Baking in Arizona

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We started early this morning. Up at 5:30am and out of the park by 6:30am. Great to make use of the early morning when the temperature is much cooler although it didn't get below the mid 20s overnight.

The first ride for the day was basically flat, as was the rest of the day mostly. We coasted into Blythe with a slight breeze at our backs, glorious. From Blythe we crossed the mighty Colorado River which is the border between California and Arizona. There was some meandering to be done around the freeway but soon we were on our way through the desert again. At this stage Tom, Dave and I were riding and the temperature just kept rising. We spent most of the ride at 42C, and when that gets intensified off the bitumen its very very hot, especially when you stop.

The breaks worked like clockwork today. The van at the right place at the right time. Well fed and hydrated riders at each stop. After lunch the temp hit 48C for a while, by the time it was my turn to drive I was well and truly ready for a break. The last leg saw Jeff, Tom and Dave have a stiff breeze at their backs which helped cool and propel them along doing up to 30km/hr most of the way. I know it doesn't sound much but put in context it was awesome.

We're staying at an RV "Resort" just out of Wenden, Az. When we turned up the manager was not at home. The only "guest" of the park was a guy who obviously has been on his own for too long. He chewed our ear for about 30 minutes complaining about "illegals" siphoning the US welfare system and how Trump would fix it up if they just let him.

We hooked up the RV anyway, so we have air conditioning and plenty of fresh water. One thing our Trump supporter did tell us is that we should be past the worst of the heat which is quite a relief. Tomorrow we start to head up to the plateau area. We'll need our climbing legs on!

While waiting for the boys to turn up at Blythe I reversed into the parking bay out front of a lonely set of shops. I was still getting used to driving this tank of an RV and realised that beeping sound was the rear proximity just a little too late as clunked the rear of the van into a pole. Managed to bend the rear bumper bar. Not something that will be easy to hide from the rental company. This early in the trip we decide to let things be as just see what other damage we accumulate along the way before notify the rental or insurance companies.

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