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Going up/ Hello, New Mexico: Day 10-14


Day 10

(49.5 miles, 3829 ft gain, Strava map)

The rest day was perfect, and Casey and I felt fully rested and mostly recovered. Unfortunately, there was some miscommunication with Marshall and Dave in the morning: they were waiting for us in Mesa at their friend’s house, expecting all of us to leave at 7:30, and we had 7 miles to bike to meet them. We thought we were going to catch up with them on the road, so we didn’t see them until 8:30, which lead to many apologies.


This day was one of the most physically challenging days for me. My pack was fully loaded and heavier with the new tires and groceries, and we had about 30 miles of climbing with some descents. Our elevation gain was 3800 ft, and I felt every one of them. It was hot, and we maintained a slow uphill grind. At a false summit, Casey and I dismounted and felt dizzy and nauseous; the heat in my helmet had been building up, and I struggled with thermal regulation. Taking a short break, we chugged water, cooled down, and kept going.


In the late morning, we came across a cycling group on an REI-organized trip. Colton and Alex were the two guides, and they invited us to stop by their van for water refills and snacks. We took the opportunity to pump up our tires as well. Having overlapped timing with the REI group made our late start with Dave and Marshall worth it!


After 49 miles, we made it to Bushnell Tanks, a spot in the Tonto National Forest, which had a stream. Marshall, Dave, Casey, and I had a long lunch in a small stretch of shade under an informational sign, and we all took a nap on the ground before setting up camp by the water. Our only visitor was a burly, black bull that roamed through, passing an uninterested glance as it munched grass and continued on. We all filtered water, ate dinner in the dark in our small circle of 4, and retired into bed before 9 PM.

Day 11

(54 miles, 3519 ft gain, Strava map)

It was a very cold and wet night. It didn’t rain, but everything was sopping from the morning dew. Typically, I am among the first up and out of my tent, taking very little time to eat and pack. Marshall is usually physically up next even though Dave is likely awake in his tent too. Sometime after Marshall and I had breakfast, Casey unzipped her tent, slowly emerged, and grumpily declared, “I hate mornings”. To be fair, it was unfortunate to be out of our warm cocoon-like sleeping bags, and everyone was wearing thermals throughout breakfast. My legs had been sunburned badly the day before which made the cold and damp weather even more intense, so I started wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants after this.

I was nervous for the upcoming climbs, having nearly collapsed the previous day from the heat, but I was optimistic about the cooler temperatures. So, after packing up our wet tents and [me] powering through cold breakfast food, we started ascending again. It wasn’t as bad as I expected, and completing hills in the morning coolness is way better than the heat of the afternoon. Plus, we had a beautiful 7% graded descent that lasted for miles.


Then, Casey fell. Her tire hit the back of mine, and she lost control of the bike. She scraped her elbow, thigh, and ankle, but luckily there wasn’t any major damage to her or the bike. Marshall was close behind offering a hand and a first-aid kit, and we learned to keep a safe distance from each other after that.


We stopped at Jake’s Corner Store where we snacked for lunch and watched dozens of motorcycles come in and out of the nearby Corner Bar, temporarily contemplating joining them at the biker bar with our bicycles for some comedy (we didn’t though). The lady at the cash register was really nice and gave us some free hard boiled eggs.


The rest of the day was biking through the beautiful countryside and then alongside the magnificently blue Roosevelt Lake. You could smell the lake in the breeze and see boats and fishermen out on the water, a scene I am very familiar with on Lake Erie. It was strange to experience this while also looking at desert saguaros on the shoreline.

We set up camp on Lake Roosevelt at Windy Hill Campground. Our site (suspiciously Area 51) was a small pavilion with one picnic table and a flat dirt surface overlooking the lake. We dried out our tents, and Casey and I took a walk to the lake to rinse off. Both of us have been loving the trip, and we want to be conscious of the fact that this is our ride; we want to make our own decisions independently from Dave and Marshall and figure things out on our own. We are trying to balance this and the experience of consistently biking alongside our new friends since we all average the same mileage and aim for the same towns for camping.


At night, the stars were so brilliant that I had to cowboy camp again (I’ve been preferring this method, and Casey often does the same). The singing of frogs reminded me of my childhood home in Pennsylvania, which was also odd to think of again in the middle of the desert.



Day 12

(37 miles, 3548 ft gain, Strava map)

Around 2 AM, another pack of coyotes appeared, and they yipped/howled as they chased their prey. The pack was on all three sides of us, and, since Casey and I cowboy camped, we didn’t have the false sense of security (a tent) to protect us. Marshall called out from his tent, “Hope you don’t have any peanut butter in your sleeping bag! You’re bait out there!” But everything was fine- coyotes don’t actually want anything to do with you, unless you have snacks, I guess. Casey even slept through it because she didn’t care about them anymore.

At 6 AM, I woke up to a beautiful sunrise and a very large spider in my shoe (check your shoes before putting them on)! Then, Marshall lead a brief pilates session as a warmup for the day. Since Casey’s knee was hurting from having a low seat the day before, we were cautious about the upcoming 1900 ft climb we had to tackle first thing in the morning.


I don’t know why we only rediscovered music after 12 days, but music made the day so much fun, and the climbs passed quickly. Casey and I also realized we had a mutual taste for old redneck country music, and we sang “She thinks my tractor’s sexy” which turned into country music karaoke featuring Gretchen Wilson’s “Redneck Woman” and Miranda Lambert’s “Gunpowder and Lead” (to Dave’s dismay).

For all the hard uphills, we had massive downhills that stretched for miles at a speedy 6-7% grade. Feeling the rush of the wind, being attentive to every minor obstacle on the road, swerving around road bits like a video game, and having rolling hills, mountains, and cacti whipping by was exhilarating.

We had a pit stop in Globe, a cute town with small shops and some chain stores, and made a lunch spot at Safeway where we filled up on more fruits, veggies, and hummus tortillas. A woman stopped by to admire our food splayed out on the concrete and reminisced about her own experience bike touring.

About 7 miles after Globe, we landed a cheap camp spot at an RV park next to the Apache Casino in Cutter. It was a paved parking lot with an edge that had a wide strip of weeds and sand; this is where we set up our tents. We spent time lounging on the manicured lawn outside the casino like it was a beach, caught up on Wi-Fi things, and listened to the music from the outdoor speakers. Marshall, Casey, and I snagged some beer, quesadillas, and chips & salsa in the casino while Dave opted to stay at camp. He ended up defending our food from a single coyote that started snooping around our bags. In the night, we heard the pack again, but now we just expect it to be an every night occurrence.



Day 13

(75 miles, 2211 ft gain, Strava map)

The morning went by with many rolling hills, and nothing was too intense to climb. This day was a mostly grumpy day for me; I had been feeling extra introverted and spent a lot of time biking away from the others. My brain seemed to be on autopilot for a while until I put on some music to help with the monotony of staying on the same road for 70+ miles.


We biked through Bylas and were immediately greeted by people cheering on a nearby porch, which caused an immediate release of serotonin. After a quick snack at the gas station, we continued through to St. Thomas where we stopped at Meg’s Place, and I got an incredible strawberry ice cream (with real strawberries). The small town of Thatcher transitioned seamlessly into Safford, a larger town with an adorable Main Street that had awesome murals, coffee shops, and local businesses.


There are a few things that lead to pointing and excited shouting: tumbleweeds and Texas Longhorn cattle. So, we didn’t have a place to stay in Safford. The WarmShowers hosts weren’t answering, but there was BLM land about 10 miles up the road, though we weren’t excited to do more biking. Dave went to the bike shop to get his derailleur fixed, and Marshall joined because his tubes were getting flats (his tires were becoming perforated with holes). Casey and I went to the Main Street Bean coffee shop to search for housing options, but Dave had the best luck: he found an ex-WarmShowers host, named Mons, who worked across the street from the bike shop and who immediately agreed to allow us to camp at his house. He gave us the passcode to his home (even though he wasn’t there), allowed us to shower, and his mom, Joy, stopped by to give us homemade canned peaches and pomegranate syrup. Winston, the spunky gray cat, excitedly played with all his new camping and biking gear in the yard. We will miss him!


Tomorrow: New Mexico!


Day 14

(73 miles; 2597 ft gain, Strava map)


Two weeks on the road!


The day started as a painfully slow uphill. The grade was low enough where you didn’t think you were going uphill but high enough where biking was annoyingly challenging. Casey and I realized that we weren’t eating enough food because we were nearly always drained of energy and, well, hungry. She and I will need to eat snacks much more regularly while biking because sticking to three meals a day isn’t functional.


The only town on the way to Safford was Duncan, a very small town with a few stores. It was kind of cute, kind of empty, and the few stores there were all different shades of pastel. We ordered Mexican food at Hilda’s Restaurant, and it was delicious!


Then, we hit New Mexico! After a little dance and a few pictures, we were back on route. The terrain in New Mexico (so far) was much like Arizona: dry, yellow, rocky, shrubby. However, New Mexico seemed to have more tall grasses and bushes than what we saw in Arizona, but there weren’t saguaros anymore. You could see some mountains in the distance, but a heavy wind made the horizon a dusty cloud.

The rest of the ride provided a beautiful and strong tailwind that pushed us to Lordsburg. Sometimes, a sidewind would be so gusty that it would move us on the road, but, ultimately, the wind was our friend. However, Casey hadn’t been feeling well because the soreness in her legs had yet to subside. It was draining to wake up and ride every day for 2 weeks straight, and we are trying to think of ways to support the muscle healing process.


We checked into our campground at the KOA in Lordsburg and met Susan, Molly, and Greg, an eastbound family on the STR. They are super sweet and are taking the route a little more slowly these days because Susan, the mom, started having issues with her calves. A dude getting ready to hike the CDT approached me and gave me three beers for no reason.

Soon, we begin to go over the Rockies!




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