Over the past few days we have gotten to go up and over several passes. I don't think I had really climbed a pass until I did it with BOB (ie the trailors on the back of our bikes).
Two days ago we went up and over a pass with no name, which we have just decided to call Jadley (the best combo of all our names). It was our gateway between Arizona and New Mexico. It is best described as hot and steep. I required many a water and pop tart break to make it up. About a mile and a half from the top sweet Caley (who had already made it to the top and disconnected her bob) came back down the pass from the top to bike the rest of the way up with me. Talk about a good friend :)
At the bottom of Jadley pass we found ourselves in new Mexico, a state we have grown quite fond of over the past few days. We peddled into Buckhorn, NM where we found pizza an beer. We got to consume these goodies on a porch swing behind the liquor store, listening to wind chimes and soft breeze, lovely :)
We had a few adventures in silver city the next day. Most notably the amazing bob breaking and good Samaritans to the rescue that Caley wrote about yesterday. After that event, we found ourselves at the manhattan bar in Hanover,nm. As far as I could tell, it is the only business in Hanover that was open. There were about 7 of us in the bar- us 3 spandex clad folks and 4 regulars. These guys turned out to be fantastic- we had some sing a longs with 80 year old men in cowboy hats and spurs. The bar owned kindly offered to let us camp behind the bar, which was later upgraded to a trailor. Another kind man we met was concerned about us being eaten by mountain lions, and insisted we stay In his trailor instead. So we did, and it was quite comfy.
After waking up in the, downing some cold oatmeal, we hoped on our bikes to head up Emory pass, the highest point on our ride at 8228 ft. It was a truly beautiful ride- pine trees, a creek, cute cows and lots and lots of climbing. We made it to the top, took in some amazing views, and then flew down the hill into a valley, and the town of hillsborough. We continued on the trend of meeting great people. We met this man Jim who takes care of the museum there and raises amazing cacti. He gave us a tour, and some string cheese and many stories about his interesting life.
We are currently camped out next to a reservoir, sleeping dirty in he sand, and ready to do it all again tomorrow.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Friday, March 30, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Thank God for Joe Wades!
Fortunately, I was stopped this afternoon when I discovered that I was one bolt short of a happy touring rig. As I straightened out my BOB/bicycle (the bobcicle, as Jess calls it), part of of the BOB fell right off the cycle. Realizing that I was either going to leave this trailer behind or just set up camp on the side of the highway, I began riffling through my gear in search of a spare bolt. Much to my surprise, I actually had one that fit perfectly! But much to my dismay, I found that it was useless to keep the BOB on the skewer unless I had a perfect nut or washer or something...duct tape wasn't going to solve this one. So we made a plan that I'd ride the 8 miles back towards Silver City, get some parts to hopefully do the trick, and ride back. I had made it half way to the appropriate side of the highway to begin my jaunt back, when a gold minivan pulled up in the middle of the road and the driver started asking me all about my bicycle trip. Of course I was happy to tell him all about it. I also told him of my current predicament, which was even more tricky to explain with cars whizzing by than it is to describe here in this blog. I shared my plan to ride to the hardware store. After asking me twice if I needed anything, I finally caved and asked for a ride. I cannot explain how thankful I felt to Joe Wade, Sr. and Joe Wade, Jr. as they drove me up and over those eight miles of hills I had just ridden down with a tailwind. They helped me pick out a nice selection of parts that would hopefully do the job.
On the way back, we chatted all about cycling and how much Joe Wade, Jr. is enjoying it. From his experience he knows the importance of carrying extra gear. He had driven by at the prefect time to observe the "riffling" part of my above story and thought he better turn around to see if we needed help. I talked with his lovely wife Karen on the phone to give her our blog address. I discovered that she grew up in Pacific Beach where we started and Joe Wade, Jr. grew up in Florida where we're ending. I'm quite thankful that 20 years of marriage has landed them happily and (very helpfully!) in the great state of New Mexico.
Delightfully, the parts worked! And I have a handful of spares if I need to make adjustments.
I struggle to ask for help. I am so thankful that today I met such generous folks who didn't struggle to offer it!
Keeping with the trend, we are currently bedding down in a cozy trailer in Hanover, NM. A kind man insisted we sleep in it so we "don't end up in the jaws of a mountain lion." But that's another story for another blog post.
Goodnight!
Caley
On the way back, we chatted all about cycling and how much Joe Wade, Jr. is enjoying it. From his experience he knows the importance of carrying extra gear. He had driven by at the prefect time to observe the "riffling" part of my above story and thought he better turn around to see if we needed help. I talked with his lovely wife Karen on the phone to give her our blog address. I discovered that she grew up in Pacific Beach where we started and Joe Wade, Jr. grew up in Florida where we're ending. I'm quite thankful that 20 years of marriage has landed them happily and (very helpfully!) in the great state of New Mexico.
Delightfully, the parts worked! And I have a handful of spares if I need to make adjustments.
I struggle to ask for help. I am so thankful that today I met such generous folks who didn't struggle to offer it!
Keeping with the trend, we are currently bedding down in a cozy trailer in Hanover, NM. A kind man insisted we sleep in it so we "don't end up in the jaws of a mountain lion." But that's another story for another blog post.
Goodnight!
Caley
Location:Nm Highway 90,Bayard,United States
Passes, 3 - way, pizza!
Jess, Caley, and I apologize for the paucity of blog posts. In all fairness it's not our fault...we're having entirely too much fun and there hasn't been cell phone reception...a double whammy!
This post will therefore begin on the evening of March 26th. We met a fellow cross country touring cyclist by the name of Randy. We all camped under some bleachers on the apache Indian reservation. Our friend Mike the police officer told us that we couldn't camp there but Jess and Caley can be quite persuasive. Instead of an eviction we received a complement on Jess's flashlight and a sentry to check on us intermittently. Weird, I know!
So the is a picture of Jess, Caley, Randy, and me getting coffee in Peridot on the reservation. Thanks for all the awesome suggestions on people to visit with Randy!
That day on the ride I made friends with a combine driver. There was a bit of a headwind and I was traveling at around 13 mph. Then this piece of farm equipment passed me and I decided to get right behind him to draft. I was going 22 mph using far less energy, it was awesome!!! I kept him as a draft for 5 miles!
We camped on a dark dessert highway [with] cool wind in my hair a bit out of Safford. I hope people just caught the Eagles reference! It had a spectacular view and the stars were amazing!
Then this morning (March 28th) we had two passes to ascend. The first was around 4600 feet before getting into the town of "three way." Below is a picture of the general store.
People should comment on how the town got its name. Jess, Caley and I will decide on the most humorous and come up with some sort of prize.
Then we ascended the second pass at an altitude of 6295 feet. Here's the serpentine road that we ascended. Jess commented that you "haven't climbed a pass until you have done so with a B.O.B (our trailers)."
After the descent we were getting hungry and it was getting dark. So we decided to get pizza and beer at the "last chance liquors" in Buckhorn. Here's all three pictures.
At dinner we met two people. One was a former pro cyclist who competed from '88-96 and the other was a multi country bike tourer. The former gentleman was teaching us how to better be homeless and live off of $100/month when the store owners kicked him out. I suppose ones reputation eventually catches up!
There were two babes at the store. They let me take a picture with them! Alas there roots were too strongly implanted in Buckhorn for them to join me.
As my eyelids are getting heaver I realize its about that time to sign off. So as Mark and Tom told me on the larger of the two passes, "stay vertical!" Somehow it doesn't seem as applicable at night or to you my readers...so I'll just take it to heart tomorrow!
G'night!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
This post will therefore begin on the evening of March 26th. We met a fellow cross country touring cyclist by the name of Randy. We all camped under some bleachers on the apache Indian reservation. Our friend Mike the police officer told us that we couldn't camp there but Jess and Caley can be quite persuasive. Instead of an eviction we received a complement on Jess's flashlight and a sentry to check on us intermittently. Weird, I know!
So the is a picture of Jess, Caley, Randy, and me getting coffee in Peridot on the reservation. Thanks for all the awesome suggestions on people to visit with Randy!
That day on the ride I made friends with a combine driver. There was a bit of a headwind and I was traveling at around 13 mph. Then this piece of farm equipment passed me and I decided to get right behind him to draft. I was going 22 mph using far less energy, it was awesome!!! I kept him as a draft for 5 miles!
We camped on a dark dessert highway [with] cool wind in my hair a bit out of Safford. I hope people just caught the Eagles reference! It had a spectacular view and the stars were amazing!
Then this morning (March 28th) we had two passes to ascend. The first was around 4600 feet before getting into the town of "three way." Below is a picture of the general store.
People should comment on how the town got its name. Jess, Caley and I will decide on the most humorous and come up with some sort of prize.
Then we ascended the second pass at an altitude of 6295 feet. Here's the serpentine road that we ascended. Jess commented that you "haven't climbed a pass until you have done so with a B.O.B (our trailers)."
After the descent we were getting hungry and it was getting dark. So we decided to get pizza and beer at the "last chance liquors" in Buckhorn. Here's all three pictures.
At dinner we met two people. One was a former pro cyclist who competed from '88-96 and the other was a multi country bike tourer. The former gentleman was teaching us how to better be homeless and live off of $100/month when the store owners kicked him out. I suppose ones reputation eventually catches up!
There were two babes at the store. They let me take a picture with them! Alas there roots were too strongly implanted in Buckhorn for them to join me.
As my eyelids are getting heaver I realize its about that time to sign off. So as Mark and Tom told me on the larger of the two passes, "stay vertical!" Somehow it doesn't seem as applicable at night or to you my readers...so I'll just take it to heart tomorrow!
G'night!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Location:Buckhorn, NM
Flowers and 500 miles
March 26
Our beautiful ride today took us east from Phoenix along wildflower-lined roads. Mixtures of orange, pink, yellow, blue, and purple highlighted our way.
We climbed up two passes today--Gonzales and Signal Mountain.
On our way up the second pass, we hit 500 miles for the trip.
So we jumped up and down to celebrate.
We made it to Peridot on the Apache Reservation, where Steve met us with our gear. He is going back to his home in Durango tomorrow and we will miss him terribly. We were blessed to have his encouragement, support, humor, and extremely positive presence to start us out well.
And now we're sleeping under some bleachers.
Our beautiful ride today took us east from Phoenix along wildflower-lined roads. Mixtures of orange, pink, yellow, blue, and purple highlighted our way.
We climbed up two passes today--Gonzales and Signal Mountain.
On our way up the second pass, we hit 500 miles for the trip.
So we jumped up and down to celebrate.
We made it to Peridot on the Apache Reservation, where Steve met us with our gear. He is going back to his home in Durango tomorrow and we will miss him terribly. We were blessed to have his encouragement, support, humor, and extremely positive presence to start us out well.
And now we're sleeping under some bleachers.
Location:Unnamed Rd,Rio Verde,United States
Monday, March 26, 2012
Phoenix and friends!
It is been a while since I've blogged, so this might be a little bit interesting and difficult to follow... you have been warned.
Near the end of the day of biking on March 23 we happened across this fascinating assortment of welded creatures. The mane of the horses was made of shreds of metal and it created a creepy sound when the wind went through it. Jess wondered what all the different iron creatures ate, my suspicion was that it was an iron creature graveyard. A La Brea tar pit of steel if you will. Here's a couple of pictures.
We spent that evening doing karaoke for the first time. We met a very pleasant person who goes by the name of Tim. He was all sorts of helpful and kind as he wanted us to stay with him. Jess, Caley, and his wife thought it was a little creepy. So we camped in an orchard but I'm sure that you've already seeing that.
Then on March 24, eagle eyed Caley was able to spot a friend on the evening that we were hiking to the motor Speedway. Caley likely moved a little bit too fast for him and he had cold feet. Here's the picture of the smooch that she tried to sneak.
Here's a little taste of some of the shenanigans we experienced at the motor Speedway.
March 25 was full of an incredible amount of taste sensations, here they are in chronological order. This picture is evidence of one of the most incredibly sour things I've ever experienced. Who knew and orange to be so potent!!!
Jess also got to experience this, and she likened it to a mouth full of those warhead candies that we likely all had as a child.
Jason told me that I had to go to in and out burger. So we made the sacrifice to be able to find one. We had to go a full mile outside of our way!
Here is our 10:30 AM snack that was well worth ANY amount that we had to go out of the way for! I had two double doubles animal style, animal style fries, and a shake. Caley commented that I was one greasy animal after that! Mom, now would be an appropriate time for me to tell you that I've been wearing sunscreen everyday :-)
Jess and Caley were feeling adventurous, so they decided to try out some oranges off another tree. This one was exceedingly better! Some of them even found their way into dinner.
Here is that very pleasant dinner.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Near the end of the day of biking on March 23 we happened across this fascinating assortment of welded creatures. The mane of the horses was made of shreds of metal and it created a creepy sound when the wind went through it. Jess wondered what all the different iron creatures ate, my suspicion was that it was an iron creature graveyard. A La Brea tar pit of steel if you will. Here's a couple of pictures.
We spent that evening doing karaoke for the first time. We met a very pleasant person who goes by the name of Tim. He was all sorts of helpful and kind as he wanted us to stay with him. Jess, Caley, and his wife thought it was a little creepy. So we camped in an orchard but I'm sure that you've already seeing that.
Then on March 24, eagle eyed Caley was able to spot a friend on the evening that we were hiking to the motor Speedway. Caley likely moved a little bit too fast for him and he had cold feet. Here's the picture of the smooch that she tried to sneak.
Here's a little taste of some of the shenanigans we experienced at the motor Speedway.
March 25 was full of an incredible amount of taste sensations, here they are in chronological order. This picture is evidence of one of the most incredibly sour things I've ever experienced. Who knew and orange to be so potent!!!
Jess also got to experience this, and she likened it to a mouth full of those warhead candies that we likely all had as a child.
Jason told me that I had to go to in and out burger. So we made the sacrifice to be able to find one. We had to go a full mile outside of our way!
Here is our 10:30 AM snack that was well worth ANY amount that we had to go out of the way for! I had two double doubles animal style, animal style fries, and a shake. Caley commented that I was one greasy animal after that! Mom, now would be an appropriate time for me to tell you that I've been wearing sunscreen everyday :-)
Jess and Caley were feeling adventurous, so they decided to try out some oranges off another tree. This one was exceedingly better! Some of them even found their way into dinner.
Here is that very pleasant dinner.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Sunrises, sunsets, mud pits and monster trucks
This morning we woke up in an orchard to this lovely sunrise. That is tad in the comfy hammock. Soon, the sound of machinery and radio made us realize workers were about to show up, and it was probably time to clear out.
We rolled on out to the road where we continued to have some pretty stellar roadside finds. The top for today was an iPhone that we are going to try to sell at radio shack. This then prompted the idea that we could really just finance this trip from things we find and our hidden talents: juggling, being able to stick a whole fist in ones own mouth, and displaying watercolor body art.
We also finally figured out tad's chocolate milk capacity (the man has been running on a lot of dairy fuel). It is a little LESS than over half a gallon of milk- according to tads calculations about 2000 calories worth.
Caley and Jess ( having much less lactase than Tad) finally found some chocolate soy milk, which makes a refreshing roadside snack.
At the end of the day we road our bikes off into this sunset, and set up camp.
As it turned out, not only did we camp with that pretty sunset, we also landed real close to the amazing find of Speedworld.
I can only begin to describe this scene.
First, think monster trucks. Then add in dirt bikes, 4wheelers, budlight, short shorts and a mud Pitt. This was one of our favorite trucks, the wheels are higher than my hip!
People were pulling some serious aerials on dirt bikes and running big trucks through the mud pit at max speed. They also figure out this great trick of putting crushed beer cans in the truck exhaust pipe, starting the engine and letting em fly...sweet. We are falling asleep to the sounds of motors running. Saturday night in the outskirts of Phoenix.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
We rolled on out to the road where we continued to have some pretty stellar roadside finds. The top for today was an iPhone that we are going to try to sell at radio shack. This then prompted the idea that we could really just finance this trip from things we find and our hidden talents: juggling, being able to stick a whole fist in ones own mouth, and displaying watercolor body art.
We also finally figured out tad's chocolate milk capacity (the man has been running on a lot of dairy fuel). It is a little LESS than over half a gallon of milk- according to tads calculations about 2000 calories worth.
Caley and Jess ( having much less lactase than Tad) finally found some chocolate soy milk, which makes a refreshing roadside snack.
At the end of the day we road our bikes off into this sunset, and set up camp.
As it turned out, not only did we camp with that pretty sunset, we also landed real close to the amazing find of Speedworld.
I can only begin to describe this scene.
First, think monster trucks. Then add in dirt bikes, 4wheelers, budlight, short shorts and a mud Pitt. This was one of our favorite trucks, the wheels are higher than my hip!
People were pulling some serious aerials on dirt bikes and running big trucks through the mud pit at max speed. They also figure out this great trick of putting crushed beer cans in the truck exhaust pipe, starting the engine and letting em fly...sweet. We are falling asleep to the sounds of motors running. Saturday night in the outskirts of Phoenix.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Location:Surprise, Arizona
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Roadside treasures
March 23
Today we spent a fair amount of time riding along interstate 10. While the shoulder was wide and motorists gave us generous passing space, the constant sound of vehicles and 6 lanes of asphalt are less that peaceful and picturesque. The good part about riding along the side of the interstate, however, is all the fascinating discarded items one has the opportunity to observe. The shoes, cups, shirts, toys, bungee cords, and blankets abounded. Many filled our imaginations of the mishaps of family road trips and backseat sibling strife. We saw discarded soda, gatorade, and mouthwash bottles all filled with a similarly yellow substance from folks who apparently did not enjoy the fine rest stop at the CA/AZ boarder. Out finest find was a sun-stiffened straw hat that seems appropriate to carry along on this Southern Tier.
Yesterday we were eating another 1.5 quarts of ice cream when Jessica's spoon suddenly snapped in half. We kept our eyes peeled for a replacement on the road and serendipitously found this one.
But we returned it to its resting place as the residual heroin baked onto it wouldn't go well with any ice cream favors we plan to consume.
We also found a University of Washington shoe! It was laceless and tongueless...hopefully I'll fair better at UW.
Today confirmed that we are definitely faster than a covered wagon as we passed three of them in our 67 miles.
We also found Hope.
And shortly later:
(and so is they're grammar ;) )
We found this bumper sticker at the Cactus Bar, where we also has our debut on the karaoke scene.
(I guess we are a little smelly).
And then we found an orchard outside of Salome, AZ where we are falling asleep under the stars.
Today we spent a fair amount of time riding along interstate 10. While the shoulder was wide and motorists gave us generous passing space, the constant sound of vehicles and 6 lanes of asphalt are less that peaceful and picturesque. The good part about riding along the side of the interstate, however, is all the fascinating discarded items one has the opportunity to observe. The shoes, cups, shirts, toys, bungee cords, and blankets abounded. Many filled our imaginations of the mishaps of family road trips and backseat sibling strife. We saw discarded soda, gatorade, and mouthwash bottles all filled with a similarly yellow substance from folks who apparently did not enjoy the fine rest stop at the CA/AZ boarder. Out finest find was a sun-stiffened straw hat that seems appropriate to carry along on this Southern Tier.
Yesterday we were eating another 1.5 quarts of ice cream when Jessica's spoon suddenly snapped in half. We kept our eyes peeled for a replacement on the road and serendipitously found this one.
But we returned it to its resting place as the residual heroin baked onto it wouldn't go well with any ice cream favors we plan to consume.
We also found a University of Washington shoe! It was laceless and tongueless...hopefully I'll fair better at UW.
Today confirmed that we are definitely faster than a covered wagon as we passed three of them in our 67 miles.
We also found Hope.
And shortly later:
(and so is they're grammar ;) )
We found this bumper sticker at the Cactus Bar, where we also has our debut on the karaoke scene.
(I guess we are a little smelly).
And then we found an orchard outside of Salome, AZ where we are falling asleep under the stars.
Location:E 46th Ave,Salome,United States
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
"What do you eat?"
I find it funny that when you tell someone you're biking across the country, one of the first things they ask: "Well, what do ya eat?!"
So I thought I'd answer this little question for y'all. Highlights thus far have included:
Couscous, veggies, canned chicken, and a little desert sage that we picked from right next to our poached camping spot last night.
Peanut butter on bananas, apples, bread, spoons, and fingers is becoming a staple. We're also enjoying sesame sticks, grapes, and trail mix...though the trail mix is mightily improved when fortified with supplemental vitamin M. Check out that ratio!
Tad likes to drink a quart or two of milk or chocolate milk whenever possible. I think the price to distance ratio that he gets out of that is pretty stellar compared to the gas price to MPG ratio here in California.
We enjoyed polishing off a 1.5 quart of moose tracks ice cream for a snack this afternoon.
Please note the innovative seating apparatus. Good thinking, Tad!
All gone and ready to go ride 20 miles in the 90 degree weather.
We met a sweet man from Mexico and learned his strange but brilliant technique of inserting a salted date pit into an orange and drinking the juice. Tastes slightly better than any oral rehydration solutions we've tried.
And here's our peaceful dinner/camping spot for the evening where we cooked up a basil pasta with canned salmon. Not too shabby!
We love eating 6000+ calories. Can't wait to do it again tomorrow.
So I thought I'd answer this little question for y'all. Highlights thus far have included:
Couscous, veggies, canned chicken, and a little desert sage that we picked from right next to our poached camping spot last night.
Peanut butter on bananas, apples, bread, spoons, and fingers is becoming a staple. We're also enjoying sesame sticks, grapes, and trail mix...though the trail mix is mightily improved when fortified with supplemental vitamin M. Check out that ratio!
Tad likes to drink a quart or two of milk or chocolate milk whenever possible. I think the price to distance ratio that he gets out of that is pretty stellar compared to the gas price to MPG ratio here in California.
We enjoyed polishing off a 1.5 quart of moose tracks ice cream for a snack this afternoon.
Please note the innovative seating apparatus. Good thinking, Tad!
All gone and ready to go ride 20 miles in the 90 degree weather.
We met a sweet man from Mexico and learned his strange but brilliant technique of inserting a salted date pit into an orange and drinking the juice. Tastes slightly better than any oral rehydration solutions we've tried.
And here's our peaceful dinner/camping spot for the evening where we cooked up a basil pasta with canned salmon. Not too shabby!
We love eating 6000+ calories. Can't wait to do it again tomorrow.
Location:W Carter Rd,Brawley,United States
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