Follow Your Dreams

Our Friday ride out of Globe took a bit longer than planned, unfortunately getting lost, but received a police escort (yes, police) to the main highway, adding an additional 5 miles to our route. It was a long ride, 80 miles (which includes the extra 5), but at least it was a pretty ride. Cycling high into the mountains, with colorful flowers along the edge of the road, colors of red, blue, yellow and white. Looking up towards the peak of the mountains, you can see snow on the north face of the mountains.

As we ride towards our Friday destination, Safford/Thatcher, we pass through Apache Indian Reservation territory. In a small Indian town called Bylas, we stopped for Indian tacos, crispy fried bready dough topped with beans, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese. It was very tasty. At a small store in Bylas, there were alot of young Indian boys on their small BMX style bicycles. Their eyes lighted up as they approached us admiring our bicycles, touching our leather saddles and handlebars.

Late Friday evening as we all got ready to go to bed, I learned from Kay that Patti, the wife of my cycling buddy back at home, Geno, had unexpectedly passed away. Patti, was more than just Geno's wife, but became a good friend to Kay, and the four of us vacationed together numerous times.

It was mighty cold waking up Saturday morning to 32 degree temps. But in 2-3 hours time, it warmed up so fast that everyone was stripping off layers of clothing. The ride to the town called Three-Way was only around 35 miles, climbing a 4500 feet pass with a fantastic 7 mile downhill into town. The route was the best in the last 3 days, as the road was wide with very light traffic.

For me, it was a very solemn and reflective day due to the loss of Patti. It makes me truly believe that a person should make every effort to live out their dreams as you never know the future, as it has always been my dream to ride across country, and I'm doing it!