BIKE TOUR

Today was a day of rest. We mosyed out of the RV park and down the road to Safford. The two towns blurred into each other. We searched for a cafe. We found one at Victory Fellowship. In this old movie theater were an empty cafe, Christian bookstore, church, and movie showings. The service was slower than cold molasses. We came back at 4:30 or the $2.50/person showing of Night at the Museum. Jon hadn't seen it. He seemed to enjoy the Jurassic Park parody. After enjoying chicken salad sandwitches and phone calls, I'm heading off to bed. The church's pamphlet quotes Jeremiah 32:27: "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing to hard for me?" But apparently spelling is still beyond their reach.

Once again we're nestled amongt RV's. THatcher is a college town this Friday night. Easter Arizona College...Not a bad spot in the middle of relative nowhere. THis was our longest day and it didn't really get going untill 11. Jon finally shipped off a couple pounds worth of stuff. He came to show me while I was typing up my blog. It was about time for him to get rid of his water filter. After I scraped something out of my brake pads and we posed for a picture, we set off. We began by pushing our bikes up a brief hill. There is something defeating about starting with pushing. We rolled into the Apache reservation and stopped at Bashas' for a taste of their deli. I participated in the pizza, potato salad, and pink frosted heart-shaped cookies. After a couple hours, the hills ended and my average increased. Darkness fell and we hit Pima. There was nothing in Pima. We rode on. Finally the RV park appeard around 8pm and I am showered and about to turn in. 11.8 average - 608

After continually putting off a trip to the bathroom for four hours, I made my way out of the frosty tent. My shorts that I'd rinsed in the shower were stiffened in the shape of the picnic bench. We waited for our tents to dry and for Jon to sense the morning's "disturbance in the force" and then rolled out around ten. Linda wouldn't let us pay for our campsite. We're supposed to save it for next time. The DQ was closed on the east end of town and probably had been for quite some time. No shake today. The frozen breakfast burritos were lacking. Superior really is nestled in a beautiful section of Arizona surrounded by stacked (pancakelike) rock formations. However, it is virtually a ghost town now only used as an old west movie set. "From mining to motion pictures" and "Where history lives" adorn posted signs for the passers by. Then we had our climb up to 4600 ft through windy roads and a tunnel spread over a shoulder less 11 miles. Then t

Pink pancakes and corresponding milk commemorated the national holiday as the family of nine bustled about their morning routine. I lazily laid on the couch watching one of the young boys deflate Jon's air mattress. I slowly moved about and joined the groomed bunch at the table. One asked for a pancake with wrtiging, but I don't think it was ever received. One after the next, the children made it off to school and mom and the 2 month old went for a haircut. Dad left, kissing each child one by one. In the peace of quiet suburbia, we rolled our bikes out of the we're-in-the-process-of-moving garage. Two and a half miles later, we were at a Starbucks. Jon is quite keen on them and I hadn't had any coffee. An hout later after much discussion with a pair from some sort of house garaunteeing business, we moved on. They drove a big truck and were quite facinated with Jon's stories. Most people are. At least an hour later we were on the 60 and moving away from Phoenix. We w

Phoenix puts me in a foul mood. When riding through this city, communication is more important when dodging traffic, but it is extremely difficult. We stopped for subs and Jon checked the grass for needles. I rode from Glendale to 8700 University. Grandpa's spot on the golf course was right where its been for the last 20 years. Sharon, feeling better, greeted me with lemonade. After dinner, I hugged goodbye and rode the half hour backwards in the dark to the warm showers in Mesa. They weren't expecting me to show up and Jon was busy competing with the 14 year old unit of t5he household. They both take starwars trivia to another level. Currently I'm lying on the couch, my bed for the night, listening to Jon and Layne in a regular rant. The hot topic of the moment is education. There is something comforting about the consistency of the rants. They Mormon storyteller who works for the Interdisciplinary Program at ASU is eating it up. The story about parent teacher conferences

Surprise deserves some serious reflection. It has PIP's (Previously Important People), running trash men, themed brunches, and beading groups. No on really gets buried here. Myrna and Larry have a plot in North Dakota. We're staying at our second warm showers of the trip. Susan and Greg are wonderful and they've left us to go about our business. As we rode through Surprise and Glendale, Jon asked me if my speedo was working. I was confused for a moment until I realized he was refering to my cycle computer. My Vetta wasn't calibrated correctly or I'm not really sure. It wasn't giving me reliable information. So I returned it to REI. As always, they took it back only asking what was wrong. I picked up a wireless cateye. It is a bit more user friendly and it works. I tried to explain to him the dangers of calling it a speedo in the states, but there was too much traffic. I've eaten the ham sandwitches I'd made earlier in the day with the supplies Myrna prov

Once again Sunday is our day of rest. The Hinkel's home is a warm home full of good chats and wonderful hospitality. It is also part of Sun City Grand. The grass is gravel and it never needs to be mowed. The plants don't really seem like plants and they all died when it got cold. It actually rained today. I thought it was exciting. Everyone else seemed somewhat afraid. Myrna and Larry took us to the neighborhood Valentine's brunch. The mimosa fountain seemed to have a leak, but it wasn't anything that a cookie sheet couldn't fix. There was also a chocolate fountain, but it never seemed to flow. Great conversations. Everyone seemed to really be enamored with the Alaskan and the Australian biking across the country. Then Larry drove us all to REI. Over the last week Jon and I have been telling each other what we need to remember to get. When we actually made it there it took a moment or two for it all to come back. The most exciting for me were some gel padded gloves