Day 12 - February 23, 2010 - Coast to Coast

Day 12 - February 23, 2010 - Coast to Coast

From the Stoker:

Today was a cool but clear sunny day. We did 48 miles. I think I made a mistake on the post 2 days ago. We biked to Mesa, AZ, had Carol pick us up due to the second flat tire. We drove to Apache Junction to camp. Carol drove us back to Mesa this morning to begin our day.

The first 20 miles were on small city streets until we reached Apache Junction again. We got on Highway 60 for the rest of the 28 miles. It was a gradual climb the next 10 miles with a headwind but not difficult. The last 15 miles was a very difficult climb to 2900 ft. and a strong headwind. There was a short downhill section and we had to pedal to travel at 15 mph. Normally, it is difficult to keep our speed below 25 to 30 on a downhill.

We have a couple very difficult days ahead of us but the scenery is beautiful. I hope you enjoy the photos. We are staying in Superior, AZ at Superior RV Park owned by Howard and Linda Clark. We thank them for a very generous discount to support our cause.

Impressions from the Captain:

When we left Mesa this morning we had strong head winds and I thought “not another day” but as we got South of Superstitious Mountains the wind was a tail wind. I thought our prayers were answered awfully fast! But, as we got further down the road, it was back to the head wind. Evidently, we were in an eddy coming around Superstitious!

The highway had an awful shoulder with a rumble strip about 2 ft. wide on a 4ft shoulder. That would not have been bad to contend with if the strip had remained equally spaced. Not so! Seems the rumble strip “installer” must have been drinking that day because the strip wandered back and forth over the 4ft width. Because you can’t stand on a tandem, it made for a very rough trip as I constantly had to cross over into the traffic lane. At all the culverts, they put up guard rails which ended up deleting the shoulder all together forcing us on to the traffic lane. A little nerve racking.

Impressions from the support team:

I have finally learned to back the %#$&* trailer and told my bikers that the truck was beginning to feel like an extension of my arm (not) but the anxiety level is greatly reduced to about ¼ the “loo” breaks I previously took. The bikers are going so fast that the support team frequently is behind them on the planned meeting spots. They have therefore consented to cycle slower so that I can get my chores done and the canine support team can have longer walks.

Remember, if you would like to view the pictures in larger format, just click on them.