Tucson and Casa Grande, Arizona

Rode into Tucson on Thursday. 67 miles first on tray littered roads. Dean got a piec of that wire from the steel belted radial tires that blow and leave fragments everywhere. It just can't even be seen. When we stopped along the route a man told us of a bike path that would take us all the way to Tucson. And "yes, it definitely is paved all the way". WRONG! It started out great. It was picturesque and quiet. We began to see the first signs of Arizona wildlife. Little Prairie Dogs, giant horned toads and lizards. The trail ran along the banks of the Santa Cruz river. But the river was absolutely dry! What had existed was deep and wide. We rode the path down under an overpass. It was dark under there and took a steep hill out of it. So we were riding very fast in order to make the hill. All of a sudden Bob yelled "hold in your feet". There was a bum sleeping under there with his feet extended across the path. We mad it passed him without even waking him. If he would've been startled by us he probably would've jumped up right in from of a fast moving bike. After 15 or so miles we came to. Sign that read "path ends" . It sort of did but we could see that it picked up a little ways over on the other side of a stony area. Off the bikes and we walked to the path. No problem, so we thought. After a few more miles we were really in trouble. The path once again could be seen in the distance but we were now at the steep banks of the dried up river. The only thing to do was get all the bikes down and up the sandy banks. The guys all helped each other one bike at a time trying to keep as much sand as possible from getting into the gears.
When the bike trail finally came to a road where we could exit we had passed the city of Tuscon by several miles. We had no interest in going back. We were originally planning to take today off to spend time in the city. I think we all have become addicted to the high of riding and decided we didn't want to just roam around the city in this heat and hit the road again as soon as the sun broke the darkness.

We are now in Casa Grande, Arizona. Had a ride of 68 miles in scorching heat. The air is 102 degrees but again was 111 on the road. The ride was wonderful with winds behind us until the mid afternoon. We sailed at 20 mph. Little lizards ran through the desert sands around us. They're the pet shop type we see in Michigan. Trains shattered the quiet with loads of orange juice, and military vehicles. The railroad tracks here have been rebuilt with concrete ties rather than the wood. Each train carries unbelievable loads.

We are in record breaking heat again in Arizona. Hope we do okay when we get into the most remote part of the desert in two more days. This experience is one of the best ever. I love every day.