Hello!
I last wrote from CA and am now in Phoenix, AZ staying with my aunt and uncle for Thanksgiving. Not a whole lot has happened since the last entry, but I'll break it down by day anyway I guess.
On day 4 (Nov 22) I rode 55 miles from Blythe, CA to Hope, AZ. I crossed the Colorado river first thing in the morning and had to ride for a bit on the shoulder of I-10 which was kinda annoying. It was nice when semis drove by though cause they gave me a little push of wind and easy pedalling for a minute. I had a couple hills and rode up through some rocky mountains and saw my first saguaro cacti! They are so goofy looking. I stayed at a RV park in Hope and the reception lady was really really nice. She did Cycle Oregon (a ride all around Oregon during the summer) a couple years ago and had lived in various Portland suburbs. Her daughter is an aerobics instructor at my at the fancy gym/club thing my Grandma used to be a member of. It was really nice to chat with her about home in the middle of the desert in AZ! The RV park was really cute with a bunch of senior citizens playing cards and driving their ATVs around on the little gravel roads. At night a little tiny fox kept coming to investigate my panniers and bike. I talked to him a little bit and he would cock his head to side and just watch me. So cute!
Day 5 I rode from Hope to Aguila, only about 35 miles. Nice and easy! Aguila was pretty slow and boring, but they had a library so I had internet. I stayed in another RV park for a night.
On day 6 I rode from Aguila into the suburbs of Phoenix to Surprise. It was about 65 miles but felt really really easy. Part of the highway had been repaved so it was nice and smooth. Again, nothing really exciting, but it was nice to see a bigger town. I stayed in a hotel for the night.
Today I rode from Surprise 35 miles into Tempe where my uncle picked me up. Today also felt really easy and for about half of the ride I was on a bike path along the Arizona canal, thus avoiding stoplights and traffic making the ride much more relaxing. Some of the road underpasses on the bike path had bums in them though which was kinda stressful, but there were lots of people out and about riding and running.
I will be staying here in Phoenix for the next few days relaxing and researching and planning the next segment of my ride. I have the basic schedule figured out, but I need to double check my mileage math and check on the weather (I have a 8000ft pass to go over) and make sure campgrounds will be open. If all this checks out, I will be continuing on to El Paso. If not, then I'll head back to Mammoth Lakes and hang out with Matt some more!
Happy Thanksgiving!
