(Mon, 2/24/25; 53 miles, 865 feet of climb)
Day 12 was another day of perfect weather, although it does get a bit hot in the afternoon. It got down to 47° in the tent last night, but that is actually pretty pleasant sleeping weather — and a far cry from the 31° on Day 2.
I met Moss and Iden at the gas station after we all broke camp. After breakfast burritos and coffee and using the bathroom, we hit the road. They left a bit before I did, and I figured I probably wouldn’t see them again. But it was really nice to share one evening and morning with other bike adventurers.
There was a total of one gas station in the 53-mile stretch today, so I planned lunch around that. Fortunately, they served hot burritos and cold ice cream and had tables in the shade, so I spent more time there than I had planned.
The only other possible shade in the 53 miles were two overpasses. So I took advantage of those, too, for shorter breaks. Sometimes the intense sun and lack of towns kind of gets to me.
But today marks the end of my 250-mile journey eastward across the Sonora desert from the mountains to Gila Bend.
Tomorrow the route turns north, heading to he Phoenix metro area. I get to stay with Beth’s Aunt Marjory tomorrow! Then two other friends as I work my way to northeast of Phoenix this week.
Tomorrow is an even longer day at 63 miles, so I plan to leave early to beat the heat as much as possible. Once again, there’s only one gas station at mile 30, so there will be some tiring stretches. But I think that it will be the last day of desert desolation.
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TRANSLATIONS/BACKGROUND: “CANTBIRD” = CA-AZ-NM-TX Bike Ride, my own nickname for the 1000 miles on the western half of the Southern Tier Bicycle Route, using maps from ACA (Adventure Cycling Association). (I did the 1500-mile eastern half in March 2024, which I called GUMBIRD [Gulf of Mexico Bike Ride].)
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LINKS:
Old-fashioned BLOG if you have friends who don’t use Facebook:
“Old Scouter” Facebook page if you want to follow big adventures with more pictures and video clips (but not unrelated personal posts):
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066334039590
“Old Scouter” YouTube page (when I get time to edit after the trip):