Day 58 – April 23rd

At first glance, the desert looks barren and basic. I can imagine even more so if we were not riding through at the peak of wild flower blossoming!

One of the reasons Ryan and I decided on bike as our mode of transportation back to San Diego was for the slow pace it offered and the natural result of being able to notice far more than you ever could in an enclosed, efficient and speedy motorized vehicle.

We also decided on camping, not just for the low cost benefits, but also for the opportunity to live a bit of each day IN the landscape.

The desert looks barren at first glance, but when you get in a step closer, you see this is strikingly far from reality. The desert, right now the Sonoran Desert, is teaming with life, variety, and subtle beauty that can absolutely take your breath away. Particularly, I’ve found, in the hour before and after sunset.

Green, gold, and yellow are the most common colors out here but the value ranges within each and occasional pops of highly saturated purples, blues, reds, and oranges of flowers, butterflies, caterpillars, spiders, beetles, and birds can keep your eyes busy and extremely satisfied drinking it all in.

This morning we found several chrysalis on fence posts from very fuzzy caterpillars who had spikes on their little squirmy bodies to mirror the thorns on MANY other desert plants. There were also freshly emerging lady bugs and shiny iridescent black beetles crawling around.

I’ve been fascinated with crawling critters since I was very little, my favorite being spiders, and Ryan likes to point them out for me when he sees them. He spotted an INSANE daddy longlegs with black and white banded legs and a deep purple and yellow body.

We also can’t help but notice fat lizards with tails as long as their body, sometimes much longer, that jet with humorously fast fight or flight mechanisms back into the brush from their sunny patch of pavement as soon as our shadow touches them as we ride by.

Thankfully we have found the desert to be so engaging as we deal with Ryan’s bike, who has been endearingly named Space Ghost (coast to coast), suffering many chain slippages as he rides along in a modified single gear. We are approaching Blythe, CA where a new derailleur is being shipped to general delivery at their post office. In the meantime we are having to stop and correct the slippage by releasing his quick release, resetting the chain, pulling the wheel back into place, engaging the quick release, and continuing to gingerly pedal at a consistent pressure to keep the chain in place.

I admire how Ryan still keeps going despite having to deal with such a frustrating repeating process. We are so looking forward to Blythe where we are also planning a hotel stay with plenty of food to refuel and build our bodies.

Speaking of food, we found our favorite mexican ice cream bars and had two each at a cute, friendly market in the middle of the Arizona desert. It will never get old being able to eat so many delicious treats and know you are doing you body a good service at the same time! I have been surprised though how necessary feelings of satisfaction and fullness are to knowing when you’ve had enough. I remind myself how one ice cream bar normally would feel just as indulgent and satisfying as two do now. It’s just the new normal!

We got lucky to meet a couple around their 70s today who stopped while driving by to tell us about their Southern Tier bicycle trip ten years ago and another ride from Oregon to Michigan. We didn’t get her husband’s name, but he and Marsha cheered us on after we got further down the road and passed their RV campsite. I love meeting other people who tour and find they are usually some of the nicest, happiest people we run into. Seems like Ryan and I are on a good trajectory for our lives! It’s also encouraging to be the youngest riders we’ve seen so far. There are many years ahead for us to refine and enjoy this type of travel.

Today, nearly 60 days into our biking, we also had our first ride on the interstate. Earplugs were wonderful to keep the noise down ,and the wide shoulder made us feel very safe. I like how long and flat the interstates are, you can see where you are headed for miles down the road and the hills are not too steep to really take it out of you.

We rode all day today and were two and a half miles short of our final goal in the last hour of daylight when Ryan’s chain finally bit the dust. It was very exciting to watch from behind as it snapped and exploded away from his bike frame. Poor Space Ghost. Poor Ryan. He had to walk his bike over four miles back into town where I went to find us a decent spot to camp that wasn’t right next to the deafening interstate. This in all put us about 20 miles from our much anticipated destination tomorrow. Thankfully the stars were out and happy to see us, and a late set up had me cooking dinner underneath them. I think I’d like to repeat that experience.

Route info for interested readers:

Highway 60 to Interstate 10