There and Back Again

We woke up with the sunrise around 5:45. As we broke camp a lovely older couple with a black lab passed by. We told them about our journey thus far and they told us about a series of wildflower centered hikes they were doing. Happy trails to them, Tonto National Forest in April certainly doesn’t disappoint for flower enthusiasts. A herd of grazing cattle also passed by, reminding us of the multi-use nature of National Forests. It was really eerie how such large animals can be so well hidden in low brush.

Our goal today was to get to the outskirts of Phoenix in order to completely bypass it the following day. It’s such a shame this virus is so prevalent there, we were both looking forward to aspects of being in a gigantic city again. It isn’t tough to imagine coming back in happier times however, hopefully springtime again.

Riding was hilly with an intense sun and dry air. The hills were felt all the more for Ryan, riding another day with a single speed bike. We shamelessly walked up a few of the steeper grades. It’s easy to forget how crucial gears are until you don’t have them.

Keeping spirits high, we both listened to the hilarious first four chapeers of Douglas Adam’s “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” Thank you Haedyn King for sending us the audio files!

At the higher elevations shrubs and cacti gave way to conifers overlooking pleasant vistas.
Highway 87 is much busier than the previous road, but ample shoulder space kept this from being much of an issue.

Testing our patience another day running, Ryan’s back wheel broke two spokes at one point in the afternoon. We timed the repair, and it took us 35 minutes to unload the bike, flip the bike, remove the wheel, remove the freewheel, replace the spokes, reattach the freewheel, reattach and true the wheel, and put the bags back on.
All these breakages have turned us into a well oiled machine at repairing well oiled machines.

In all we covered 44 miles today, putting us in perfect position on the edge of the city. Our camping spot is far less ideal than the beautiful spots of the last few days. We are currently nestled in some soft grass behind a few tall trees about 50 feet from the highway into Phoenix. Morgan just saw a shooting star which is nice considering all of the other lights in the night sky have given way to the brightness of the city. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, time to get some much deserved sleep.

Route info for interested readers:

87 all day!

Today we woke up to the squawks and wing beats of half a dozen bird varieties. First light peered through a gap in the mountains and over the beautiful lake we camped beside.

I’ve got to say I like being on the eastern edge of a time zone, it feels so much more productive to have the sun wake you up at 5:45. It also leads to some uncomfortable thoughts about having clocks control your life, but brush those thoughts aside because we have to break camp!

Breakfast, stretching, and breaking camp went smooth as always. We didn’t see anyone else until we hiked up to the road, only heard cars passing on the ridge line and bridge above us.

The first order of business today was getting Ryan’s bike wheel centered again. It ended up being a more serious issue than just an off kilter wheel. The “Problem Solvers Universal Derailleur Hangar” purchased in Austin to replace the broken integrated frame derailleur hangar had broken internally. In hindsight a spare definitely should have been purchased. Instead the derailleur had to be removed and the chain shortened, Ryan’s bike will be a single speed for the foreseeable future.

In a true comedy of errors, as soon as the derailleur problem was sorted out it was revealed that the bolt holding Ryan’s front rack in place had snapped in half. There was a hardware store 15 miles away but until we purchased a replacement bolt there, we had to rearrange all of our gear and Ryan had to Kung-fu-grip his handlebars to not flip over due to the lopsided weight.

The mechanical problems of this morning might have been a real low point in the trip, but we really came together as a team and laughed it all off. Riding 40 year old bikes across the country has been an exercise in patience, one that I’m proud to say we have begun to master.

The ride to the hardware store followed the western edge of Roosevelt Lake, a huge beautiful lake surrounded by mountains and giant cacti. At the Tonto Basin hardware store, prices were reasonable and we refilled our water as this was the last “oasis” for 60 plus miles.

Riding was somewhat hilly and completely gorgeous for the rest of the day. Saguaro cacti and wildflowers cover the landscape as red and purple mountains fill in the distance.

The dry air has us going through moisturizer and chap stick almost as fast as pop-tarts. The lack of moisture is totally worth it though once the sun sets and there are no clouds to interrupt the stars. We are camped a quarter mile down a bumpy trail north of the intersection of highways 188 and 87. The highway is still slightly visible, but all other signs of civilization are nonexistent. We have eaten and are preparing for another peaceful night under the stars. I hope everyone out there is doing well.

Route info for interested readers:

188 then left on the 87!

A slow morning brought us eventually to the Gila County RV Park for showers and laundry. What a nice way to get ready for our three day passage through the Tonto National Forest!

We hit the road around 1 and quickly found ourselves in a big climb. These hills are no joke! Neither is this forest, SO. PRETTY. There are literally thousands of Saguaro cactus among the colorful wildflowers and a HUGE bright blue lake that we reached after a five mile 6-7degree hill. Talk about a thrilling ride! I often find myself spontaneously singing on these downhills, it’s hard to help it!

We pedaled at a leisurely pace today, stopping once to replace a broken spoke, and enjoyed each other’s company on a nice spacious shoulder.

Our campsite for the night was right on Lake Roosevelt, extremely secluded, full of gorgeous stars, and with lots of crazy bird calls. We loved it.

We continued through Globe and turned right onto 188 into the National Forest

The morning began with more oatmeal in bed and coffee to get up ready for the plank and push-up routine we have started. Thank you Daft Punk for the song Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger to keep us planking for almost four minutes every day!

We set off from our dry river bed site for Globe, AZ, where our planned dinner of sausage, bread, sauce, cheese, and assorted delicious produce awaited us!

We had to ride through the Apache reservation, up the long slow inclines, and along the bumpy cracked shoulder. It was hot day, but plenty of water and our new patented “go bars” got us through the day! (Go bars you ask? Simple. A pop tart, buttered and bent in half sandwiching multiple tablespoons of peanut butter).

We also had the pleasure of seeing to A10 Warthogs fly overhead so close you could see the pilot!! They came out of nowhere. So cool!

After finally arriving in Globe, I perused the produce while Ryan got to enjoy a zoom call with his family. Shout out to the Wagners, Borensteins, and Weizers. We love you guys!

Dinner was delicious and we soon snuggled up for sleep in our tent pitched by the Globe Water Treatment Facility in a beautiful wooded area. Tomorrow, showers, laundry, and the Tonto National Forest!

Still 70 allllll day!

Ryan and I had a very nice morning in Arizona, where the sun rises very early at 6:45am! (They opt out of the time change here haha)

After breakfast in bed, coffee, camp take down, stretching, and planking, we left for another good day of mainly downhill. I had the pleasure of talking to Nancy and Joe Henry, my grandma and grandpa while pedaling up one of the few big hills we encountered to wish my grandpa a happy 74th birthday. I love you Nana and Papa!!!

We met a fellow traveler, Jim, who had to cut his Tour D’Afrique from Cairo to Cape Town short due to coronavirus concerns and settled instead for the Southern Tier. What interesting people there are doing this bike touring business! I am constantly humbled by the people we meet biking.

We ate a satisfying lunch, courtesy of Dollar General, and continued on our way towards Globe, AZ. A sweet family of 6 helped us find a quiet unused side road to camp down and we are settled for the night in a dry river bed looking up at thousands of stars ⭐️ ✨ 🌟 💫 Time for some sweet dreams.

*Update from 04/16* We saw some very strange lights in the night sky, orange blinking lights that would move and then vanish, bright fast moving white pinpricks that would also vanish. Maybe there was some military training going on? Very eerie!

Route info for interested readers:

70 W all day

We are officially in state 7 of 8. Crazy!! How did this happen?! One pedal stroke at a time. Now Ryan and I are having to hardcore face the fact that soon, we will be done with the intended journey and need a plan. The corona virus has certainly thrown a wrench in our ideas as it has for so many people. Interesting times!

We had a great day with lots mileage and LOTS of eating. We did the math and each ate around 1,800 calories for lunch. Cottage cheese, chili, chips, guacamole, fruit cocktail, and a chocolate for dessert. I was STUFFED. So full. In fact so full that I got worried about weight gain and used an online calculator to check how my burn stacked up to intake. Worries completely averted as I supposedly burn around 300 calories an hour and biked about 6 hours…. a total of around 2,000 calories burned! Bring on the dinner.

Saying goodbye to New Mexico today was bittersweet. The last day in the state brought us a beautiful, flat landscape with light winds. What a fantastic ride. There are some gorgeous wildflowers as well:

Ryan is such an amazing boyfriend and told me to go take some time for myself to draw while he set up our ENTIRE camp AND cooked. I’m in love 😘

Route info for interested readers:

Highway 90 to Lordsburg then 70 West to Duncan

Yesterday Ryan and I only rode 5 miles then took the rest of the day off in a Motel 6 in Silver City.

We took full advantage of the time off to eat to our hearts content. It was a lot:

• cup of oats with a scoop of protein powder
• 2 cups of coffee
• half a gallon of chocolate milk
• a large carton of cottage cheese
• a large bag of kale salad
• a container of pickled beets
• a block of pepper jack cheese
• a bottle of guacamole
• a whole bag of tortilla chips
• a can of hormel chili
• a big loaf of French bread
• a big can of marina sauce
• half a stick of butter
• a bag of Hershey eggs
• two Reese’s eggs
• 1.25L of Pepsi
• 5 brautwurst and Italian sausages
• two bottles of red wine

Today we left very nourished and refreshed after sleeping in a REAL bed for the first time in weeks and getting showers and clean laundry. It’s the little things ❤️

On our way out of town, Ryan’s back wheel reared it’s head again, this time with a broken spoke. He replaced it and we decided to take the wheel back into town to be trued (have the spokes tightened JUST right so that the tension keeps the wheel in perfect balance) at Twin Sister’s Cycling & Fitness.

This meant we finally left town at 3pm, but now we hope this wheel will hold true the rest of the way! Unfortunately another spoke broke already this evening but we were sent on our way with replacements so the fix was quick.

On a side note, we passed the Continental Divide! Anyone know what that means? I sure don’t. But it sounds cool.

Route info for interested readers:

90 all the way! 😊 so easy.

We literally climbed a mountain today. Woohoo!! Feels good to know what heights we can reach, and it felt even better to descend from those heights 😉

I have to admit I am mentally and physically exhausted after grinding away for hours today against the incline and the strong winds that came on in the afternoon. Ryan and I are both looking forward to some much needed rest and a big breakfast tomorrow morning to help rebuild our bodies!

New Mexico has been gorgeous so far and we are looking forward to seeing the little bit that is left before we head into Arizona in a few days.

But first… SLEEP!

Route info for interested readers:

152 all day! Then a right onto highway 180 to camp just up the road.

Our plans to beat the forecasted 40mph winds today by leaving in the early morning were held up slightly, so we had a nice windy ride into the mountains in New Mexico.

Ryan and our good friend Haedyn King added me to a three way phone call and that seriously helped pass the time while we battled insane winds in the late afternoon.

All in all…. I think somehow I can say I’m thankful for the wind and hills and actually… dare is say it… enjoy them now?! It feels good to be strong and conquer. It’s also becoming clear that while it will take a long time, riding into insane headwinds and climbing mountains is doable and provides a very low impact way to build biking muscles. You are generally in a very low gear. That makes the work doable and gives more of an endurance test than a strength workout. Slow and steady WINdS the race 😉

We are camped under a beautiful tree by a dry creek bed tonight, anticipating some rain and planning a very early morning tomorrow. We’ve got about a 5,000ft climb and the same 40mph winds tomorrow. Let’s ride!

Route info for interested readers:

187 to 152 West 👍🏼

Short and sweet at 40 miles, Ryan and I are settled in at Hatch, NM RV Park. We are showered, laundered, and Ryan is getting started on cooking us up some tacos for dinner! Life is good today.

We met a really awesome family in Las Cruces this morning before we left our campsite at Bethel Bible Fellowship Church. Jeff Howey and his kids, Mickey and Nate made us feel so welcome at their church and gave us fantastic advice for navigating the area. Jeff is an avid cyclist and we had fun talking biking with him. Thanks Jeff for being so laid back and fun to chat with!

Our early arrival in Hatch left time to unwind and I had the pleasure of painting some far off hills. New Mexico and West Texas have GORGEOUS mountains with lots of blue hues.

Route info for interested readers:

From the church we got onto S Triviz and ride along the bike path there up to where it took a left turn off the road, then we got onto Elks Dr. That road took us to Thorpe where we went left and then right onto Doña Ana. We rode it to where it interested with 185 and took that road all the way into Hatch.