NASD2SA2022

Sunday March 20th  Last night around 10 PM, we were abruptly woken up by the local Coyotes.  Nice to have real wildlife living around you. Went to REI this morning, bought more tubes and a T-shirt to replace the one that disappeared during laundry services. Starbucks and Apple also on our errand list. Lunch was pizza at the campsite and I believe that we devoured a dozen pies. As promised, the rain started mid afternoon and turned the day dark and dank. But we would rather have rain on a rest day than on a riding day, so we accepted the forecast,  promising rain to end around sunset today.  Burgers and hot dogs for dinner, ice cream sundaes for desert. And off to bed before 8 PM.  

  Saturday March 19th Today is our eighth day straight riding without a “holiday”.  Fortunately tomorrow is a rest day at the Park Campground.  Not a long ride today but the wind was coming directly into our face from the Southeast.  And no wi fi at the park.  I can get a weak cell signal if I walk away from the camp, hold the phone over my head and look toward the heavens.  Hot and Sunny, but no Interstate 8.  I believe I-8 ended around Casa Grande and sorta merges with I-10.  So slow going, most of the morning spent in my small chainring averaging 10-11mph.   Lunch stop was in the town of Marana, another little Mexican roadside restaurant.  After a giant, hadda be three pound bean and chicken burrito, and a quart of Dr Pepper we started the final assault uphill into the foothills to Catalina State Park. The last few miles were on the Tucson bike path, a very impressive route in and around Tucson. We stayed here 2 years ago, very clean ...

Friday March 18th The DIP was DRY  We had a quiet night at the “old” school in Gila Bend.  Started out right at 7:30 AM towards Casa Grande. Today was our closest approach to Phoenix, maybe 50 miles or so.  The first 25-30 miles were a slow pace all on I-8 up a 2-3% grade.  At about mile 35 we hit our high altitude for the day (2,000’), exited I-8 and then a nice slight downhill grade to the town of Stanfield at mile 47.  I had eaten at a small Mexican grocery/ food counter in 2020, and since today was a 73 miler, stopped in for lunch. I remember the same guy cooking behind the counter.  Three shrimp tacos, rice and beans, and a 20 ounce Lemonade for $14.  It was a typical high noon Arizona day, bright sun and moderate breezes, no apparent direction. Stopped to help another rider (Linda of Jeffs 2019 C2C) finish changing a flat.  There have been a lot of truck tire wire flats, thanks I-8.  Arrived at the High Chaparral Campsite around 2:30. ...

Thursday March 17th Hoeing veggies by hand One of our Sag stops, usually two of these on a typical day. Snacks, beverage and tortilla wraps with bananas, apples, Nutella or Peanut Butter.  This machine-handles just picked, sometimes washes, and packed into crates/boxes I dont know what citrus these trees were, but they were all flat topped.  Arrival yesterday at Dateland, after consuming my date shake.  One of the many cattle feedlots.  Another different style harvesting machine, still very labor intensive.  Thursday mornings sunrise as we were getting ready to leave Dateland.    Trying to limit myself to one beer a day.  Doing ok so far, but 8 weeks is a long time.  Tonights accommodations at a public school in Gila Bend AZ Last night cooled off pleasantly, but if you didn't fall asleep quickly you might have been awakened by trains and highway traffic all night.  I was ok until about 4 AM, couldn't fall back asleep due to outside noise...

Wednesday March 16th   We are staying in a “primitive” campground in Dateland AZ. No wi-fi and barely cell service. I will try to add some of todays photos in tomorrows report   This morning we rode for the first 20 miles through and around giant produce farms.  They were picking what appeared to be some type of head lettuce and another crop that we couldn't identify from a distance.  These are giant farms. At one location, there were perhaps 20-25 farm workers with hoes, going down the rows and manually chopping at weeds.   After the farm area, we headed pretty much due East for the next 50 miles.  There was a friendly tail wind that helped us with our pedaling. We passed a sample “feed lot” operation that contained thousands of cows that live there leading a leisurely life eating 24/7 until they are deemed ready for sale to beef processors.  At 11 AM, we had a sag stop at a little restaurant.  When biking, never pass up the opportunity to eat. ...

Tuesday March 15th We had another 10 miles biking along I-8 this morning.  These are sand dunes, lots of special dune buggies driving on them and what also looked like a Mini van next to that telephone pole that was stuck and the guys were trying to get it out.  Not a lot of exciting sightseeing today.  As we were approaching our accommodations for tonight we came across what appeared to be picking and boxing lettuce.  We had the Deputy City Mgr of Yuma speak to us after dinner about the local area.  He said from October-March, the Yuma area supplies the US with their greens, lettuce, beets, chard, etc and I saw a couple of runaway celery bunches along the highway. The Mexicans travel between Yuma and Salinas CA depending on what crops are being harvested.  There were a lot of sightseers watching the event.  This was a really big field that was probably harvested entirely today. Maybe these were family members waiting to pick up workers.   I ...

Monday March 14th  Last night got pretty cold at our “Clothing Optional Resort”. This morning we ate breakfast, then bundled up in cold weather clothes for the upcoming ride down the mountain.  Ten miles into the ride we saw this sign. And for the next 12 miles or so, we descended around 2,500 feet on the shoulder of Interstate I-8.  Traffic wasn't too bad and the shoulder was pretty smooth. So in what seemed like just a few short minutes we went from cold to nice and warm at an elevation of 400 feet.  Really awesome to be able to coast at speeds nearing 40 mph in many sections.  Like others, I start braking after about 35 mph.  Those crazy days are over, I think.  Todays lunch after arriving in Calexico.  A California chicken salad. There was a skinny cat hanging around our outdoor table.  I gave it my chicken and tortilla chip pieces.  He wasn't fussy.  I got into town right at Noon but we couldn't move into our accommodations unt...