Days 1-10
Day 1 was beautiful and relieving. Beautiful for the cloud free day and the love and support shown me by the dozens of cyclists there to see me off. Having my kids there was another meaningful piece. Some peeled off at Carvers, others at Lightner Creek, and most of the rest at the top of Hesperus. One daring cyclist even went as far as Chambers, AZ with me. Hairball is a champion and friend who needed his own little tour as a cleansing. We stayed night one with the Tomacs in McElmo Canyon. Eli and Johnny rode to the Utah state line with us at Ismay Trading Post. It's the funkiest Trading Post I've seen. A page right out of the past...
Day 2 finds us entering the Navajo Rez at Montezuma Creek and Joining highway 191, which we'll follow for days, and I alone for at least a week as I make my way toward Mexico. Nice camp spot near Mexican Water.
Day 3 to Chinle through fantastic slickrock canyon country. The traffic and road conditions (no shoulder) were difficult between Many Farms and Chinle.
Day 4's highlight was the Nazlini cut-off to Ganado. It started with a dirt road descent through the painted desert with zero traffic for hours. The road turned to beautiful pavement and still no traffic. After passing the villiage of Nazlini, the road tilted straight up. Granny got a workout on that one. Spent the night camping near Klagetoh.
Day 5: HB and I part ways. Greg's got a meeting in Chicago on Sunday and needs to get his ass to Phoenix. I continue south on 191. I camp north of St. Johns.
Day 6: St. Johns to Springerville. Barren stretch of nothing but burnt grass, an occasional pinon tree, and distant mountains.
Day 7: I enter the White Mountains, through Alpine and into the high country. I get my first flat today as a piece of wire stuck my tire. I camp at about 9,000 ft in a nice forest with distant views to the east. The traffic here is minimal. A couple cars per hour. Very relaxing...
Day 8 needs to be a big day as there are no services for the next 75 miles. I get an early start, and flat again! Another piece of wire. It's a pain in the ass to fix a rear flat on this bke of mine, "The Noodle." The frame is super flexible, thus the nickname. I make it to Morenci just as it's getting dark. What an awful big hole Phelps-Dodge has dug in the ground there. It's an open pit mine of epic proportions. It smells here. It's dusty and they dig all night. Tomorrow, I'm outta here!
Day 9 and I'm off toward Safford. Desert country, beautiful but brutal. Built a truss for my whippy top tube today and bolted it on at the local bike shop. It seems to help a little.....Hot and dry. Stocked up on groceries and headed off to camp. Found a dandy in a wash about 10 miles south of Safford.
Day 10: Headwind. The kilometers come hard today, the miles even harder. I decide to push into Willcox and get a room, do some laundry, and recharge.
Day 2 finds us entering the Navajo Rez at Montezuma Creek and Joining highway 191, which we'll follow for days, and I alone for at least a week as I make my way toward Mexico. Nice camp spot near Mexican Water.
Day 3 to Chinle through fantastic slickrock canyon country. The traffic and road conditions (no shoulder) were difficult between Many Farms and Chinle.
Day 4's highlight was the Nazlini cut-off to Ganado. It started with a dirt road descent through the painted desert with zero traffic for hours. The road turned to beautiful pavement and still no traffic. After passing the villiage of Nazlini, the road tilted straight up. Granny got a workout on that one. Spent the night camping near Klagetoh.
Day 5: HB and I part ways. Greg's got a meeting in Chicago on Sunday and needs to get his ass to Phoenix. I continue south on 191. I camp north of St. Johns.
Day 6: St. Johns to Springerville. Barren stretch of nothing but burnt grass, an occasional pinon tree, and distant mountains.
Day 7: I enter the White Mountains, through Alpine and into the high country. I get my first flat today as a piece of wire stuck my tire. I camp at about 9,000 ft in a nice forest with distant views to the east. The traffic here is minimal. A couple cars per hour. Very relaxing...
Day 8 needs to be a big day as there are no services for the next 75 miles. I get an early start, and flat again! Another piece of wire. It's a pain in the ass to fix a rear flat on this bke of mine, "The Noodle." The frame is super flexible, thus the nickname. I make it to Morenci just as it's getting dark. What an awful big hole Phelps-Dodge has dug in the ground there. It's an open pit mine of epic proportions. It smells here. It's dusty and they dig all night. Tomorrow, I'm outta here!
Day 9 and I'm off toward Safford. Desert country, beautiful but brutal. Built a truss for my whippy top tube today and bolted it on at the local bike shop. It seems to help a little.....Hot and dry. Stocked up on groceries and headed off to camp. Found a dandy in a wash about 10 miles south of Safford.
Day 10: Headwind. The kilometers come hard today, the miles even harder. I decide to push into Willcox and get a room, do some laundry, and recharge.
Labels: bicycle bob, costa rica, durango, touring
posted by Bicycle Bob at
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