Day 32 Thurs. Oct 16, 2008

I got up at my usual time. George, too, was up and his friend, Otto, came to say goodbye.

He brought me some very fine gifts. He once again expressed the heartfelt joy he experienced at last nights get together. I thanked him and he left.

Breakfast followed and the ritual of packing and loading the van began. I got my directions and proceeded to my destination, Gila Bend.

The road was level, a perfect day. The temperature was 84. Some instances there were no shoulders, but the wind was soft and pushed me along in the right direction. There were times when my speedometer climbed to 21mph. I was amazed. Problem is my discomfort impedes the consistency of that speed. My hands become numb, my legs are okay, but the seat creates a hindrance to my blood flow. My nerve endings send a strong message of discord, lack of cooperation.

I have to stand on my pedals and coast until it feels okay to sit again. My hands shift from time to time to allow my shoulder the relief it requires. Every 15 miles, I pause to quench my thirst and plaster my dry lips with a little balm. Or have a bite of my energy bar.

The Arizona countryside is decorated with cactus and short green shrubs, some of them are full grown trees. I’ve been told that plants here do not require a great deal of moisture. I’ve accumulated the names of many plants but at the moment I am not able to share them. The mountain scenes are always spectacular. I’ve stopped a few times to capture scenes I thought would be interesting. They are too numerous and should be left to the imagination.

I was nearing my destination when the highway began to look like an uneven carpet. The frequent lumps on the road caused me to wonder why the DOT would design the road in this fashion, so I stood up on my pedals and began coasting. I was coasting at speeds up to 18-20mph. My naked eyes revealed a level road, with the frequency of lumps occurring. The road was straight with slight curves along an area dominated by tall cactus and shrubs, rocky fields and short trees.

I did not recognizer a decline. To my surprise, I was moving faster. Then suddenly, POW, my rear tire blew out. I quickly stopped , checked it out and began to walk. As I did so, I realized an ever so slight down hill gait in my steps, and the pull of my handlebars leading me on. I stopped, looked back to view from whence I came. It was so minute, hardly noticeable, but there it was, a pedaling break. I was coasting for a mile and more when my tire blew out.

I called Pam and she came for me. She had traveled on I-10 part of the way and she was already at Gila Bend. She picked me up and we drove into town. We checked into the Yucca Motel and bedded down for the night, after I fixed my wheel.

The accommodations were quite poor. Small room, electrical outlets unsuitable for a computer and printer, no ice service and the water supply had to be cut off from 10 pm to 6 am so the city could work on it. I left the mote[ at 7:50am and Pam left about 9:30 am and there still was no water.