Day 6, Tuesday, March 24: Tempe, AZ to Bylas, AZ

Miles Today: 126 Total Miles: 540 Ascent: 3400 ft. Temp: 74 Time: 10 hrs

Started ride at Tempe Town Lake, but had difficulty getting out of town. Don got caught up in Arizona State University students heading to classes and ended up taking several wrong turns. He eventually got back on track. Penny meanwhile ran along the canal path, observing the East Dam, which is in fact an inflatable 5" thick rubber construction set on concrete. Different sections can be deflated to adjust water levels as necessary. Interesting!

After 60 miles of undulating terrain, ascending 3400 ft, Don had a rear tire blowout just prior to reaching the infamous tunnel between Superior and Globe. Fortunately Penny had waited with the support car to escort him through the tunnel, and was on hand with the needed replacement tire.

Pit Stop

With warning flags flying from the windows and emergency flashers on, the support car drove behind Don through the tunnel, which was about .7 mile long at 6% grade ascent. The noise was deafening, partly from air circulator fans and the thundering traffic going in the opposite direction. (Don fairly sprinted through, and required recovery time at the other end!!)

Faster, faster, the trucks are coming!

We were both getting tired, but with favorable winds and generally downhill after the tunnel, we eventually arrived in Bylas, which proved to be a barren and inhospitable place on the San Carlos Apache Nation Reservation. Finding no suitable site to pitch our tent and no lodgings in the town, we proceeded to a motel in Safford, reaching there at 7:30PM. Today was planned as the longest day of our journey, and it proved to be taxing. Spirits still good. Don is a little sore, in areas left to your imagination!

Yours on the Road,

Don and Penny