Thursday, April 3, 2008

On The Road Again

After a nice day off, it's back on the seat and we headed towards our next destination, the town of Superior, 60 miles away climbing from 1200 feet to 2800 feet elevation the last part of the day's ride. As we rode along Highway 60 through high desert terrain, we became surrounded by beautiful wildflowers.

Unfortunately, Jeff, one of my co-riders, had a medical situation and was not able to ride with the group as we left Tempe. To give him time to rest up, Jeff hitched a ride and is waiting for us at Black Range Lodge in New Mexico where he will join back in on the tour.

Upon our arrival in Superior, Tom and I headed over to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum which is around an oasis. Camping at a higher elevation allowed me to enjoy a sky of stars.

Today's 43 mile ride to the town of Globe was with long climbs at 6-7% grade, roads with no bike lane and heavy traffic taking us back into the mountains east of Phoenix. The climbs took us up to 4600 feet, then dropping back down to 1200 then back up to 3300, where Globe resides. The route included riding through a narrow tunnel (150-200 yards) sharing the road with traffic. Five of the tour members opted not to chance it through the tunnel, so our ride leader made arrangements to have them driven through.

After stopping for a delicious and inexpensive Mexican lunch in a little town called Miami, Tom and I rode into Globe around 1:30. It's my turn as cook tonight. Pizza and salad sounds good. Thank goodness there are several pizza parlors in town. Five extra large pizzas, please and can you deliver them as well???? No complaints from the troop. All five were gobbled up.

It'll be a cold chilly night being at 3300 ft. Need to bundle up.... good night for now.

1 comment:

Dawn Fine said...

Sounds like you are having a great trip so far...I am enjoying reading about your adventure.
When will you be making the Chinese food dinner? Haa
Have fun...
Dawn and Jeff Fine