After-thoughts

m sitting on a train, barely a week after finishing my cross-country bike ride. Since arriving in San Diego, I've spent more time in a car than on my bike; I've spent more time in one city than I have since leaving NJ; and by the time I get to Penn Station, I'll have spent more time on a train than I have in all my life. Strange how quickly things change.

Upon reaching the Pacific, we were greeted by a friend that Ryan knew from the Appalachian Trail. We piled our bikes and gear in his car(yes, car, no bike rack) and spent the night with him and his folks. In the morning, we rented a jeep and drove up to Berkeley, CA. We spent 4 nights in the area, only riding about 30 miles. During that time, I met some really awesome people, saw some cool stuff, and went skydiving (Amazing).

I can say with confidence that this was one of the most eye-opening, life-changing experiences of my life. Seeing the country from a bicycle saddle was amazing. It really puts things into perspective. Being able to carry everything you need for 2+ months in 4 relatively small bags makes you realize how little you need to survive, and even 4 bags was superfluous.

I can't say that I was ready for the ride to end, or to leave California, or to come back to NJ, but there are a few things that I need to take care of in the pretty immediate future. Most importantly, I need to make a decision about grad school and let the schools know my plans. I also need to get a tooth looked at that's been hurting on and off since El Paso (a filling fell out). And I need to replace my glasses, which broke in Alabama, the first night of riding with the group. I feel like this may be more of an ellipses in the middle of my adventure rather than a period. It may not be another bike tour, and it may not be for as long, but I'm not ready to stop traveling and seeing the country. I've definitely come to love the adventure/travel lifestyle and this 3,300 mile bike ride was just the beginning. (EDIT: After 4 days on a train, and a full week since finishing the trip, all I can think about is getting back on the bike. I spent months prior to leaving reading journals, doing research, getting ready and constantly thinking about this trip. Not once did it disappoint, and not once did I wish I could be doing something else. Sure, it was hard at times, but that's expected when you spend everyday living on your bike for 2 months with complete strangers. Anyway, I'm sure I'll be doing another tour in the future.)

For everyone whose been following along, Thank you, I hope you enjoyed the ride.
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Day 70: To San Diego, CA

82 miles (132 km) - Total so far: 3,328 miles (5,356 km)

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Day 69: To Jacumba, CA

60 miles (97 km) - Total so far: 3,246 miles (5,224 km)

This morning and most of yesterday afternoon were spent riding below sea level. Pretty cool. We had mostly flat roads this morning, but only about the first 20 were smooth. The next 20ish miles were really cracked and bumpy. Slowed us down greatly. Then the last 20 miles were mostly climbing. We gained over 2000 feet. The wind was beating down on us, making the climb much harder than it needed to be. We had planned on making it to Live Oak Springs, but had heard bad things about the camping, so when we came upon lodging in Jacumba, we stopped to check it out. Its a bar/restaurant/spa resort. They have all natural mineral hot springs flowing into their pools and jacuzzi. They have a sauna too. Its pretty awesome. Tomorrow we are going to push for San Diego and the Pacific!
Today we also had another crazyguy run in. Terry found us in Ocotillo and had food and drinks for us. It's great to meet other crazyguys! Thanks again Terry!
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Day 68: To Brawley, CA

61 miles (98 km) - Total so far: 3,186 miles (5,127 km)
We were expecting today to be lots of nothingness, and that's exactly what it was. The first 20 or so miles were spent riding with little to no shoulder. There were some mountains and the usual scenery. Then the shoulder widened out a bit and in the distance was what looked like white mountains. Sand dunes. It was awesome. About 7 miles were spent riding next to these massive mountains of sand. As we were nearing Glamis, the one town we passed through, a pickup truck pulled onto the shoulder in front of us. He had a bike loaded on the side, so we slowed up next to him. He's done some touring, and has heard stories about Glamis, the same stories we'd heard; the only store in town charges ridiculous prices for everything. He'd also had a friend who they wouldn't let refill their water bottles. Anyway, he pulls out this 3 gallon jug of water and cracks it open. He let us have drinks and fill all our bottles up. It was great.
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Day 67: To Palo Verde, CA!

84 miles (135 km) - Total so far: 3,125 miles (5,029 km)

CALIFORNIA!
By the time we started riding, the sun was already blazing. We put the sunscreen on and ht the road. It was nice riding all morning. We kept hearing noises on the side of the road, and eventually figured out it was lizards, about 5 inches long. As we'd get close to them, they'd scurry off into the brush. And they really moved. At about mile 50, we crossed the Colorado River, bringing is into California!! Our final state of the Southern Tier. We were very excited about this. We got to Palo Verde around 4:30. Knowing that tomorrow is about 65 miles of nothing, we decided to push an extra 9 miles to the furthest campground. Tomorrow we are headed to Brawley.
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Day 66: To Hope, AZ

(The 4th picture is a sign that says " your now beyond hope." It was on the back of Hope's welcome sign. Haha)

62 miles (100 km) - Total so far: 3,041 miles (4,894 km)

We started off the day by heading across the street to a small cafe. We ate and had coffee and talked for awhile, and before we knew it, it was 9 o'clock. We got on our bikes and hit the road. It was very nice riding for most of the day. Great weather, great shoulder, and great wind for a change. At times we actually had a bit of a tailwind! Nothing crazy, but anything is better than headwinds. We saw lots of eastbounders today, and the last guy we saw was complaining about the headwinds. Anyway, we made it to Hope, AZ relatively quick. We're at an RV park now, all showered and relaxing. I forgot to mention that leaving Phoenix we started our final map of the Southern Tier! We have less than 300 miles now til we reach San Diego. We'll be in California tomorrow!

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Day 65: To Wickenburg, AZ

60 miles (97 km) - Total so far: 2,979 miles (4,794 km)

Last night, Blaise's father took us all out to dinner. We went to a Japanese grill and it was delicious! They are a very cool family and were most hospitable. Blaise even made oatmeal with craisins, and had blueberries and strawberries for breakfast. Then he rode almost 30 miles with us out of the city and back onto the route. Riding in the Phoenix area was pretty good. Lots of bike lanes. This morning we rode about 10 miles on a bike path. Once we got back on 60 for the last 30 miles though the wind was picking up and we had a gradual incline all the way into Wickenburg. It was slow riding, but we made it. We had some pizzas for dinner and got some ice cream for dessert. The manager of the rv park were at is letting us sleep in some room by the maintenance garage. Pretty sweet.
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Day 64: To Phoenix, AZ

94 miles (151 km) - Total so far: 2,919 miles (4,698 km)

Last night while we were hanging out at the Globe Community Center, another cyclist pulled in. It was a fellow crazyguy, Keith. He actually has been following my journal and knew we were going to be camping there. It was cool to meet him. In the morning we all went to a local cafe and had breakfast together before parting ways. Keith is working while he is riding, so he had to stick around for awhile while he had an internet connection. The riding was great, had some climbs and then a nice downhill, with a tunnel and some bridges. There was barely any shoulder on the downhill, which was lame. When we got into Tempe, we met up with our host for the night, Blaise. He rode the last 15 miles with us to his house. He rode his penny farthing, which was awesome. He's actually going to ride from San Fran to Alaska on it.

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Day 63: To Globe, AZ

77 miles (124 km) - Total so far: 2,825 miles (4,546 km)

The continental breakfast this morning was a great start. It had waffles, eggs, and sausage, as well as the standard stuff. We ate, got our gear together, and were on the road before 8:30. It was a quick pace this morning, about 20mph for the first few hours. We were on the same road all day, 70, so it was just a straight shot, no turns to worry about. We rode through the San Carlos Apache Reservation for about 25 miles. Lots of the same scenery all day. The wind started picking up again in the afternoon making the riding much slower. We got to Globe around 3 and decided not to push any more miles. The wind just takes it out of you. We should be in Phoenix tomorrow afternoon. Then we'll see what's to come.
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Day 62: To Thatcher, AZ

(Stole the last one from Ryan)

38 miles (61 km) - Total so far: 2,748 miles (4,422 km)

The day started off with a nice climb up through mountains, covered with California Poppies. It was pretty awesome views. Then we started to descend and these huge snow covered peaks came into view. We had about 10 miles of downhill. Before we knew it we were in Safford. We hit the library for a bit, then grabbed some lunch. Chinese buffet. Definitely got our six dollars worth. At lunch, Ryan suggested a hotel, and I'm not one to pass up a real bed, so we are classic it up for the night. Hot continental breakfast in the morning will be nice also. Globe tomorrow, Phoenix on Monday.
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Day 61: To Three Way, AZ

80 miles (129 km) - Total so far: 2,710 miles (4,361 km)

Last night we decided to get a hotel room, so we were able to start the day off with a continental breakfast. Coffee, oatmeal, toast, bagels, cereal, hard boiled eggs, and fruit always makes for a good start to the day. About 5 miles down the road, we realized it wasn't warming up as quick as usual, so we stopped, at a Continental Divide sign (3rd and final crossing I think), to add some layers. As we were putting on leg warmers, whose voice do we hear? Jeff's. He was a few miles out of Silver City camped out, but had to get to a bike shop, so he was riding the tailwinds back to Silver City. That probably won't be the last we see of him. So we pushed on, fighting chilly winds and a low temperature pretty much all day long. About half way through the day, we saw an Adventure Cycling group riding east, with their support van and road bikes. We climbed for a good chunk of today, but the last 14 miles were pretty much all downhill. We had 3 miles of switchbacks coming out of the Big Lue(?) Mountains, and then just long gradual descents. We still had to pedal to even hit 20 mph though. Tomorrow is a shorter day of about 50 to hit a campground. And once again we changed time, since Arizona doesn't do daylight savings.
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Day 60: To Silver City

41 miles (66 km) - Total so far: 2,630 miles (4,233 km)

Woke up this morning dreading the climb out of the Gila Wilderness Area. The climbing on the way out was much steeper than what we encountered on the way in. I had to use my granny gear for the first time on the trip, and it made it a pretty easy climb, slow and steady though. I think it took us almost 2 hours to cover the 14 miles to get back to the main road. I'd say an hour and a half for the first 7 miles of very steep grade, then the rest was more downhills. Once we got out of the Gila, we went straight into more climbing for another 15 or so miles. We crossed the Continental Divide again, and just as we saw the sign, we started to see snowflakes. This was also the time we started our descent into Silver City, and the snow turned to a light drizzle as we lost elevation. No pictures today, too much climbing to do. We're not sure what tomorrow will bring. If it's nice, we may end up in Arizona.
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