May We Suggest Global Warming?

Grettings from Willcox, AZ.

We have not made quite as good of time recently, but we have our reasons, and stories as a result of our reasons...

Yesterday we faced a heavy wind coming from the east to the west. Normally, weather patterns go from the west to the east, however recently this has not been the case. In addition to the gruelling head wind, we have been forced to face the coldest and wettest conditions that this area has seen in the past decade. I have given it some thought, and like many other things, I will blame it on global warming. Arizona is supposed to be hot and dry, not cold and wet. Anyhow, last night we stayed in Benson, AZ and as a result of the Morinaka's family friend, Ron and Joyce Walp, we ate and slept well... Our thanks go out to these great people, as well as the Super 8, especially K.D., for giving us a nice room, great service, at a good price.

Today started out similar to yesterday, wet and cold. After a very long and gradual climb into Texas canyon, we reached an ultimate elevation of 5,000 feet only to be greeted by more wind and rain. However, my personal opinion was that this was by far the most beautiful day of riding thus far. This was the location of the famous Cochise stronghold, a historic location in American history. This pristine location was surrounded by beautiful rock formations that seemed to be delicately balanced as well as perched high upon a mountainside. Arizona has proven to be far more beautiful than I had ever imagined.

As we rolled into Willcox to speak with the local newspaper, we realized that my rear rim was staring to look a little bad. By the time I had made it to the newspaper, I had ruined two spokes and the rim was seriously bent. Instead of panic, we remained calm (panic is always plan B). Once again we had ruined the only thing on the bike that we couldn't fix. This repetitive problem is a result of two things: 1. we have heavy packs which weigh probably 60 pounds and 2. we are not your ordinary bikers, weighing nearly 190 pounds each. These two things put a lot of stress on the rear wheel. Once again, the generosity of others saves the day. Luckily, Ron knew a nice lady named Sally who put us in touch with a wonderful guy named Bob who lived in Willcox and was an avid bicyclist. Once connected with him, he connected us with his good cycling buddy Doug. After assessing the situation, we realized that we were going to have to drive 45 minutes north to pick up the right spoke size. Nevertheless, Doug and I drove north, fixed the rim, bought extra spokes, and made it back just in time for the Elk's lodge to take us under their wing, feed us food, buy us drinks, and sing along to some karaoke. We would have never expected the night to end this way, but then again, it couldn't have gone better.


So the points of the story are this:

1. Arizona is gorgeous (especially when it isn't 120 degrees)
2. Benson is a good town, with good people.
3. Willcox is a real good town, with exceptional people.
4. Ron & Joyce Walp are awesome.
5. Bob & Doug are amazing.
6. We are close to New Mexico.
7. The weather is unusually horrible.
8. We now know how to fix broken spokes!
9. We are still very happy to involved in such a wonderful cause with so many wonderful people.

Please continue to read out updates, and feel free to leave comments.

Thanks again to everybody,

Kevin