Cattle and the Chili Capital of the West

 Day 5, April 6, 2011 – Cattle and The Chili Capital of the West

Route from Kingston Campground to Hacienda RV Park in Las Cruces NM

91.7 windy miles but still averaged 14.3 mph because of the downhill out of Kingston

Turned south along the Rio Grande Valley.  Hard to believe that such a storied river is so very narrow and so muddy.  I thought that the North Platte River in Wyoming was the river known as being to be too thin to plow, but too thick to drink, well the Rio Grande rivals the Platte.

Heading down hill from Kingston, I raced and dodged cattle on the road.

It truly is amazing the amount of agriculture the Rio Grande supports.  I rode through fields of onions, alfalfa and what would become cotton.  You could see that this area is certainly known for its production of chilies.  Hatch is an interesting community that really capitalizes on this production.

Around 10 in the morning I met Nick, a westbound cyclist.  He is on his way to be a park ranger in Yellowstone this summer.  Who knows we might be able to hook up with him again when we are there.  It is quite a lot of fun to meet and talk with the other travelers on the road.

Best Moment – Dinner at Los Mariachis with Hatch chili rellenos and authentic Mexican food.

Worst Moment – While the campground was probably the best we’ve stayed in so far, it is right on the interstate and very noisy at night.  I could hear all of the trucks on their ways east or west.

Just started listening to Scarecrow – a murder mystery of sorts, but didn’t get too far along.

 

One of my followers said she couldn't find my link to Livestrong.  In case you are also looking for it, here it is http://grassroots2011.livestrong.org/billsbigride197

Climbs and More Climbs

Tuesday, April 5, 2011 Day 4 Climbs and More Climbs

Route from Buckhorn RV Park to Kingston Campground

Three brutal climbs!!!!  OMG!!!!
1. The first was crossing the Continental Divide from 4541 to 6230 feet.

2. The second was a climb before the big climb from the Mimbres River at 5775 to 6741.
3. The third climb was from 6741 to the top of Emory Pass at 8226 feet.  It was a real killer.  There were lots of 7 to 10% grades.

85.8 miles – A tough 77 miles then 8 miles of straight downhill to Kingston.  The Gila National Forest is quite scenic.  The pine forest was very fragrant.  There was hardly any traffic in either direction – something I’m sure will change as summer comes on and made the riding fun.

Pretty cool seeing the Santa Rita Mine

Temperatures while starting in the 40’s still rose into the 90’s - which made the climbing tough.

Best moment – A glass of wine with our neighbors in the Kingston campground.  There were only two campers.  This included us, and a delightful couple touring with their twin four-year old daughters.  They were spending 6 months in the states on vacation.  He was a professor of CIS at a University in Zurich and she an artist.

Worst moment – having to waste all of the work climbing because the descent was so steep, I had to use the brakes to stay under control on the downhill switchbacks when the speed limit was 10 MPH. (Not that I was that slow, but still)

Listening to Saving CeCe Honeycutt – I think that it was an Oprah book selection.  Sort of a tender story about a 12 year old girl who had to take care of her psychotic mother.  After the mother was killed, the girl was and raised by a great aunt from Savannah, still acted like she was living in the pre-antebellum South.  A good story about friendship.

Didn't have any cell service or any internet service.  Neita couldn't get the message when I gave her my ETA so as I pulled into camp around 5:15, Ron was getting ready to head out to look for me.  I still averaged 11. 4 mph even with all of the climbs. 

Monday, April 4, 2011 – Day 3 – Headwinds, Hills and Emotional Highs

Monday, April 4, 2011 – Day 3 – Headwinds, Hills and Emotional Highs

Route from Sunrise RV Park in Safford to Buckhorn, RV Park in Buckhorn, NM

77.8 miles of mostly uphill twice – The first pass was just west of Three Way, AZ going from about 2900 feet in Safford to 4800 feet at the first pass then downhill to Three Way which was the first high –OH YEAH!!  Here I met another through cyclist carrying all of his gear, he was planning on going to Florida and seemed to have a tough time with the hills probably because of all of the extra weight.

Then from Three Way at about 3700 feet, I climbed and climbed to 6295 with switchbacks – a tough climb.  The downhill another emotional high I went down the forested road screaming in exhilaration.  Inhaling the wonderful scents of the pine forest.  The downhill was nearly all of the way to Buckhorn, NM with a few other climbs and some fun rollers.

Temperature range 63 in Safford – 82 on the climbs to a wonderful 75.

Best moment – eating lunch with Ron and Neita near the top of the pass looking down on where I’d come from.

Worst moment - turning onto highway 191 into the headwind.  This and the hills cut the average speed for today to 12.4 mph.

Listening to Sarah’s Key –an interesting historical fiction about a young French, Jewish girl who escaped from a Nazi prison camp to rescue her younger brother whom she had been locked in a cabinet in their apartment to avoid his being taken captive by Nazi’s.  Juxtaposition to this story line is the modern day reporter who was assigned the story of the French involvement in turning Jews over to the Nazi’s.

Scenery  -

Remarkable –  At the top of the pass, one could still see the snow capped mountain  by Safford.  The fireplace at a settler’s cabin.

Switchbacks to the top

New state – welcome to New Mexico – sort of a disappointing sign.

And the New Mexican Sunset from where we were camped in Buckhorn

Day 2 Astonishing Vistas - Disgusting Trash

Route from Apache Gold RV Resort to Sunrise RV Park in Safford.

75.7 miles of mostly down hill, with a few climbs and wonderful wind pushing me along.  Although when it was a cross wind instead of a tail wind things weren’t so wonderful.  Overall I averaged about 16.5 mph and got to Ruby around 1:30.  A good day.

Temperatures ranged from 68 when I left Globe to 100 in Pima, but it was at least a lot cooler than yesterday and since there wasn’t a lot of climbing and a tailwind, life was good!

Best moment – A tail wind not a head wind.

Worst moment – After seeing signs every half mile for about eight miles outside of Pima about Taylor Freeze and their ice cream, (24 + flavors) milkshakes and banana splits, they were closed (always on Sunday) when I finally got to the store.

Listening to William Faulkner’s Sanctuary – still

Now about the title – the vistas going from Globe to Peridot through the San Carlos Apache Reservation and the Gila River Valley were absolutely astonishing.  The scenery was much like you’d see in any of the old John Wayne western movies. One could easily imagine the cavalry galloping across from the mesas to the plains.

The tragedy is that the sides of the road are littered with every imaginable brand of beer and soda bottle, every kind of fast food drink cup and all manners of trash including pizza boxes.  (Pizza Boxes?!?!) I don’t know if you remember the ad some time ago with Native American with a tear streaming down his face because of the disrespect shown for such a beautiful country.  It is abhorrent.

State Route 70 is also known as The Old West Highway – where history still lives.

 Some of the great historical markers include:
• The Geronimo Historical Marker
• Fort Thomas – part of the US strategy to subdue the American Indians
• And my personal favorite – the Melvin Jones historical marker.  (I know that the photo is terrible, but felt it should be here - one of Arizona's famous sons.)  By the way Globe is still claiming Rose Monfort - Arizona's first lady. Who was Melvin Jones, you might ask.  Well he was the guy who founded the Lions Club, which became the largest service organization internationally and worked to help preserve sight.  I still remember my dad selling light bulbs, the fundraiser for the Riverton Lions to help families purchase eye glasses.   I wonder if they still do that?

I’m still smiling because I can’t believe that I’m really getting to do this.  Thanks Neita and everyone who made this possible.  (check out Neita’s blog www.rubyandrocket.blogspot.com )

It is finally here! Day one and Bills Big Ride Out!!!

Day 1

It is finally the day!!

I rode from Paradise Valley to Globe AZ  98.1 miles where I met Neita, Ron, and the rest of the group at Apache Gold Casino RV Park which was sort of scary a asphalt lot with hook ups

Ride out of Town

Arrival at Globe



Hotter than all get out – 108 in Apache Junction
Elevation gain -1200 feet to 4830 feet – all in last 11 miles and then down hill to Globe

Best moment - Being asked to speak at a  group special needs meeting when we stopped to use the restroom at Red Mountain Community Center –director gave us iced water bottles and promised to follow the blog,. The ride out. And most of the rest of the day.

Worst moment – Seeing the motorcycle accident in Mesa.  The woman on the scooter wasn’t wearing a helmet and things didn’t look good for her.

Amazing send off at Chris’s house – about fifty friends came to see us leave and about 10 rode out with Tim & Gary making it to Globe, albeit not the whole way on bicycles.

Listened to A Room with a View.  I'm not really sure that I’m into British Romance
Sanctuary – William Faulkner

Amazing Amazing ride  - especially the ride from Top of the World to Miami all downhill and fast.

This sign lied.  The 6% downhill grade sign for the next 12 miles was really only about one mile and then there was the climb to the Top of the World.  That was a challenging climb, but the downhill was lots of fun!
Tim, Gary and Curt had dinner with us at Ruby and left to drive back to Phoenix around 7:30.  It was so great to have them along.  After Tim left, he and Curt sort of acted as the sag vehicle checking on Gary and I until we got to the RV or gave up.

Best tasting food of course it all was, but the M & M ice cream bar in Superior was outstanding – probably because I had climbed Gonzales Pass  (2651 feet)

February 2011 (second half) or Lost in Casa Grande!

Picachio Peak in the distance

The last week in February Neita and I decided that we should test our plan of my bicycling to the campground where Neita had driven Ruby (the red motorhome).  We were planning on staying in Arizona City, which is south east of Casa Grande.  I left home around 9:30 on what should have been a 70 mile ride to where we were spending the night.  Using Google Maps for bicycles which is in the Beta test stage, I headed out.  I don't know if the streets were correctly named, the street signs were missing or I just didn't see them, but the ride to AZ City ended up taking 110 windy tiring miles and I didn't arrive until nearly 7 pm in the dark and famished. This was after doing a perimeter ride of Casa Grande and then some.

I did learn a couple of really important lessons.  

1. Make sure to carry a real map.
2. Listen very careful when helpful strangers try to tell you where to go and still carry a real map.
3. Plan for things to take lots longer than you expect they should
4. Have a GPS application for the cell phone.  I now have that.   

I made it to Coolidge!

After a fairly short ride on Sunday, I mapped the return route using roads that I knew existed and came home using AZ highway 87.  There were snow capped hills to the east and north of Coolidge, which was quite scenic.  The ride on Monday was 90 miles, making the entire weekend 230 miles - close to the average of 80 miles a day that I will be doing. 



February 2011 (first half)

My completion certificate

What a bike shop should look like - my work bench looks like this, right? (Not even close)



I spent the 2nd week of February in Colorado Springs at Barnett Bicycle Institute attending the Bicycle Assembly and Maintenance course.  Wow, I never knew that there was so much to know about bike building.  Of course the last bicycle that I actually worked on myself was a 1965 three speed Schwinn, and there wasn't a lot that could go wrong with those - not nearly as many gears as either of my current bikes has just on one cog.  The class was great.  I received the completion certificate and even passed.  I know that I still hope that I don't need to use any of the knowledge just yet, because I feel a little overwhelmed, but if I have to, I could probably install a derailluer or true a wheel. ( a few more things than just fixing a flat tire)

Colorado Springs is beautiful but oh my was it cold - below zero most mornings as we walked to class from the TravelLodge about a half block away from the school.  I didn't ride at all even though I brought along my bike - just in case.

Garden of the Gods

Bicycle Art in Manitou Springs