Desert rains, big skies and a Super Bowl

No, I swear, it never rains here!.....says everyone. Lies. It does rain in the desert though we are lucky enough to have a roof over our heads for the event AND have the aded bonus of Super Bowl festivities...welcome to Phoenix!

After our 114 mile day on Monday we were pretty smoked, but got back in the saddle Tuesday morning and headed slowly to Salome, AZ. The ride was a bit more stressful of a ride due to a limited/non existent shoulder and heavy traffic. Thankfully, half way through the day it thinned out as most cars headed towards the freeway, leaving us with the road again and a very hot afternoon. The desert scenery has changed about 12 times since leaving the coast and just when we think we've seen every kind of desert imaginable, here comes something new.

The excitement for this day was the presence of those big Saguaro cacti...incredible! We ended the day at a county-run campground, sharing a site with one of the campground hosts. While this area feels rather desolate to me and lacking much of anything in the way of community, services or general life beyond desert and farm fields (melons, pistachios, wheat grass, and cotton!), we learned from our hosts that they love it here. They spend 7 months each year living there as campground hosts, playing golf at the little course by the campground and being part of the small community. I guess this proves there's a place for everyone, even if it's in an RV in the desert.

 

 

Wednesday's ride was nothing to write home about. We peddled for over 30 miles without even a slight turn in the road....endlessly straight and slowly uphill. The highlight was a lunch stop in a town that we swore was really in Mexico. There were about 18 houses, one hardware store, a gas station, and a Telefonica office. That's it. Just when we felt like this was becoming the norm for our Arizona experience, we crested the mountains and coasted into Wickenburg....dude ranch Capitol of the US....or so they like to say. Apparently this had been a gold rush hub town before WWII so the it had been a bit more "cleaned up"and ready for tourists. Not having a host to stay with in this town, Dot had called the Episcopal church in the morning to inquire about camping on their lawn or that of a parishioner. Having not heard back, we just showed up and Pastor Pat acted like she was expecting us all along. They gave us snacks, a ride to the grocery store and a place to stay inside in their basement meeting room. Thank you Wickenburg Episcopal church!

 

Thursday was our introduction back to city biking as we rode mostly downhill into Phoenix. What we anticipated being a boring day of suburbia/shopping center biking turned out to be much more eventful ride. Just 15 minutes into our day we found Dot's front tire to have a double hematoma and then 10 minutes later her back tire went flat. Flat #1 of the trip! We fixed this, got back on the road, and then in the middle of Phoenix (on their bike trail) we came across an older gentleman who had clearly wiped out on his bike, had hit his head and was bleeding. While another biker called 911 we tried to keep him from moving...I even got to break out my rubber gloves! The paramedics arrived in moments and took him (and his bike) to the trauma center. Ironically, the paramedic supervisor seemed to be more interested in our bikes and trip than the hurt guy so I guess he was fine.....Phew. Needless to say, a cowboy hat is NOT a suitable helmet! We ended the day with a 15 mile ride through rain and into Mesa where we are now currently staying with a family friend.

Today we are waylayed in Phoenix while the weather is too wet for travel and the Super Bowl festivities have begun! I think the rain might be a good omen for the Seahawks, but I don't dare say this outloud because all of a sudden I'm a Pats fan. The feeling here is like Mardi Gras with football fanatics. It's kind of like we invited ourselves to someone else's party.... :)

Tomorrow we will again hit the road and head east out of Mesa towards Superior. The weather is looking iffy again so we may have to make some last minute changes tomorrow morning. Finding the balance between uncomfortable riding and being miserably wet is tough...especially if you know it might happen in the middle of the desert. Below are some super bowl fun pictures for any of you who care.... Over and out friends!!

 

Look who we got to hang with today! --> I mean, I don't know them, bit apparently they play pretty good football.

Puppy Bowl puppies!!

 

 

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