Day 1: Saturday

Distance: 60.86 mi.
Average: 14.6 mph
Maximum: 33.9 mph
Time in Motion: 4:08:32
Temperature: 30 – 57 °F (below normal)
Wind: W 17 mph

It was a bit cool outside the Airport Days Inn this morning, but not bad for riding. After the exhausting airport adventure yesterday, I slept quite well.

We ate breakfast at Spinners, a diner in the motel. The food was good, if a little expensive. After breakfast, we caught a cab to the UPS Store and picked up our bikes. Jesse’s brake and shifter cables were disconnected during packing. We had a little difficulty getting everything working properly with the few tools we brought along.

And so we began our ride. We started in Phoenix and headed toward Tempe and, finally, onto the edge of our Adventure Cycling map.

Before long, I realized the scale of the Phoenix metro area. For thirty miles we pedaled until we finally reached the edge of town. All that, and we began on the east side of the city.

As we headed through the city, I was impressed by the abundance of bike lanes. Good job, Phoenix! I do have one complaint, however. These bike lanes are covered in glass and sharp rocks.

Before we reached Mesa, Jesse broke the valve stem off of his tube and got a flat while adding a few extra pounds of air at a gas station.

Soon after that, I ran over a tiny rock that gave me a flat. Once that was fixed, I ran over something that sliced my tire beyond repair: .

Frustrated and STILL in the Phoenix metro area, I began calling the bike shops listed on my map. After a few calls, I got a hold of Darwin Hopkins of Junction Bicycles (NE corner of Recker & Main in Safeway Plaza. 1-480-985-1333). Darwin happily drove his pickup to our location, picked us up, and gave us a ride to his nearby shop. Christian music played as he installed two more durable tires and thicker tubes on my bike . Next, he gave Jesse’s bike a quick tune up. Nice place. Coincidentally, their motto seems to be “Let us flat proof your tires.” Flat-proofing is a necessity around here.

All of these delays took time. As we left the bike shop, we realized it wouldn’t be possible to reach Globe before sunset. We set the more reasonable goal of Superior, AZ, and raced against the clock toward our home for the night.

Eventually, we passed the Superstition Mountains and began a daunting climb. The temperatures were falling as quickly as the sun, and I thought for certain it would be dark before we got to our destination. But then I saw it -- a sign indicating Gonzales Pass (2,651 feet). Exhausted and cold, I coasted the last miles into town.

The scenery as the sun neared the horizon was amazing. The mountains and the many large cacti were bright in the setting sun. I was in too much of a hurry to stop and take snapshots, unfortunately.

And here we sit, in the El Portal Motel of Superior. It’s tiny. Our room has no phone, the TV lacks a remote, one of our lamps doesn’t work, and the fridge is busted . But it is comfortable. The woman who runs the place is quite nice. She is originally from South Dakota, so we chatted about the Dakotas a little bit.

Before I came down here, I was warned about all the unpleasant people who lurk around the desert. But now that I’m here, I’m quite impressed with how friendly everyone has been.

On curvy roads with sometimes narrow shoulders, drivers are generally quite kind. Thank you, Arizona. In this respect, you beat out my home state of North Dakota.

Along the route today, I saw a ton of ATVs playing in the desert. What better location? It looked like fun.

Somewhere near Apache Junction, I witnessed a terrible car crash. A car going about 40 mph or more ran over a curb into the median of a divided highway and head on into a tree. I was about to call 911 on my cell phone when I saw a man on his phone already. Within seconds, the fire department had arrived. Today was discouraging and difficult, but Jesse put it perfectly: “[The accident] makes what we went through today look like nothing.” So true.

I’m not sure about tomorrow’s route. We may opt for a shorter, alternate route because we didn’t make it to Globe. And now we have an idea of how difficult climbing can be. Not to mention how ruthless the highway litter is on rubber.