of native people. When I got into the bathroom and remembered that I was wearing my rain gear including my bike helmet with a shower cap on top, I realized that maybe that was part of the reason I stuck out! On the way out, I saw a couple of young girls with a mom sitting in the café part of the store. I stopped to talk. They are on spring break here and sounded surprised to hear we have two vacations in Vermont – one in February and one in April. I took their picture and gave them this web address. Thanks for talking with me girls! It made me feel much better to be warm and connect with some children again.

From then on out, the weather started to improve until our arrival here in Safford where the sun is shining. It’s still cool but we were able to strip off the layers as we traveled today. Off to the north we could see mountains with rain clouds, to the south, mountains with snow on them. What a treat to be riding through the middle! It was a great ride through some hills and valleys with desert scruff turning into fields in the last 20 miles or so. We went through Pima which is where pima cotton comes from. The fields were sown under now but there were pieces of cotton along the side of the road. Pima is also home to the Taylor Freeze, known for their root beer floats. I had to try out the local specialty and I just happen to love root beer floats! Yum.

It was an easy ride through Thatcher and Safford to home here for the night. I spent some time cleaning my bike and getting all the morning grit off of it. It should ride smoothly again tomorrow as we make our way across the next state line to New Mexico. The states are going by so quickly!

33 miles today
502 total

The good news this morning was that it wasn’t raining yet. It was cold, 45 degrees, and everyone was bundling up in the clothing that’s been hiding out in the bottom of their suitcases for the last 10 days. At last night’s map meeting, Michelle made it clear that we might not be able to ride past Superior at mile 30. There would be some climbing to get to that point but after that town, there were no places to pull over the van and trailer to pick up riders who got into trouble. There was no shoulder on the road and only occasional pullouts where a car could stop safely. Rain and snow were in the forecast and safety had to come first. She said as we reached Superior, the sag driver would go ahead and check out the weather up the mountain and report back. Michelle would call the ride off if it was too dangerous.

At that point, there were many members of the group who knew that Superior would be the end of their ride today. With 10 miles of more of climbing ahead, going up over 4600’, especially on a cold and/or rainy day, they knew that sagging was their best option. There were a few of us, though, who stayed after the meeting to strategize how to decide whether to try for it.

We headed out of town with our lights flashing. It was daylight but dark and cloudy. We were on a rough road with a shoulder filled with rumble strips. The cars were dangerously close to us and not giving bicycles any room to move. I was in a pace line with Debbie, Carol and Ann and we were moving as fast as we could both to finish that part of the ride with the scary traffic and to get going up into the mountains before the weather got worse.

After the sag stop at mile 20, a new road appeared ahead. Fresh pavement, one lane still under construction but this being Sunday, no one was working on it. The other three decided to go for it hoping that it would meet up with the old road. Seeing the cactus and dirt between the two, I kept hugging the shoulder as I climbed, now alone with the traffic. After awhile, I spotted a ramp onto the new road and on a quick whim, decided to go for it. There was no sign of my fellow riders so I headed up (literally) the road. Later, I spotted Jane in my rearview mirror on the main road and waved her over to join me. It was so sweet riding alone on fresh pavement, climbing without worrying about traffic. As we looked up though, the new road ended. Being adventurous, and the old road not very close, we headed up riding over the packed gravel. It was like some back road riding. I got to ride up between the giant trucks and luckily, finally connected back to the main road.

When I got up to mile 30, there was the Buckboard Restaurant and the van. Michelle said as far as she knew, I was good to go so I gobbled a quick bar, since I didn’t want to take the time to eat. I was feeling the first few drops of rain and the clouds were gathering. Jane and I headed up the climb. We made it about 4 miles up to the tunnel where Micki, the sag for the day, was waiting with lights flashing. She had just come down and told us it was snowing like crazy just a little way up. She strongly advised against going any further as the visibility was terrible as well as dangerous riding conditions. We decided to go through the tunnel up to the next pullout and wait there. There was a state police car parked nearby so I asked him if he could follow us with his flashers in the tunnel. At that point, the ride for everyone was over as he told us we were crazy to go up there as it was snowing and dangerous for both the cyclists and the drivers.

With some regret, we headed back down to the restaurant where they were loading up all the bikes for the first of two trips over the mountain. By the time we got up there, the weather had cleared some so it was hard to imagine what it had been like earlier. Mountain weather changes quickly so it was a smart decision but not easy for everyone to take. Riding in the van for the last 20 miles, I realized how long these rides really are! It seemed to take forever to get to Globe and that was in a van! We have over 80 miles tomorrow and several more serious climbing days so there are more challenges ahead. At least I know I was willing to try it and feeling strong on the parts I did do.

54 miles today
472 total

Sitting in the hallway of the Super 8 motel waiting for our rooms to be cleaned.  Fortunately, the laptop works out in the hall and the floor is comfortable after being on a bike seat for a few hours.

We left Phoenix knowing we had an easy day ahead.  The sun was shining but not as hot and windy as yesterday.  The whole first half of the ride was through residential neighborhoods and with it being a Saturday there was very little traffic.  We saw several weekend cyclists and many, many yard sales.  Sometimes it’s hard to remember what day of the week it is but with those indicators, I’ll recognize a Saturday.

The homes got fancier and fancier through Scottsdale.  The sag stop was at a beautiful park filled with touch football games and a fishing pond.  There was a nice bike path (not just a lane on the street) for a couple of miles filled with walkers, dogs and an occasional roller blader.  As we headed out of town, we were back in farmland with tractors blowing up dust.  We had been warned on our cue sheet of dogs on the next turn and the dogs seemed to know that as many came running and barking out at the cyclists.  I learned to stick with Debbie who has perfected her “Go home!” bark right back at them.  The road was rough but it was only 7 miles.  As we spotted the sign for our turn, there were barriers and big “Road Closed” signs.  Oops.  Apparently, it was flooded so we consulted a couple of local bikers and our maps to chose an alternate route.  We spent most of the rest of the day biking through stoplights, a big Latin community, and miles and miles of retirement communities.  Some are like RV parks, others with gates and fountains but there sure were lots of them!

We stopped for take out pizza about 10 miles away from our destination sitting on a curb in the sun.  Not quite the same as our gourmet dinners from the trailer but it worked.  We found out last night at dinner that our cook, Linda, is being featured in Bicycling Magazine in May with her recipe for macaroni and cheese cooked on the road.  She deserves recognition – we are all spoiled by her delicious food.

We can see the mountains ahead where we are headed tomorrow.  The forecast is for cold and rain.  Keep your fingers crossed that the forecasts are wrong.  Maybe we are spoiled by all this sun, but doing our first rain and cold and mountains all on the same day is not what I have in mind!

66.86 miles
418 total

By a funny coincidence, my Middlebury friend, David from Boston, found out yesterday that I was in Wickenburg. He was there just last week on EPA business. He sent me photos of the Hassayumpa River Preserve which was just down the road from our hotel. The preserve was closed but on a whim, I pulled into the rest area near by where they had posted informational signs about the native birds, plants and fish. I finally saw the river a few miles down the road. The first 8 miles were terrible gravel on the side of a 4 lane highway and before too long, I came up to some riders gathered around Jane who had had a flat (hard not to with all that glass and tire shards). Fortunately for me, I jumped on their pace line after the turn onto Route 74 and we booked it down the road together taking turns leading the line. There were glorious cacti all along the road, the big saguaro cactus of various sizes and shapes. I’ve learned that the ones with the most arms are the oldest and some are several hundred years old.

We crossed the Phoenix line about 35 miles into our ride but with still another 30 or so to go to get to the hotel. Phoenix has spread itself way out and we were surrounded by new malls and development of all kinds. As we turned a corner and headed down into Phoenix, I spotted some cactus wearing cups on their tops. Being a curious sort, Jane and I pulled in to a cactus nursery to find out why.

It turns out that they cover the cacti in the winter to protect them from freezing. The cactus should be blooming soon so I hope we’ll get to see some flowers as we go along.

The last part of our ride was really windy. The temps were in the high 90’s but the wind was blowing so strongly I wasn’t aware of the heat until I stopped. The ride in was through strips of development with housing on the side. Several people were headed for the local bike shop, the best one since we left San Diego, but knowing I could be tempted to buy things I don’t really need, I headed out to the pool instead. A few good laps, a dip in the hot tub, a good shower and I’m ready for grilled salmon tonight out by the trailer.

60.12 miles today
351 total (more or less as my bike computer is a little off)

Today’s cue sheet was easy to follow. “Turn right out of the hotel onto Route 60. The hotel is on the left at mile 56.7.” Actually, it also had other information but the route was easy – basically one straight long road with a good shoulder, mostly flat, to Wickenburg. Along the side were cacti and an occasional little town. The first stop on the cue sheet was only four miles out but we heard it was a “must see”. It was a little coffee shop filled with antiques and heavily decorated and a sign out front that said “Unforgettable Women” and indeed, before too long it was filled with almost all of us. The coffee was good (I hear) and the laughter filled the place.

Along down the road, the cue sheet said to have another breakfast at Big Mama’s (even though Linda had provided a delicious one at the motel). Many of us were disappointed to ride the 30 miles thinking of bacon and eggs to find it locked up with a foreclosure sign. Good thing I packed my usual PB & J to eat along the way although it just wasn’t quite the same…

The miles flew by until Wickenburg where I stopped to visit the local Curves and send a message to the Brattleboro crew (did you get it?). On the way out, I ran into Mary Kay who has a reputation for scoping out the shops and the local highlights along the way. She stopped into a local dentist’s office for the scoop on the best lunch in town and I tagged along with her back a couple of miles (and downhill at that) to the local country club for a fine lunch outside on their patio looking over the lake and the Arizona greens. It was my first lunch at a country club and probably looked a little out of place there in my bike shorts but we enjoyed it. As we posed for pictures in a golf cart (Ellen in a golf cart?!), we met Dick who asked us about our cycling plans. I’m still not sure he believes that we’re really going to Florida but Mary Kay gave her a card with her website and I hope he checks it out for our own credibility!

Back up the hill and into town, we found the local Chamber of Commerce who steered us to the ice cream shop. A dish of chocolate raspberry almond ice cream and I felt ready to head out of town to our digs for the night. Some women stopped to shop but my bags are heavy enough as it is. I didn’t even seek out a book store (not yet, but you know I will eventually, Janie!).

We’re back in Cyberspace here at the hotel and I loved catching up on email. Tom reminded me that I should mention that I’m not just out here having fun and challenging myself but I’m also fundraising for the National Breast Cancer Coalition and the Brattleboro Music Center. If you’re reading this, consider looking to the right, checking out the information about these organizations and making a donation. Directions are right there. Many thanks to all of you who have (or will) donate. Last I knew I have raised about $6,000 toward my goal of $25,000.

He also said I should show a picture of myself. My kindergartners want to see a picture of a saguaro cactus. Luckily, I have them both in one shot today! Enjoy.

62 miles today
291 total

It will take another day to get this on the internet as Salome is not exactly luxury living. My roommate tonight flushed the cockroaches before I got here. The shower was great though, lots of hot water and a tall spigot.

This morning we headed out into the sunrise headed for the Colorado River. We had to carry our bikes up to the bridge to cross over into Arizona, our first state line. That means a margarita party tonight here in Salome at 5:30 p.m. We had a great ride on Interstate 10 up and up on the wide shoulder. One thing I learned was not to trust bungy cords, especially the black rubber ones. They were all over the shoulder. It was my first interstate rest stop on a bicycle. There were signs for cars and trucks but where do the bikes park? We are in the land of saguaro cactus, the big tall ones with arms like Spike’s in the Peanuts cartoon. Across the street here is the cactus bar with a big one out front.

We stopped at Quartzite for Sweet Darlene’s, a huge pie shop with delicious apple pie. Rumor is that we’ll have more pie tonight with dinner. Fine with me!

We headed back onto the interstate. I rode alone up and up some more but a gradual climb. At one point, I looked up to see a wide load lead car just as I was getting to a bridge. I stopped to let some huge oversize trucks go by. The lead one gave me a big honk on his horn. They are really loud!

At exit 31 we headed onto our first chip seal road which is basically gravel with asphalt on top. It’s very rough and with a rumble strip as well, not fun riding. This is the land of RV parks and in Brenda we stopped on the edge of a big park. You can see people riding around in 4 wheelers and golf carts. What do they do all day out here in the desert?

In Hope, Sue, Carol and I stopped at the gas station with the best music selection. They were playing 60’s music which got us dancing outside. The frozen strawberry pop really hit the spot as the temps were up in the 90’s. The breeze was with us today though for which we were all grateful.

Now we are beyond Hope, here in Salome. Check out the spelling on the sign.

Which reminds me to tell you that each day I am posting new pictures. Check out the link to the right and scroll down to see the newest ones (with captions!). I only post one or so a day in a small size since Vermont has a lot of people on dial up. I’ll start a new album for Arizona. One state down, seven to go!

After dinner, before our map meeting, a couple of us decided that we should have some entertainment. None of you from Marlboro will be surprised that I pulled a pair of black cycling socks from my pocket and led a rousing rendition of Black Socks. We even did it as a 4 part round. Alright, it wasn’t very good in 4 parts yet, but we’ll keep working on it.

The theory was that we could sleep in today but the East Coast girl in me is still waking up early.  The good side of that was that Jane, my roomie for the nights here, and I were out to the washing machines before the crowd and our smelly bike clothes are now clean and tucked back into our duffle bags.  After breakfast, we all took over the motel parking lot with rags, degreasers, and lubricants to clean off all the grime and make tomorrow’s cycling feel really smooth.  The grease under the nails makes us look like real cyclists even if we didn’t really know what we’re doing – we’ll learn!

Let’s catch up with yesterday.  We left the motel early as soon as the sun was up for our long day.  I learned that I should leave my gloves and toe warmers in my bike bag.  It was cold out there!  I left town with a group but realized I was going to need to go a little faster to get through the day before dinner.  I pushed it through to the sag at mile 20 past irrigated fields of grass, kale (?) and a huge cattle feed lot.  By the time I reached the sag, the desert was all around again.  Eventually, I came to the Imperial Sand Dune recreation area where there was a whole scene of campers and dune buggies.

The dunes went on for miles and the buggies were out, racing up and down the hills.  I had to stop in the little store in Glenis for the scene (as well as some extra water) and so I could check out the machines up close.  I got an offer to go out for a ride but between the 2 cases of beer in the back and 60 more miles to ride I had to turn him down.

The next 12 miles or so were some of the hardest I’ve done.  It was uphill, into a stiff headwind so pushing as hard as I could I was barely going 8 mph.  I knew the lunch stop was at 40 so there was an incentive ahead, as were the Chocolate Mountains.  Fortunately, I met up with Debbie and Carol and together we paced through to lunch.  As usual, Linda’s food was just what we needed.  After lunch were about 10 miles of some serious rollers, ups and downs, but without a shoulder the traffic was a little scary.  Several women opted to sag through that part.  The reward was after that as Mary Kay and I raced through the next several miles with the promise of chocolate milk at mile 69.

Debbie caught up to us before the store and we chowed down on all the food we usually feel guilty about eating – ice cream, snickers bars, even frozen snickers bars.  Refueled, the last 20 miles or so were a lot easier than the 20 miles before.  We did an AB pattern (right, left, right, left etc.) all the way into Blythe.  Feeling victorious, we cruised into Blythe.  What a long day.  The mandatory cannon ball into the freezing pool (again – that peer pressure) really did feel good.

I’ve done the 2 miles to K Mart to buy more sunscreen and will just relax the rest of the day.  It feels so lazy but there are many days ahead before the next break.  Arizona, here we come!

90 miles today

229 more or less (my bike computer reset along the way today)

Wow!  90 miles and I made it.  There was some really hard cycling along the way uphill into a stiff headwind but there were also some great miles.  I’ve jumped in the freezing cold pool (peer pressure will do that) and soaked for a few minutes in the hot tub (ahhhh) but shortly we’re headed out for a restaurant meal so I don’t have long.   Our cook provided lunch today as there was nothing else out there except a convenience store all day.  Tomorrow is a rest day so I’m sure I’ll have a chance to check in at some point after I clean up my bike, eat and do laundry.  Stay tuned…