Day 47: Phoenix to Aguila - 82 miles
Day 48: Aguila to Blythe, CA - 94 miles
Day 49: Blythe to Blythe - 0 miles
Day 50: Blythe to Brawley - 93 miles
Day 51: Brawley to Ocotillo - 40 miles
Leaving Phoenix I made really good time in the morning and by noon I already had 55 miles under my belt. I stopped for some lunch and when I got back on the bike the winds had shifted and now I had a headwind of 15-20 m.p.h. for the last 27 miles. Thankfully, it was mostly flat so I was able to do those last miles in about 2 1/2 hours. I ended up splurging in Aguila once I got there and decided to get a motel. My first since Austin. I stayed in Burro Jim's Motel and spent the rest of my night eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, listening to music and doing some reading. A good night indeed.
The next morning I was up and at it early again and the winds were too blowing at 25-30 m.p.h. but mostly in my favor so it wasn't so bad. I made good time all day and finished in Blythe, California by 4:00 p.m. that day which was a small town just West of the California/Arizona border! Entered my last state of the Southern Tier....
I made my way to B&B Bait and Tackle Shop where I was going to be spending the night and once I arrived was greeted by workers/patrons/locals alike and informed of how great the place was. And I must admit it was quite unique. The scene was truly hilarious.... It was basically a spinoff of Cheers happening before my eyes. All the people there were ripping on eachother and giving eachother shit and laughing and drinking beers and coming and going throughout the entire day. And it really pulled you in... I met a fellow touring cyclist, Maria, who had gotten so attached that she'd spent the last 2 days there and had no plans of leaving in the near future.
I had a really great night there, that is until about 10:00 p.m. that night when I was laying out in my tent on the dock and was suddenly awoken with severe pains in my stomach and that gurgling feeling in my stomach like something was trying to get out. I barely scrambled out of my sleeping bag and unzipped my tent just in time to hurl my guts into the water off the side of the dock. Once I finished, I sat up catching my breath and the pain came back and that feeling of something having to come out crept in again only this time it was trying to go out the other direction.... Anyways, without getting too graphic I spent the rest of the night either sitting on the toilet, or leaning over the toilet, or laying next to the toilet. Let's just say that toilet and I spent some real quality time together...
By about 3:00 a.m. my stomach had settled a bit and I was able to get back to my tent to sleep, and then at 6:00 a.m. I woke up again and again barely made it out of the tent to puke for the second time into the water off the dock. At this time I was still thinking that I might be able to make the ride for that day so after that puke I began to pack up my stuff and left B&B Bait to get some breakfast and hopefully ride en route to Brawley. Wishful thinking...
I got to McDonald's and ordered some pancakes and was sipping on some watered down powerade and was struggling to get down a bite of pancakes every few minutes... After about 30 minutes I'd almost gotten through half of my pancakes and that feeling came again and I had to jump out of my seat and ran to the bathroom and puked out a delicious blue-pancakey puke everywhere. I then came to grips with my situation and decided that it was probably not a good idea to ride. At this time it was close to 9:00 a.m. and I decided that I would go try the Motel 6 that was down the street to see if I could get a room. Thankfully, the woman at the front desk felt for my situation and allowed me to check in to the room right then and there (6 hours early). I spent the rest of the day laying in bed somewhere between sleep and consciousness trying to put down as much liquids as I could and trying to put calories back into my body. Overall, I slept close to 14 hours between that day and night and by the next day was feeling better and ready to ride.
I packed up and got riding and did 60 miles between 8:00 - 12:00 and stopped in Glamis at the local store there to get something to eat and drink. It was already above 90 degrees and after a short break I rode another 33 miles and finished at Bill and Theresa Meister's house. These two, again, were warm showers hosts who welcomed me into their home and as always I was just blown away by the generosity and hospitality that was afforded to me. I got a much needed shower, was able to do some laundry, and had a delicious spiced blackened chicken and steak meal with rice and corn. After dinner Bill showed me a lot of his photography and underwater photography that he'd shot all over the world and we finished the night with a few episodes of The Americans.. A great night with two really great people.
In the morning I got breakfast with Bill at his friends cafe, Rock Coffee Shop and Cafe right in town, and then packed up my bike to make the 40 mile ride to Ocotillo. The ride here to Ocotillo was relatively flat, but really hot! It was 93 degrees when I finished at noon and now it is already 97 and sure as shit it feels like it. Today was a short ride because tomorrow I take on the last big climb of the southern tier before I drop down into San Diego (you can see the elevation change on the bottom pic and it's quite the climb) Ocotillo sits right at the bottom of the climb at the I-8/SR 98 junction and there is a cafe, Red Feather Off Road Market and Cafe, that allows bikers to camp out behind it before starting the mountain. So I have stopped here for the night where I will load up on as much food as I can stuff down and then try to tackle the hill early tomorrow before the worst of the heat comes again.. We are looking at over 100 degrees tomorrow. Wish me luck!
Catching a D-Backs game in Phoenix
Glamis Sand Dunes
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.