Fastest but Boringest Ride: Salome to Wickenburg, AZ

Posted by Tim on March 7, 2012
Posted in: Tim.

We started the day in the kitchen at the rustic Westward Motel.  Strong coffee, oatmeal and toasted bagels were the fare.  After still another fall by Brian, skimmed knee, we took off down Route 60 with a very pleasant tail wind.  Three and a half hours, and 55 miles later we were at our next motel in Wickenburg.  The road was as straight and boring as anything I have ever been on.  All I can say is, thank goodness the ride was fast.

Beth beat us to the motel today and she had scoped out some restaurants for lunch and dinner and a museum we had read about the night before.  After lunch, the brothers visited the Desert Caballeros Western Museum for a couple of hours.  Very informative exposition on ranching and mining life in Arizona in the 19th and early  20th century centered around Wickenburg.  Then spent an hour or so mapping out our route for tomorrow to avoid as many city streets in Phoenix as we can.  We think we have located 30 miles of bike paths to help us get to our destination in Tempe tomorrow night. Should be a ride of just under 70 miles, the first 30 or so Route 60′ then the bike path along the Arizona Canal and the last 10 or so on city streets in Tempe.  It’s also supposed to warm up to 70 tomorrow, a nice changefrom the 50s today.

Blythe, Calif. to Salome, Ariz. A Glorious Tailwind

Posted by Tim on March 7, 2012
Posted in: Tim.

After a great night’s sleep in a brand new Comfort Suites Motel, we were off and riding at 7:15.  Rode thru Blythe, virtually had Main Street to ourselves, to the Colorado River and the foot bridge to Arizona.  Did Brian ever tell you Arizona is one of his favorittttte states?  He only told Mark and I about 50 times.  I hope he doesn’t keep telling us the rest of the way across Arizona.

Today was perfect for bike riding.  Finally we had a tailwind.  Not only a tailwind, but one so strong it pushed us up our climbs.  Brian was feeling frisky today, at one point riding about a mile or so in front of Mark and I.  With the help of another bicyclist, I got my gears adjusted so the problems I have been having for the past couple days seem to be corrected.

We rode a good portion of the day on I10.  At one of rest stops on the interstate, a fellow named Vic stopped to talk to us about our trip.  When his wife came out of the rest room she gave him an impatient look like lets go, I’m ready, what are you doing talking to those guys in funny outfits.  After he unlocked the car door with the remote from where we were talking, Mark said we left ours at home.

Arrived in Salome, our stop for the night at around 2pm.  The motel is very unique, probably the most interesting place we will stay on this trip.  The owner drove us to the store so we could get some beer and snacks while we waited for Beth to arrive.  Since we had our own kitchen, Mark cooked a pasta dinner and made a salad.  We sat around the kitchen, drank two bottles of wine and just hung out.  A fitting end to a great day. 

Thinking about the end of this trip.  Two more days of riding and weather predictions of tailwinds again today.  I do miss Marcia and the kids.  I quess a week of riding is about the right amount of time.  Perhaps we will do leg two in 6 months instead of next year.

Tremendous Tailwinds from Blythe, CA to Salome, AZ

Posted by Brian on March 6, 2012
Posted in: Brian.

We started out in Blythe, CA at around 7:00 am, fully expecting another day of headwinds and climbing.  The climbing part was accurate – we climbed more that 1500 feet.  But fortunately the headwinds part was not – we finally had a strong and beneficial tailwind.  What a difference that makes!

We crossed into Arizona fairly early and went onto I-10 heading east shortly after getting into Arizona.  Here are some of the pictures we took early this morning.

Crossing the Colorado River around 7:30 am

Tim and Mark on CA side of Coloroda River

After about 5 miles on I-10 East, we took our first break of the day, a rest stop right on I-10 East.

Mark at rest stop on I-10 just indide AZ

Brian at rest stop on I-10 just inside AZ

Tim in front of Verde tree at rest stop on I-10 just inside AZ

We stayed on I-10 East for another 25 miles or so, but while on I-10 East we made our way into the Sonora Desert and came across our first Sagaura,  the giant cactus that have arms coming out from the sides.  Here are some pictures of then, from when we first came saw them and stopped to take some photos:

Mark at our first saguara in Sonora Desert on I-10 - they're on the hill off in the distance

Tim in front of saguras in Sonora Desert on I-10 - here also the sagauras are on the hill in the background

Our next stop was in Quartsite, AZ, where we stopped at a Subway and purchased an early lunch.  While there we came across Tim and Katherine Tolford, from Portand, ME.  We first saw them in San Diego and they are also taking the Southern Tier bike route, making their way to Houston, TX and taking about 3.5 weeks to do that ride.

Tim and Katherine Tolford at Subway in Quartsite, AZ

After Quartzsite, AZ we stayed on I-10 East for another 10 miles or so, exiting onto U.S. 60 East, a pre-interstate federal highway.  The road surface was good and we continued to make good progress.  Along U.S. 60 and also in Quartzsite, AZ, we noticed big Recreational Vehicle camps with lots of American and Canadian flags around the camps.  We determined that these were for “snow birds” from the U.S. and Canada, spending the winter months in the moderate-to-warm weather of Arizona.  They looked nice, but I’m not sure I’d be interested in that.

RV resort along US 60 in AZ

Tim in front of RV resort in AZ

We stayed on U.S. 60 East the rest of the ride to Salome, AZ.  After the RV camp, we had another 25 miles or so, but the wind was at our backs and the ride was relatively easy.  We took one more rest stop just short of Hope, AZ and took some more photos there:

Tim eating an orange at rest stop on US 60 near Hope AZ

Mark and Tim at rest stop on US 60 near Hope AZ

Mark calling Randy Walters, proprietor of Westward Motel, Samome AZ

Central Arizona Canal Project near Hope, AZ

Then after passing through Hope, AZ, we came across a sign confirming that, indeed, we had passed through Hope, AZ.  The funny thing is that none of us (Mark, Tim or me) realized the lack of a proof reader for the sign until we started looking at pictures as we were preparing dinner.

Your Now Beyond Hope sign - where is an editor when you need her/him?

Saguara next to "Your Now Beyond Hope" sign

Salome, AZ was only another 6 miles or so “beyond Hope,” and although it involved one more climb, we were close enough and the wind was still at our backs, that it was relatively effortless.  After getting into Salome, we found the Westward Motel, a really nice and eclectic motel where we had a reservation.  This place is a true gem!

Westward Motel sign in Salome AZ

Agave and other Sonoroa desert plants at Westward Motel

Giant Saguara at Westward Motel in Salome AZ

Most of the days on this ride, Beth has reached our destination ahead of us and has visited a grocery store and purchased cold brewski’s and snacks, and has had them waiting for us on our arrival.  How lucky have we been to have had her on this trip?  I will treasure this experience of having her along with us forever! Fortunately, today we managed to get to our destination first and we were able to return the favor!

Tim and Mark relaxing at Westward Motel in Salome AZ

Beth relaxing at Westward Motel in Salome AZ

Tomorrow is supposed to be another day with westerly winds, just like today.  You’ll have to take my word that these flags are blowing toward the west.

Flags showing westerly direction (finally!) of winds in Salome AZ

The bottom flag is the state flag of Arizona.  With any luck, and hoping that the Weather Channel is correct, our ride tomorrow to Wickenburg, AZ will be as manageable  as today’s ride!

 

Blythe, CA to Salome, AZ: Life on the Highway

Posted by Mark on March 6, 2012
Posted in: Mark.

Lots of random things are running through my head today, such as “Americans throw a lot of stuff away.” When riding a bicycle on an Interstate, you see things from a different perspective. Today we rode on I-10 from the border of California for 31 miles into Arizona (on The Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway). On both sides of the road, there are beautiful wildflowers in bloom this time of year and when you look ahead, there are yellows and pinks and tiny blue flowers in blossom. But when you turn and look to your right side, and focus just a few feet in front, there is an incredible array of trash. Rubber pieces, metal parts, nuts, bolts, screws, T-shirts, shoes, Astro-turf, car floor mats, and all manner of fast food wrappers and containers. Its everywhere. As nice as it is to ride a nice straight, smooth, gently graded path, after a while, the noise of the trucks and trash gets to you. I was glad to exit and get on Highway 60.

Another random musing: What would it have been like for my grandmother in 1936 when she traveled coast to coast by car before the Interstate system? Was she seeing things in a similar way as we are by bike? She wasn’t going 75 mph and cars weren’t air conditioned. And there were no rest stops so she was stopping in small, out-of-the-way towns like we are, meeting and talking to strangers. We talk to strangers all the time. People who would never even notice us except for the fact that we are on bikes. (It almost makes people ask, “Wow, where are you going and where did you come from?” One gentleman at a rest stop on I-10 we met looked so envious as we described our journey, I felt bad for him, especially when his wife yelled at him to come and open the car door.) I think my grandmother might have had similar experiences.

Anyway, today’s ride was so nice: we had tailwinds. Big tailwinds, 30 mph tailwinds. Finally! At one point I was going 22 mph and there was absolutely no sound or wind on my face. I was going exactly the same speed as the air around me and it was marvelous. Indescribable. Nothing hurt and life is good.

We are staying in the most fantastic motel. The Westward Motel has 4 rooms and we got ’em all. We sat outside and had another beer, cheese and cracker picnic. Then we made a big salad and pasta dinner in the kitchen and had a great state border crossing party. Two bottles of wine and 3 six packs are gone.

Here are today’s pictures.

First border crossing

The bridge over The Colorado into Arizona

The river is beautiful

Tim working on his gears at a rest stop. He didn't fix a thing but looked busy and knowledgable, didn't he!

Brian is in love with cacti plants.

This one and the next one are typical of what we saw today.

Downtown Quartzsite

Snowbird RV Resorts are everywhere around here

Damn you, autocorrect!

This is big sky country!

Best dinner yet.

Day 5: Feeling Blythe

Posted by Beth on March 6, 2012
Posted in: SAG Lady.

Well, the boys from Blythe Avenue made it safely to Blythe, CA, as did the girl from Prospect Heights. When I checked in at (the brand new, utterly lovely, why don’t we just stay here the rest of the trip) Comfort Suites, the guy behind the desk (who’s around my age) looked at my ID and said, “Brooklyn? Seriously?” Favorite line of the trip so far. He then went on to say he could never live in Brooklyn because there were too many people, by which of course he meant hipsters. Hey, don’t hate me just because I eat artisanal everything.

But let’s go back in time to yesterday morning. The guys left me cowering alone in the room, as you remember.

The requisite pre-ride shot

From the door of our terrible motel — now whenever I turn off a light I tell myself that I’m doing it for the children

I couldn’t hold out till the 11 check-out time. At 10:45 I packed up and drove off, telling myself I’d go slowly to give the riders some extra time.  Since there was no place for them to stop and refuel along the way, I was going to drive until I saw them on the road and then pull over and let them unload their jackets and refill their water bottles.

This was one of the best drives I’ve ever taken, and it was an honor to share it with Great White. The roads were nearly empty except for an occasional other vehicle.

It was impossible not to think of Steven Spielberg’s DUEL a few times

Also, the landscape was incredibly diverse, shifting from flat green farmland to desert to short, roller-coastery hills to mountains to farmland again. The transition from irrigated land to desert was especially stunning, in part because it was so abrupt. There I was, bopping along to Mexican radio, trying not to think about Duel, when all of a sudden everything looked like this:

I stopped at a conveniently placed overlook to take it all in. The world was silent, no one else was around, and I had a few moments to experience a wonderful, incredibly powerful sense of tranquility and solitude. Great White looked at me and said, “This is a gift,” and I said, “I know.”

A photo can’t convey how awesome this is

I may look a little squinty and pained, but inside my heart is glowing

Soon after my respite, I came upon a very friendly group of border patrol agents. I asked them if they’d seen three old guys on bikes (kidding, I didn’t say old! or did I?) and they said they had. I found out later that Tim had instructed them to give me a hard time, but they totally didn’t.

I caught sight of the old bikers at a little pull-off on the side of a hill and somehow managed to stop without causing the car on my tail to hit me.

Reapplying sunscreen — don’t worry, Chris, Dad learned his lesson

You can’t see it, but the sign says “28TH AVE” — it seemed like it might be a joke, as it was the first intersection I’d encountered for miles

I got to Blythe around 1:30, then went to a grocery store for more beer, snacks, water, and Gatorade. The guys got in around 4 and we snacked it up, napped for a bit, then went out to dinner at the Courtsey Coffee Shop, the likes of which I wish still existed in every town, everywhere:

The sort of restaurant decor I usually only dream about encountering

The light fixture in close-up (thank you for indulging me)

I might be going back here for lunch today, in fact. Or just to sit. Apparently there’s a whole other section.

I unfortunately went 0 for 3 in salsa, bringing my average down to a still-respectable .462. I’m not sweating it; everything else about the day more than made up for my salsa slackitude.

The hell with homework!

Posted by Brian on March 5, 2012
Posted in: Brian.

Usually after the end of a day’s ride, I pull out my math books and try to do some of the homework problems for the new course I an teaching this semester at Villanova University.  But tonight I just decided that it was past due for me to blog about our bide ride.  So here is my blog.  My wife Nancy keeps telling me it will be funny, but I’m not so sure.  Maybe to her, it will be.

Mark on 1st break - 5 Mar 2012

Today (5 Mar 2012) we rode ~91 miles from Brawley to Blythe, CA.  We left shortly after 7 am and started heading East along CA 78.  We saw lots of neat scenery (as you’ll see in some of my pictures) and also talked to several interesting people along the way, including Jack Watson from Colorado, and three border patrol agents at a check point along CA 78 between Glanus and Palo Verde, CA.

The ride to Blythe took us about 9 hours.  We climbed about 1000 feet today and really only had the wind in our face when we were climbing hills.  The temperature started out at about 50 degrees in Brawley and before we got to Glanus it was warm enough that we all shed our bright yellow-green  or orange (in Mark’s case) jackets.  It was 87 degrees by the time we made it to Blythe around 4pm.  We did 40 miles to a short distance beyond the Border Patrol check point and by that time I had consumed both my water bottles and eaten all my snacks, when Beth showed up in our trusty sag wagon vehicle with lots of more fluids and food!  Today she literally saved our lives – there’s just not much civilization between Brawley and Blythe.  In all I drank 5 water bottles today and all of us were completely out of fluids by the time we made it to Blythe.

Here are some of the pictures I took today along the ride.

Mark with desert and mountains along CA 78 - 5 Mar 2012

Irrigation canal outside Brawley - 5 Mar 2012

Agriculture is definitely “king” in Imperial County, CA.  There are lots and lots of farms growing greens of all sorts.  And lots and lots of trucks, too!  But there were all extremely courteous, going all the way over to the other side of the road before passing us.

Imperial County Irrigation ditch - 5 Mar 2012

Mark and Tim along CA 78 near Imperial County Dunes - 5 Mar 2012

Desert dunes in Imperial County along CA 78 - 5 Mar 2012

Desert and Mountains in background along CA 78 - 5 Mar 2012

Chocolate Mountains in Imperial County along CA 78 - 5 Mar 2012

Tim after taking care of business with Chocolate Mountains in the background - 5 Mar 2012

Tomorrow we ride close to 70 miles and climb another 1500 feet or so, so it will be another challenging day, one that I expect will take us nearly 7 hours, with all of the breaks we take and given that whenever we climb, there’s bound to be a strong wind in our face.

Brawley to Blythe–Crossing the Dessert

Posted by Tim on March 5, 2012
Posted in: Tim.

The worst night’s sleep of the trip.  Woken up by people above us in the Travelodge Motel at 11 pm and again at 4 am.   On the way out of town at 7 am passed by a brand new Best Western.  Wished we had stayed there.

It started off cold but we knew it would warm up as the day progressed.  Fortunately it was overcast so it never got as hot as forecast.  This was expected to be a hard day crossing the dessert with no services available for at least 70 plus miles.  I had three water bottles and we refilled at mile 50 when Beth came along to restock us.  All three of us were totally out again when we pulled into Blythe.  I don’ t how people do it when they don’t have any support network.

Some interesting people along the way.  Met a fellow named Jack Watson who was pulling  a little cart with his gear.  He is retired and planning to ride all the way to St. Augustine camping all the way.  He camped in the dessert last night and plans to camp every night if he can.  Mark said he would like to try it sometime but Brian has absolutely nointerest.  I might be persuaded to try it for a two or three day stint.  We’ll see.

The second interesting person were the three border patrol officers when we had to go thru a checkpoint.  They were probablybored and there wasn’t any traffic.  They were very friendly once we engaged them in conversation.  We stayed and talked to them for probably 10 minutes and we asked them to be on the lookout for Beth (Hawaii license plates) and be sure to give her a hard time, in jest, of course.

Best of all was the scenery, especially thru the dessert.  We switched it up a little and took short stops (5 min or so) every 10 miles or so.  The stops in the dessert were so quiet.  There were no man made  sounds unless a car passed us and no animal sounds.  Lots of sand dunes along the route for 15 miles and then minimal vegetation until we got to Riverside Co. where irrigation started again.  A long butsatisfying day pedaling over 90 miles.  Tomorrow is a shorter day but has moreclimbs than today.  Feeling more confident as each day passes.

Brawley to Blythe: Through the desert, Arizona’s calling

Posted by Mark on March 5, 2012
Posted in: Mark.

89 miles (143 km) – Total so far: 232 miles (373 km)

I have to be honest, Beth was right. Last night’s motel was lousy. The ACA maps don’t list the brand new Best Western in Brawley, but if you are riding The Southern Tier and need a place to stay, go there. You’ve been warned.

We knew that today’s ride would be a long one and we left Brawley at 7:05 a.m. It was cold for the first hour but we warmed up quickly. From Brawley to Blythe, the road is flat, through farmland on both sides of Rt. 78 for the first 20 miles or so. Then the road goes through the dunes and up and over the Chocolate Mountains. The last 30 miles are flat again with agriculture on both side of the road. It was amazing how similar the scenery was on both ends of the ride; flat green fields with mountains on all horizons. The big difference was the road surface. When you leave Imperial County and enter Riverside County, the road becomes beautiful new asphalt. The road for the most part today was fine. For long stretches, the main highway had a chip seal surface, but there was about a two-foot strip at the side of the shoulder of older, smoother asphalt that we rode on. At times when the shoulder was absent, we rode on the white highway line to try for a less bumpy ride.

We stopped every 10 to 15 miles for short breaks; it seemed to help our stamina. We did not have a sit-down lunch today, there literally was nothing open until we reached Blythe. Glamis was closed. Palo Verde was closed. Ripely, believe it or not, was closed!

Beth stayed in Brawley until check out and then drove until she spotted us. She refilled our water/Gatorade bottles and provided Cliff bars, bananas and such. The temp today reached 84 and for most of the ride, the wind wasn’t a factor. We did have a bit of wind climbing the Chocolate Mountains, but not too bad.

We reached Blythe around 3:30 p.m. and went to the address for the Comfort Suite Inn listed on the ACA maps only to find out that the motel is now in a new location. What’s a day without a little detour? I should have verified the address on Google.

Tomorrow we cross the Colorado and enter Arizona.

Brian had to stop and tie his shoe and really upset these barnyard dogs

This is the end of the irrigation canal. The desert began immediately.

The start of the Dunes. Thank goodness it wasn't on the weekend or traffic would have been heavy. We only heard a few dune buggies. Didn't see any.

The beginning of the climb out of the Yuma Desert.

It got hot fast. Every layer came off at once.

My mother would have loved these "Chocolate Mountains."

I had to get in at least one photo!

Beth saved our lives. What a great Soccer mom!

We met Jack Watson along the way. He's camping out and going to Florida. He left on March 1.

What a good looking guy.

Day 4: Don’t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy

Posted by Beth on March 5, 2012
Posted in: SAG Lady.

I’m gonna level with you guys: our latest motel creeps me out. Yesterday was fun, everybody got to take it easy, but now the dudes are gone and I’m here alone, hoping not to get murdered.

View from the room — somehow it doesn't look as desolate and threatening in a picture as it does in person

I know it doesn't seem all that bad, but trust me

Here’s a little play I wrote while showering this morning:

GUY WITH KNIFE enters bathroom.

BETH (to self): Crap.

GUY WITH KNIFE pulls back curtain, knife poised.

BETH: Oh my god, really?

GUY WITH KNIFE: Really.

PSYCHO theme plays as slaying occurs.

[end]

But anyway, like I said, yesterday we were all alive, and it was a good time.

Just before their light 15-miler

A drive-thru carne asada taco, soon to be expertly dipped in salsa

This does not technically count as pic-ing and driving because I'm at a light

Great White and Mark, enjoying some beers

Tortilla chips and cheese, a good combo in any form

Recommended if you're ever in Brawley, CA

My salsa average is now a solid .667

Forty more minutes before I split this joint. Till tomorrow, hopefully —

SAG Lady

El Centro to Brawley CA: Easy rest day of Advil and ice and a few “Fat Tires”

Posted by Mark on March 4, 2012
Posted in: Mark.

15 miles (24 km) – Total so far: 143 miles (230 km)

Today our check out was at noon, and we were out by 12:30. El Centro is bigger than I had thought, and we are 3 or 4 miles from the ACA actual route. We didn’t get to the Fairfield Inn last night until almost full dark. This morning, Brian googled a bicycle route from our hotel to Brawley and it was a straight, 15-mile shot parallel to Austin Road — the ACA road. It was a smooth asphalt road without a shoulder, but on a Sunday afternoon there wasn’t any traffic, so we were fine. It felt so good to ride fast with no wind or hills to climb. We flew! We would have made it in an hour if Brian hadn’t seen a sign saying “Get rid of Obama and Brown.” So we stopped (some of our dismounts were more graceful than others, ahem, Brian. Think about that guy on the tricycle from the old “Laugh In” show).

Tonight we are in a pretty run-down motel in small-town America, but the weather is perfect. Beth had a leftover taco that I ate for lunch at 2 p.m. Brian and Tim skipped lunch (???) but I’m eating and drinking all the time. Brian and I went to Von’s Super Market for snacks, water, and beer, and around 4 p.m. we went outside on our fancy veranda at this 5-star palace for a little picnic. Tim, Brian, Beth and I had some wine and cheese (Cracker Barrel and 2 six-packs) before we head to a steakhouse in about 30 minutes.

My knee feels better today, but it was pretty sore after all that wind and climbing. I lowered my seat a few millimeters and took lots of Advil and iced it before and after the ride today. Tomorrow we have an 89-mile ride with about 1500 feet of climbing. We are actually below sea level here in the Imperial Valley. We plan to eat breakfast in our rooms and be on the road by 7:15 a.m. We need to carry everything we need because there are no WaWas where we are going. Services will be limited to non-existent.

We found an authentic outside eating area Mexican diner. It was great, filling bicycle fuel.

I like this beer!

Our picnic was fun!

Those are the mountains we will cross over tomorrow.

Flat green fields

I love a good Mexican Steak House!