Day 38: Salome, AZ to Palo Verde, CA (84 Miles)

 

I’ve been anxiously waiting for this day for a long time. Today, I entered California.

I thought it would be a much easier ride than it was. I was going downhill for the majority of the day, but there were heavy winds. Sometimes, I wonder which is worse: climbing or biking into the wind. This was the first time I’ve seen flat land in a while.

The ride was not exceptionally scenic, but I did see some interesting things along the way. Right outside of Brenda, Arizona, mountains were covered with black and dark brown volcanic rocks.

I thought these mountains outside of Quartzsite were pretty interesting. Some of the rock formations out West are just stunning.

My goal today was to get to California. I couldn’t stop thinking about crossing the border all day. The anticipation was killing me.

So, when I actually crossed into California, I just hung out under the sign and yelled in joy for about 20 minutes. I’m sure people though I was crazy, but it was worth it. I biked from my garage, in Tampa, FL, to California.

It felt like as soon as I crossed into California, there was grass, trees and water. I haven’t seen a field of grass for two weeks. It didn’t hit me until today, that I haven’t seen grass and trees for so long.

I know I’ve been jabbering about California for the past few day, but the fact is that Arizona and New Mexico had to most amazing scenery on the route. The mountains in New Mexico and the desert in Arizona were both beautiful. The rides were remote enough to see the landscape and close enough to towns to not be scary. When all is said and done, Arizona and New Mexico may have been my favorite part of the trip. I want to make sure my crush on California doesn’t overshadow the beautiful States of Arizona and New Mexico. That being said, The rest of my trip is in California, and I’m absolutely freaking out with excitement.

Day 37: Phoenix, AZ to Salome, AZ (110 Miles)

 

Today, I overdid it. This makes two consecutive days over 100 miles, but I couldn’t help myself. I can’t wait to get to California!

I didn’t plan on going so far today. Actually, I left late, thinking I would take it easy today, like I usually do after a long day like yesterday. Maybe it was the coffee, but when I got on the road, I just got really excited. The mile markers were counting down, the land is getting flatter, and I just couldn’t resist the urge to get as close to the border as possible.

Beard Update

It’s still insanely hot out here. Because of the wind and dry conditions, there are like five huge wildfires in Arizona. Everyone is talking about them. If you look carefully, you can see the smoke from one of them on the other side of these mountains.

The wind is also creating these dust cyclones in the valleys.

I’m getting into flat land again. Most of the ride today was through valleys. This is one of the reasons I was able to go so far today.

After leaving the Pheonix area, I got back it the middle of nowhere. Huge, vast valleys were on both sides of the road. A coyote crossed the road in front of me, which was pretty awesome. Coyotes are a menace to people around here, but I love to see them out in the wild.

Well, I’m spent. I ran into a rough patch of wind toward the end of my day, which exhausted me. Even after drinking about three and a half gallons (not exaggerating) of water and Gatorade, I think I might be dehydrated. It was well worth it, though. Barring any problems, I’ll spend tomorrow night in California!

Day 36: Globe, AZ to Phoenix, AZ (105 Miles)

I made it to Phoenix! It as a long, hot day, but I’m half way through Arizona, with plenty of momentum.

I started the day with some city riding. Globe, Claypool and Miami look like separate cities on the map, but they are all connected. The area is actually called the “Three City” area.

Outside of the city, however, is Apache National Forrest, which was much prettier than I expected. It was actually a forrest in the middle the desert. The dirt is still red and the trees are no more than four feet tall, but it is definitely a forrest.

Apache National Forrest is a high altitude point for the area.

Between Globe and Phenix, there’s a small town called Superior. It’s in a tiny valley, surrounded by rocky hills. The ride into town included a tunnel and a canyon bridge. I really wanted to get a picture of the tunnel, but it was way too dangerous to stop.

These cactuses are are huge. Some of them are about 35 feet tall around here. This desert reminds me of a stereotypical cartoon desert, with the giant cactuses and tumble weeds.

I got into the Phoenix area pretty early. Between the suburbs and and the city, Phoenix is going to end up being a full day’s ride.

It’s so cool to see desert suburbs. Instead of grass, the have rocks. Instead of overly-trimmed bushes, they have overly-trimmed cactuses.

I’m struggling with the heat here. It’s not that it’s dramatically hotter that Florida. It’s just harder to recognize when you are overheated or dehydrated. In swamp heat, you are constantly sweating. If you stop sweating, you are dehydrated. Here, it’s so dry that any sweat you produce evaporates before you even notice it was there. If you’re not careful, this could get you in trouble. I have to force myself to stop and drink, even if I feel fine.

I made it through Mesa, Tempe and Scottsdale, all of which are big suburban areas surrounding Phoenix. Not a lot of people were out and about because of the oppressive heat.

I decided to call it quites when my iPhone said it was 105 degrees. I’m about half way through the Arizona Canal Bike Path, which spans about 15 miles.

Passing through a city is always interesting. When you’re in the middle of nowhere, it’s normal to peddle around with all of your belongings strapped onto your bike. People in small towns are used to backpackers passing through. In the suburbs, people don’t know what to make of it. I understand, too. I would have a double take if someone with rig like mine was peddling through my neighborhood. Still, it’s great to see people’s reactions.

Day 35: Safford, AZ to Globe, AZ (77 Miles)

 

Well, I’m slowly making my way across Arizona. Today, I made it to Globe, which is about 90 miles East of Phoenix.

The wind was at my back, which felt great. It seems like there’s a relatively consistent West to East wind in this area, so having the wind on my side is rare. The favorable wind, paired with a lot of downhill slopes, made for some easy riding.

Once I got into the San Carlos Apache Reservation, however, the road became challenging. It was sort of like an obstacle coarse. The bike lane is filled with broken glass and has huge potholes and cracks in the pavement. Then, every once and a while, these bushes, filled with thorns, block the lane. So, you have to make the decision to either get swiped by a thorny bush or cross the rumble strips and get onto a highway. Usually, I just went through the bush; I’m glad I had long sleeves on.

The San Carlos Apache Reservation is all desert. It’s a bit upsetting that this is the land that we “gave” to Native Americans. This land is so hot and desolate. In Blyas, there were horses just hanging out on the side of the road.

I may have jinxed my bike yesterday. My new front bag seems to be overloaded and fell off the handlebars at one point. I reattached it with zip ties and, tonight, I’m going to work of redistributing the weight again. Then, I got another flat tire. It was an easy inner tube change. I was able to replace my old inner tube with one of the tougher ones that Bikeman sold me in Alpine, TX.

It’s getting hotter by the hour. I’m descending below 3,000 ft., so it’s feeling like the desert again. The forecast for tomorrow predict 104 degrees!

It’s another desert around here, but it’s completely different that those in West Texas. Tuscan Cactuses are starting to pop up on the side of the road. These are about 15 feet tall; they look more like trees than cactuses. You can see them all scattered over the hills.

Lately, I’ve hit a good rhythm of about 70-80 miles daily. I think I’m entering a less scenic area, so it makes more sense to put in long days of riding. If all goes well, and the heat holds off until late afternoon, I will make it to the Phoenix area tomorrow.

Day 34: Buckhorn, NM to Safford, AZ (80 Miles)

 

The last few days have been unbelievably scenic. All of those tough, hot days in the Texas desert were worth it. It just keeps on getting better.

After spending the night in Buckhorn, I was up ready for another productive day. The landscape is getting flatter every day. Today was one of the last days going through the hills. They’re a whole lot more fun when you are looking down.

I went through Gila and Apache National Forrest in the mid morning. There were more trees than I’ve seen in the past two weeks. It’s crazy that these forrest are surrounded by desert.

I’m now officially in Arizona. Now, Arizona is still in Mountain Time, but they do not recognize daylight savings time, so I’m effectively on Pacific Time.

Apache National Forrest was especially beautiful. The mountains are impressive. The rock formations are a sight to see.

There was a small uphill battle through the forrest, but as always, it was totally worth it. It was about a 6,000 ft pass, which is a piece of cake at this point.

I rode about 15 miles uphill, then 30 miles downhill. Not having to peddle for 10 miles at a time is different. I always feel bad when I see a cyclist struggling uphill as I coast downhill.

So, I’m heading into flatter, hotter and drier terrain. There are different kinds of cacti in this desert.

So, I’m looking at the map, and less than 600 miles away from San Diego. The anticipation is killing me. I feel like I’m on my own personal gold rush. Still, I’m not sure what I’ll find in California.

Once I get to San Diego, I’m going to ride up Hwy. 1, which I’ve heard is the most beautiful highway in The United States. I’m going to take Hwy. 1 toward the San Francisco area, hopefully visiting, Cupertino, Mountain View and Palo Alto on my way to Point Reyes National Seashore. This is still not set in stone. My family is coming to visit me on June 1 (I can’t wait to see you guys!).

I’m considering taking a train home instead of flying. If I take a train, I could make this trip complete a lap around the United States. One thing I’m sure about, however, is that I’m going to spend a considerable amount of time in at least one National Park, most likely Yosemite.

Planning for the last portion of the trip is surreal. I’ve been so focused on each and every day, that I’ve lost track of my progress. But now that California is back on my mind, I can’t get it out.