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Published: October 16th 2006
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Yard art
They don't have old Fords in their front yards around here! Shawne says...
Day 16
Mileage Today: 36.4
Total Mileage: 658.6
Flats Today: 3
Total Flats: 21
We rose to the smell of breakfast cooking and roosters crowing at 6 a.m., a few hours later than we had anticipated. We walked into the kitched to find Evelyn had cooked up some homemade tortillas, scrambled eggs, potatoes, and bacon for some great breakfast burritos. We packed our freshly washed clothes as Jo laughed out loud at a young rooster that hadn't quite learned to crow like the others. His call was warbled and off track. (Jo says...He sounded like "AH-Ah, OOH-OOH, rooowooo". The others would correct him with, "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" He kept trying, but couldn't get the hang of it!) Shane and Evelyn told us that he would often start making racket at 2 a.m. because he's still learning about timing the sunrise.
Shane told us more stories about the trips he was planning with the Apache Veterans Association. He was a great storyteller!
We said goodbye and thanked this generous couple for everything they did for us. Wrangler even accepted a dog biscuit from Jo. Off we went with our raincoats on; the morning fog chilled us to the bone. We made
it two whole miles when the first flat of the day presented itself. On the shoulder once again, we took a picture of the offending plant with it's rows and rows of spiny, tire-seeking goatheads. (Jo says...We decided some time ago to just start planning our breaks around our flats.) A car full of locals pulled over to ask if we needed help. We have been amazed at how nice people are on this Reservation. It seems that people are more willing to help, and have more positive things to say, than anywhere else we've been on this trip.
As we exited the Reservation, cotton fields came into view. Thousands of acres of cotton seemed ready for harvest. We stopped so Jo could run over and pull one bunch of cotton from a field. Except for a few small lumps, it seemed a ready cottonball to sell right off the plant!
We've noticed that almost every town has an old, beat-up drill rig or pump truck stuck in the weeds in someone's front yard. We actually came across a helicopter on the roadside, too! We thought it was an excellect time for a picture. Roadside signs started advertising a burger
stand in Pima. Our mouths watered as every half-mile a new sign would describe a tasty treat. Hamburgers, Tacos, Milkshakes...you name it! We were not really hungry after the great breakfast we enjoyed with Shane and Evelyn. We felt compelled to stop, though. (Good advertising campaign!) I enjoyed a couple of tacos and an ice cream cone dipped in chocolate. Jo had tacos as well, and a delicious banana split.
We noticed a pickup truck pulling onto the sidewalk near our bicycles. Our bikes were parked in front of the restaurant, facing the street. I stood up and peered our the window. The guy stopped just one foot short of hitting my bike!
We cleaned up our table and headed outside. "I guess there isn't enough room in the parking lot, so we have to park on the sidewalk," I said, loud enough for the guy to hear. Jo grabbed a notepad and pen and copied the truck's license plate number down in full view of the driver. We examined my front wheel for damage, but didn't find any. The man didn't budge, and though his windows were down and he could clearly hear us, he made no noise. I'm
The enemy
Close-up of green goat-heads. Once they fall off and harden....watch out! not sure if he expected a big tattooed man with a goatee and a mohawk to be riding a bicycle. I still haven't come up with a reason the man parked on the sidewalk instead of the parking lot 10 feet away. He was either inconsiderate or ignorant. I'm sure that with the slope of the hood on his Chevy pickup, he could not possibly know how close he was to our bikes.
I pulled the front of my bicycle up to shoulder-height and spun my front wheel to check the rim for true, about 6" away from the guy's hood. He still never made a peep...never apologized for almost crippling our trip...never attempted to back up the truck and give us room to saddle-up either. Not wanting to make a HUGE deal out of it, we rode off. Strangely, this is the third time someone has parked so close to our bicycles when there were plenty of other parking spots. Maybe I'll start carrying traffic cones and caution tape to rope off our bicycles.
Entering the city of Safford, I got another flat tire. We pulled into Hell...er...I mean Wal-Mart. As I fixed the tube, Jo ran inside to
No human is safe!
Goat heads attack Jo. They are actually stuck in her leg! These things are crazy! develop some pictures for Shane and Evelyn. They said a friend of theirs may put us in the local paper! Jo purchased some more white gas for the stove ($6). The fuel only comes in gallons, but our fuel bottle only holds a liter. So, Jo promptly found a recipient for the excess gas in the parking lot of Home Depot. The man was thankful, as we were, that we didn't have to haul the extra weight!
We found the post office, and we mailed the pictures back to Bylas. We met a man that engaged us in conversation and told us of his past bicycle trips. He is the owner of a restaurant in town called The Big Apple and invited us to come by. He offered to store our bikes in his building if we wanted to walk around town. We thanked him and rode off to the bike shop for parts. The bike shop here is small and had hardly any merchandise on display. Half a dozen new bicycles were all that was on the sales floor. There were only four tires in stock that fit our bikes; two were regular tires and two were Kevlar reinforced.
The Big Apple
Travis, owner of the resturant, my old coworker James and his boy Mitchel pose with us next to a Boart Longyear pickup. We opted for the more exprensive tires, even though we had been warned that some Kevlar tires are just a sales gimmick. We grabbed a couple of extra tubes and headed for the library.
Once again at a library, we worked on our blog. We really enjoy writing our blog and posting pictures, but we never thought that it would take so much time to complete! With every library trying to enforce the infamous 'One Hour of Internet Per Day' rule, it's hard to keep our blog updated.
After working online, we were both getting hungry. We decided to go back to The Big Apple for dinner. Travis Apple (the owner) let us park in his secured back shop, and we went inside to eat. After a delicious meal and an ice cream dessert, our bellies were full. We contemplated our sleeping arrangements for the night. Travis suggested a church down the street.
Just as I was peering outside, a Boart Longyear truck pulled up just in front of the restaurant! Boart Longyear, as you recall, is Shawne's previous employer. Knowing that Longyear is a huge company, I doubted that I would know the guy. He was wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap, so I couldn't tell who it was. I went outside to check it out, and it turns out I did know him! It was James from the Peoria shop. We said hello and told him what we were up to. James' better half, Pam, showed up with her son Mitchell, and they all invited us to spend the night at their house! We readily agreed.
It was getting dark, and the house was five miles back the way we'd come. So, we loaded up our bikes into Pam's pickup truck and took off. Mitchell was very excited to have new people over to his house. He was really funny. We all talked about life, and what lies ahead. It was a great conversation well into the evening. Jo and I set up camp in the livingroom with our bikes secured in the shop outside. Bedtime came as soon as everyone said goodnight.
Thank you James, Pam, and Mitchell!
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mom and dad
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thorns
So maybe you've now graduated from goatheads to bullheads which are bigger, stronger, and tougher.