BuckHorn to Silver City

Morning scene leaving Buckhorn

The picture saids it all

Dropping into Silver City

Tom riding into old town Silver City

New Mexico Here We Come

The rolling fields and landscape of the NM


Steve enjoying the time after the ride

Our camp at Buckhorn

The Climb over to Buckhorn

Heading to the big climb of the day


Me near the top

The road up

The gang at the top

Ride to Three Way

Tom and I at the top of the climb to Three way

We meet Cory at the store

Store in Three Way

Sunset in Three Way

Leaving for Buckhorn

Safford and Beyond

Ice cream stop before Safford

Leaving Safford

Road to Safford

We meet Evan (center) who is walking across the US

Shirl on the road to Safford

Indian Market in Bylas

My Indian Taco

Doug on the road with Mt Graham in the distance

From Superior to Globe

Quiet cemetery near the top of the climb on the way to Globe

On the roadside

Copper Plant in Miami

We camped at the Globe Community Center

Besh Ba Gowan Indian ruins across from our camp

On the Way to Superior

Boyce Thompson Botanical Garden

Our camp in Superior at the RV Park

Cafe next to RV Park

Me

Riding through the busy tunnel from Superior to Globe

New Mexico Here We Come

I hope that you enjoyed the new photos that I just posted.

This past Sunday, two weeks into our adventure, I am still having a good time and have no regrets about having signed up for this tour. As we woke up Sunday to 32 degree temp again, we headed to our first New Mexico town called Buckhorn. I would have to say that Sunday's ride was the most dramatic in scenery. Our first 16 miles was climbing 3400 feet, with the last 3 miles being the steepest and nothing but switchbacks, taking us to the top of the pass. Standing with our bikes at 6300 ft., with the vista of the mountain to the west, we could look back into the distance and see where we came from. Taking pictures of the other riders riding up, and as the entire group reached the top, we took the opportunity to take a group shot with the beautiful scenery behind us. After leaving desert landscape, climbing through forest and wood, we descended down into New Mexico, land of dry grass fields and miles of rolling hills.

After arriving in Buckhorn, Tom and I hit the ice cream parlor, which is always well deserved. The town is very small, known as the Land of Manyana (Tomorrow) according to the RV Park owner. There was not much available at the grocery store for dinner, we had our first mac and cheese dinner. (Ok, Geno, you can say 'I told you so'.)

And I thought 32 degree was bad, try 27 degree Monday morning. It was so cold, that all of us squeezed into the RV Park laundry room to eat our breakfast, turning on the clothes dryer to heat the room. But talk about how dramatic the temperature changes around here, by 8:30 we stripped off our cold weather clothing.

Though the day's ride to Silver City consisted of only 1 climb, our legs were all tired from the previous day's climb. Silver City is a neat town full of eateries, galleries and shops, with a river running along the town. Reminded me of Sutter Creek back in CA. We stopped for couple of hours to tour the town, lunching on sandwiches and strawberry pie. From there we cruised on into the KOA campground. With Silver City sitting at 6000 feet elevation and anticipating another cold night, ten members of the group decided to rent 3 cabins and sleep in comfort. Of course, I was one of the ten. I'm not crazy.

Our route today takes us up our highest pass of 8200 feet, then dropping down to stay at Black Range Lodge in the town of Kingston, from there Jeff and Christina (the lady from Chicago) will join back in with the tour. Wednesday will be a layover day at the lodge. It will be good to have another break.

Pictures: Leaving Tempe

Breakfast at Denny's and Happy Birthday Nick

Heading toward the Superstition Mountains and Superior

Colorful flowers line the highways

Visiting Boyce Thompson Garden

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!

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.

Walk-about Tempe

Today people spent their time resting, visiting downtown Tempe, washing cloth, shopping at REI, cleaning their bikes, swimming in the pool, and visiting local attractions. Tom and I make it to downtown for lunch and a walk about near ASU. I thought the architecture of the buildings and structures was interesting and worked well with arid landscape.





Relaxing by the Poolside at the Motel 6

First Rest Day

Today is our first rest day after 8 days and 400 plus miles of riding. I've been looking forward to this day for some time now. This is also the first chance I have to actually update the blog directly. Kay has been doing a great job updating this site with the previous posts.

Yesterday, we rode 69 miles rather than the 55 shown on our schedules. It always seems that the distances are a little farther than shown. However, we are all getting used to the daily riding, so it's getting easier and yesterday's terrain was mostly flat. The ride to Tempe started off on quiet highways, but ended with 35 miles of mostly city riding through Surprise and Phoenix. Along the way, we stopped at the Performance bike shop so people could get their bikes adjusted and buy needed gear. More weight was the last thing I wanted. The traffic was heavy through the city, but we all made safely to the Motel 6 in Tempe. I'm sharing my room with Jeff who is one of my daily riding partners along with Tom. Our pace is very similar so we make a good team on the road.

I can hardly believe how far we've already ridden and the time is going by fast. I will have to conclude that touring with ACA is very nice because we don't need to be concerned about our overnight accommodations and food. Andy does the arrangements and has the strategy for food each day. All we need to do is ride and enjoy the ever changing landscape. Also, Andy's laid back attitude and humor is perfect for us newbies on this cross country tour.

It's time to go check the college area of Tempe. More later!

Our Motel in Tempe

The gang having dinner at a fast food Chinese restaurant

More Pictures

When in the west... in Wickenburg

Tom looking forward to his ice cream

The reptiles are big in AZ