And on into New Mexico

A beautiful day of bicycling March 19 2013

Today I remembered exactly why I am on this trip and why it is so much fun. We set off from Safford, AZ on a perfectly flat road and then rode on almost deserted roads along what felt like the roof of Arizona on slow slow ups and downs with unlimited stretches of scrub and droopy small palm trees recovering from the winter, and prickly bushes with no leaves and a sense of spring coming from the unexpected yellow and blue flowers by the side of the road. For most of the day there was a huge arc of sky above, an immeasurable stretch of land on either side of the road looking like an abandoned desert replete with an edging of empty and broken bottles and white plastic bags and other non-desert creations. In the distance the horizon was edged with mountains, including the snow dusted Mount Graham looming to the south.
     It was delightfully easy riding along straight highways with only occasional trucks and semis charging down so the silence of the place was almost uninterrupted. We had a stop at Duncan which was on the other side of the mountain that we were climbing up slowly. When we got to the top, there was a spectacular ride down speeding along the road and then another down, and then another, and we were in Duncan where we had lunch at Ol Joe's - recommended by our guides.
      When we set out after lunch, my bike suddenly started balking and refusing to move. I looked at the chain and saw to my horror that the bungee cord I'd used on the back of my carryall had fallen into the chain and was completely tied up inside.
      Coming towards me on the sidewalk was an older man - probably my age - on a bicycle. I waved him down and said pathetically: "Could you possible help me?" He got off and came round and opined that we had to get the bungee cord out or the bike wouldn't go. I was almost in tears and said:"How could I do something so stupid?" He said, "You know, worse things could happen". Then he took out a tiny penknife and expertly cut the bits of bungee cord so they fell off leaving the chain to do its work. I thanked him profusely and he asked if I carried a knife and I said no, but I would get one. I left the pieces of bungee cord on the ground,  thanked him again and rode on. As I said, Duncan is a delightful town full of wonderful people who saved my bike from strangulation by bungee cord.
     The second half of the ride we had to wait for road repairs and ride a couple of miles in newly laid paving for the bike path, with lots of loose stones, which was quite difficult and not good for our tires. We wanted to do the whole 75 miles but because NM is an hour ahead of AZ we didn't want to come in too late so we took a ride in the SAG wagon for the last eight miles in order not to miss the margaritas for crossing the state line. Delicious and with salt!
      Tomorrow the ride is to cross the COntinental Divide and do a lot of hills - so I am planning to ride into the next town, Silver City, and just hang out for day before our day off, and do the thing everyone on this group enjoys the most: visit a bike shop.