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!
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Location:Buckhorn, NM
The official story is that the town of 3 Way is named after their most famous resident - the inventor of the 3 way light switch. It's as simple as that. Sheesh, you guys need to grow up.
ReplyDeleteHowever, some locals did tell me another, possibly apocryphal, story of the origin of the town's name. Back in the day, the town now known as 3 Way served as a major resupply hub for gold prospectors in the area.
Two local ladies saw the opportunity, and went into business providing *ahem* services for the lonely prospectors. Across the west, word spread of these two ladies, their considerable skill, and their shapely posteriors.
Fights often broke out in the local saloon between men arguing over which lady was best. A bitter rivalry quickly developed.
One customer attempted to settle the question for himself by hiring both women simultaneously. Their rivalry and competitive spirit resulted in some crazy antics and a very satisfied customer.
Once again, word spread, and it wasn't long before people were traveling from days around for the experience. "Hey, are you going to 3 way?" became a popular refrain between travelers on the trail. The name stuck, but that's not where the story ends.
This being well before the availability of effective birth control, and their profession being what it was, both ladies had numerous children over the years. When their daughters grew up, most of them settled nearby, and it was discovered that they had inherited their mothers' famous backsides.
This lead to the area being informally called The Derrieres. The population of the area continued to grow until it was eventually incorporated as two separate towns, Derry and Arrey. You probably rode through them today.