Another windy, sunny, hot day riding an endlessly-straight road through an empty wilderness.
For the first half of the day, we were buffeted by a strong crosswind, which, after a slight jog in the road, turned into a fairly-decent, consistent tailwind.
One highlight, perhaps the only one, was meeting a self-contained cyclist who had been on the road for a year, moving between Big Sur, California and Tuscon, AZ, and back again. He was pulling a trailer with a cat in in a crate. Kind of sad. He was young, early 30s maybe, just drifting. He had a vacant peacefulness about him. I wondered if he was one of the many damaged young men who have returned from their country's foreign wars.
Aside from that, it was an in eventful day. We're camping in a postage-stamp-size plot of grass at a RV park here in Wickenburg. Tomorrow we head to Tempe, and a Days Inn near Arizona State University for our Monday much-needed rest day. Not sure how I'll spend it other than doing laundry and relaxing off the bike. Apparently, instead of the 11 advertised rest days, in order to complete the trip in 58 days, we'll only get 7, one of which was Day 1. So, down time will be greatly appreciated.
I was a bit put off when I heard that we'll be staying in motels or other indoor places almost half of the nights on the true. Now that we have been on the road for a week, I can attest to the allure of not having to set up the tent after a long day, and having quick and easy access to a bathroom when needed. Besides, I rationalize, the trip is about the cycling, not the accommodation. The downside is that we share the rooms, and someone always snores! I'm as guilty as the next person, so I really can't complain about any lack of sleep.
Time for the nightly map meeting. Getting through Phoenix on the way to Tempe could be stressful.
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