November 22 - 27, 2015
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| Entering Surprise |
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| Starbucks Surprise |
The main reason we took a rest day is we were actually getting to Phoenix too soon. It felt good to have a rest but Maryann was expecting a package to be delivered to a specific post office downtown. The package wasn't going to be delivered for another 2 days. Even leaving today might get us to the post office too soon. I have a very hard time staying anywhere more than 2 nights and Wickenburg didn't have enough to offer for us to stay longer. We got packed up in sunshine and made our way out of town. Today's ride would have lots of downhill riding Hwy 60 and it didn't take long to complete 39 miles to Surprise. We had a Warm Showers host to stay with in a huge retirement resort. It was still early when we arrived in Surprise and we spent some time at a Starbucks using the wifi enjoying a cup. There are so many over 55 retirement communities in this area we had to pull over and check the map repeatedly to make sure we didn't miss the one we were looking for. Some of them are quite upscale affairs with beautiful golf courses and bright green grass. I can't imagine how much water must to needed to keep these fastidiously manicured lawns looking so pristine. Our hosts, Bill and Dana, live in a more modest resort with a smaller house next to a large rv carport. Most of the people in these resorts are snowbirds staying only for the winter. We were welcomed warmly to the park by a guy riding a trike. Chuck knew we were coming and escorted us to Bill and Dana's place. There were lots of people riding trikes and even more people driving golf carts. I think most of the spaces had golf carts. Bill and Dana gave us the large rv to sleep in and showed us around. They organize custom fully-supported bike tours all over the US. The last tour they did was with 2 trikers that had severe brain injuries. It was very interesting talking to them about how they manage the tours. They made us a wonderful dinner and let us use the community hot tub. Oh baby, baby!
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| Triker Chuck escorted us to Dana's at the resort park |
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| Dana and Bill |
In the morning, Dana made us a very fancy breakfast. It was delicious but took longer to cook and we got a late start. Today we would be riding to downtown Phoenix to pick up a package. On the way, we stopped to help a young man who fell off his bike and was having a serious epileptic seizure. He was foaming at the mouth and flailing wildly. It was very scary. Maryann called 911. We tried to move his head to the side and reassure him while moving his bike out of the way. It took some time for anyone else to stop and help. At first, drivers were honking and yelling because Maryann's trike was in the shoulder. Wow, did that make me mad. Luckily, some big guys helped because the young man was powerful and kept trying to stand up. He was much too strong for me to handle. Then a off-duty EMT stopped to help. Eventually, paramedics showed up and we could pedal on. That whole scene was very disturbing and I had a hard time shaking it.
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| Phoenix Canal path |
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| Trikers meeting on the Phoenix path |
We took really nice bike paths into Phoenix. Our warm shower hosts assured us that Phoenix is flat and we wouldn't have trouble riding our big miles for the day. Unfortunately, the path along the canal had steep uphills after going down under roadways. The uphills were steep enough I had to use my granny gear and this meant slow going. I guess Phoenix is flat except when it isn't, huh?! There were lots of trikers on the path which was fun to see. Some blew passed us, some gave a friendly wave and some stopped for a chat. We made our way to downtown and the post office where Maryann's package was supposedly waiting at general delivery. She went inside and spoke to the post office manager. He said this post office doesn't accept general delivery. Maryann had the tracking number and the name of who signed for the package. The manager said he didn't know who that was. He said it would take a day to go through all the UPS deliveries and that packages labeled general delivery would be sent to another post office. He couldn't say which one. So weird! I've used general delivery many times over the years without any issues. It's usually simple. I go to the counter, show my id and the clerk hands over my package. This particular package only had a replacement cycling skirt so nothing we couldn't live without. (They called us later to say where we could pick up the package. We were already out of the area and told them to send it back to LL Bean.)
We had another warm showers host to stay with and gave him a call to say where we were. David said it would be very difficult to ride out of downtown and that we were in a bad neighborhood. He drove his truck to pick us up. That was unexpected and so generous. His truck wasn't very big but both trikes and all the gear fit perfectly. On the way to his house we stopped at REI. I wanted to see if they would replace my Big Agnes tent. The metal on one of the pole sections was ripping. This tent has had odd problems and since I bought it at REI I hoped they would switch it out for a new one. At first, they said I would have to send the poles to a repair place. I told the manager the color coding to match the poles with the tent body was also backwards and he didn't believe me. We set it up and he was shocked to see the color coding was wrong and that was enough to get a new tent. Woohoo!! Hopefully, this new tent will be better.
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| Annie giving Myrtle a spin. Notice the triker grin :) |
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| With Annie and David |
David took us to his very nice house in Chandler and his wife Annie was waiting. They both took the trikes for a spin and Annie loved it. We got settled in a office/spare room using mats with our sleeping bags. They made us a wonderful meal with lots of wine and we had a good soak in the hot tub too. They were great hosts and made us feel very welcome.
Very early the next morning, Maryann went with David and Annie on a nice hike up a local trail while I slept in. We got packed up and started riding on a frontage road next to I-10. There was a gentle climb for the first half. All day we passed gas stations and the prices for unleaded were lower and lower. At first, prices were just under $2. When we got to Casa Grande, 25 miles further, prices had dropped to $1.65! We had witnessed a 30 cent drop in just a few hours, not that we need any, haha! We ended the day at a motel in Eloy getting rooms big enough to store the trikes inside.
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| Myrtling along |
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| Sharing the road |
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| Cheapest unleaded we've seen on the trip. Not that we need any. |
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| Nasca Fuego |
The morning temperatures have been dropping and we got packed and started riding in the low 30's, bbbrrr! We've had a few big mileage days and today would be another one riding over 50 miles. We started on a frontage road that was in really terrible condition. Luckily, there wasn't much traffic and we could pick clearer sections in the road. At Picacho Peak, we stopped at a travel station with a Subway using a table to make our own lunch. There were many cyclists out for a day ride also taking a break. It looked like this was their turn around point to go back to Tucson. They were not one bit friendly and wouldn't even acknowledge us. I wanted to ask if the frontage road on the other side of the interstate was better. It's pretty obvious that we are traveling but they wouldn't even look at us. Maryann met 2 of them in the store and said hello. They completely ignored her. Crazy! I remembered that I did this ride 4 years ago and turned to my own blog to see what I did last time. On that trip, I went on the other side of the interstate and we were on our way. Coming into Marana we found a nice bike path and almost immediately Maryann got a rear flat tire. Just as she finished fixing it we met up with a nice recumbent rider out for a day ride. He was training for a cross country trip in a couple of months riding a Nasca Fuego. I gave him my card and we continued taking the lovely path into Marana. We stopped for the night at a good Travelodge motel for $45. We usually get a reduced rate just for asking. Maryann has AARP, AAA and military discount options too. So many of these motel rooms have been big enough we can take the trikes right into the room. We like having the trikes safe and sound.
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| Maryann fixing another rear flat |
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| The loop path in Tucson |
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| Carol escorting us on the loop |
I've been in touch with some biking/tennis buddies I know from Portland. These friends have moved to Tucson and our timing was perfect. It's Thanksgiving and we would be able to celebrate with friends. In the morning, we had a shorter ride continuing on the bike path meeting up with my friend Carol. She escorted us to her house where we would stay for a couple of nights. Carol and Audrey are also bike tourers and have a stable of beautiful bikes in the garage. Our stay with them was very comfortable and we all enjoyed a fantastic Thanksgiving. So nice hanging out with friends and also seeing their new home.
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| Carol in her stable |
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