Gila Bend to Buckeye and a rest day

We had breakfast at the space age Best Western in Gila Bend and then biked towards Buckeye AZ.  The ride was uneventful and not very long (40 miles).  Again I am amazed at the kindness of strangers, we were on a two lane with a shoulder and a semi behind and one coming towards, the hang on moment when the wind hits.  Instead the semi behind us slowed then moved over to pass and give a thumb up.  We have had far more experiences like that then the alternative. We found a hotel (Holiday Inn Express) and booked on-line at a gas station along the way.

The staff at the Holiday Inn has been great, even  allowing us to was the bikes!  We are taking a rest day before heading to Phoenix where another friend will join us.  One of the nice things by the hotel is a grocery store where I can buy fruits and vegetables - my lunch both days with a bit of turkey.  We also used the laundry machines, they work much better than stomping clothes in the bathtub! 

My bike at the Holiday Inn Express 

The maintenance manager at the hotel let us wash the bikes (after Mike asked)
Buckeye Hills named after some folks from Ohio who moved west

Saguaro cactus we saw long the route 

The view from our room

We crossed 400 miles riding into Buckeye

 

Date picking near Wellton AZ

 We saw how they pick fates, very cool: Date picking video

Date Land to Gila Bend

The Date Land RV Park was aged and the bathroom was a reminder to update my tetanus shot.  On the plus side the location was good and the price was right.  As far as sleep, I got little between the heat an trains running through every hour or so.  We woke at 5am for a 6am departure.  The air was finally cool when we started riding to Gila Bend.  The ride was the quietest so far, I think Jim and I were just sleep deprived.  At the 20 mile mark we found “The Middle of Nowhere Gas and Market” and stopped for 2nd breakfast.  This is a 40s gas station with nice staff and the essentials.  The rest of the ride was uneventful, we did see a solar collector system that was the large enough to take 10 minutes to cycle past.

With 50 miles down we arrived in Gila Bend before noon.  Our space age hotel was not ready so we stopped for lunch.  After getting into our room and a quick shower, I went on the hunt for a few fruits and vegetables.  The hunt resulted in buying out the Gila Foot Mart of all their fruits and vegetables- 4 bananas.

We stopped at a local Italian restaurant, I ordered lasagna and the food was good and filling.

*The two things I have found as we pass through small towns:

1)  Fruits and vegetables are hard to come by

2) Food in these small towns costs multiples of the same items in my hometown 

Bikes at the Space Age Best Western 

Neat sculptures in Gila Bend

Our hotel 

https://strava.app.link/NW1Uy7qOSjb

Wellton to Date City - great scenery - questionable camping

Today was an easy 40 mile ride without any bonus miles (unplanned miles).  The scenery was mixed desert Witt purple tinted mountains in the distance.  After a bit of riding the mountains were nearby, gagged and beautiful.  We passed many east and west bound trains near our route, some seem to stretch on for miles with engines in the front and middle.  

Along with the scenery and easy route we were blessed with a man from Texas who pulled over and offered us to cold waters.

We arrived in Date City and had a pizza lunch/dinner and bought a few beers for the campsite.  After a shower they took the edge off the road.  We have 50+ miles tomorrow so early to bed and the plan is to ride at sunrise.

Date Shake in Date tCity 

Me typing this…

https://strava.app.link/SMbXIIv5Qjb

Miscalculating- estimated today’s distance based on Google(33 miles) but rode the ACA route (53 miles)

Yuma to Wellton 

Today was spectacular in so many ways, even my estimation of the distance (wrong can still be spectacular). 

We departed Yuma about 9am with temperatures in the high 70s.  We crossed the Colorado river and worked our way northeast from Yuma.  We saw many large irrigation systems watering plants in the desert, we could feel the humidity as we cycled by.  The roads were mostly smooth and very low traffic (and very cycling friendly).  We came across date pickers and Jim and I watched and photographed them (gopro video to follow).  They use what looks like a bucket truck that has 3/4 a circle with 5 folks on it.  They raise this up to the dates and hand pick them 10 to 30 feet in the air.  Very cool to see!

We cycled by many more date farms and then on to Luguna Dam where we stopped for a snack.  A nice couple out fishing offers us cold beer and water, Jim and I accepted the water.  I am always blessed and amazed by the kindness of strangers.  Next up was the Yuma Proving Ground Army base.  This is a huge complex that we went around and through (military road opened to the public, patrolled by MPs).  It was about here where we figured out the correct distance ☹️.  Jim went to the gate and refilled has water.  It was also about this time we were heading back south and a storm was blowing in from the southwest at 15-20mph, some words were used…. We crept along into the wind and light rain until the wind picked up and we saw lightning.  Jim made a good call to stop at a house.  I knocked on the door and was offered water and a place in their barn to hide from the storm.  The wind died down and we were able to continue to Wellton a few minutes later.  We found the Penguin Bar and Grill and had a beer and nice meal outside.  A spectacular end to a spectacular day.


Check out my ride on Strava.
https://strava.app.link/5tC1bZcwPjb

Southern Tier- a few videos

https://gopro.com/v/B2VdbO8QarPw9


Sent from my iPhone

Southern Tier - El Centro to Yuma Best Western

Today was our longest ride so far st 65 miles. We started at 6am to avoid the midday heat. The ride was mostly flat and uneventful. Coming from Michigan the scenery is new an unique to me, miles of desert scrub and a few cacti. Purple mountains in the north and the Mexican boarder just to the south. We passed through Date City and saw a large date plantation, while I was eating dried dates - one of my favorite bike snacks. We saw lots of boarder patrol again today. One sight like home was the southern edge of Imperial Sand Dunes. We crossed the mighty Colorado River and then crossed into Arizonan, our first state crossing on the trip. We arrived about 2pm with temperatures still below 100. A great day!

Check out my ride on Strava.
https://strava.app.link/5N2SHvEONjb

Recalculating & Sunburn Protection

Recalculating: Adventure Cycling changed the route between El Centro and Phoenix, so we have downloaded the RideWithGPS maps and figure stops. The good news is the longest section without services is 60 miles (vs 85). Services are things like water taps…

Sunburn Protection: Prior to the trip I purchased the following to protect the pale white guy from sunburn:

Da Brim - helmet add on with a brim to keep sun off my neck and face.  So far it has done the job well!  I still use SPF50 as a backup.

White Sun Leggings - Ugly as sin, they feel warm putting them on but keep sun off my legs.  Good sun protection and I suspect between evaporation and reduced sun load they help keep me cool.  Another winner!

Haines long sleeve sun shirts (yellow and gray) - UPF50 seems to do the trick, 8 plus hours in the southern sun and no burns, no red skin.  My Best Buy at 2 for $20.  What’s missing, a pocket for my phone and wallet.  I need to pick up a small pouch…

Rest day bike maintenance

Yesterday was 20 miles on the worst road conditions I have seen, cracks, gravel, sand and uneven. Shook bolts loose. Today we are going over everything, no major issues but lots of loose.  Advice from my son Christopher who has 10+ years of hotel management experience: ask the hotel for old rags to clean you chain/bike.  First try today and it worked!

Boulevard KOA to El Centro Quality Inn

Today was a great ride with almost 4000 foot downhill ride.

We started at the KOA which is down a thousand feet from the town of Boulevard. We packed and get going a bit later than planned. We had about 10 miles of mixed flat and climbing. Along the way we found a quick breakfast at a convenience store. We were also chased by a very fast happy looking dog, the concern was hitting him vs being bitten. Soon after we road along the Mexico boarder and the wall which is a literal and figurative scar across the country. Then we hit the downhill section where we dropped at a 6% grade for 6+ miles. With 50 pounds of gear the primary challenge was to keep the bikes below 25 MPH! At the bottom we found a gas station and refilled our waters and had a snack. I also checked my brakes and found my front rotor was discolored from the heat of braking. From there we headed to S80 which was our route, we found a "Bridge out 3.5 miles" sign and started to head back. By luck a Sheriff was behind us and told us we could go around the bridge (dry gulch), good thing because the "alternate" route was 11 miles longer and no services. S80 is by far the roughest road I have been on. It shook a bolt loose from my rear rack, lucky I had extra. A quick stop at a convenience store for bananas and an electrolyte drink and we finished the day in El Centro at 104f. The easiest day so far!

Check out my ride on Strava.
https://strava.app.link/52GhqQDyKjb