The link to today's route and statistics is found
here.
Today we crossed the Colorado River from California into Arizona.
The water in this section of the Colorado River had previously passed through the Grand Canyon further northeast in Arizona.
 |
| Colorado River crossing |
Once in Arizona we cycled on I-10 for about 6 or 7 miles. Chuck, one of our illustrious tour leaders, led the group ride today on his bike to the SAG stop at 10 miles. There was a wide shoulder on the interstate, so the pucker factor was low for this cycling.
 |
| Oklahoma flatlanders made it |
 |
| PA grocery store mogul Ray is pleased to be in Arizona |
We saw our first saguaro cacti today. Feast on these saguaro tidbits. Saguaros only grow in the Sonoran desert in Arizona, state of Sonora in
Mexico and Imperial Valley in California. The saguaro flower is the Arizona state flower, and it
is prevalent from April to June. Young saguaros are called spears before
bearing arms at between 75 and 100 years of age. Mature saguaros often
live over 150 years and stretch upwards of 40 feet. The tallest known
reached over 78 feet and the largest known girth is 10 feet.
 |
| Saguaro Cactus well over 100 years old sitting adjacent to I-10 |
Once off the interstate we crossed paths with John S., who started cycling on the coast of Georgia and is riding across America from east to west. John is 70 years old now and travelling alone. He made the trip once before when he was in his twenties. He said this is his last crossing, but then we discussed E-bikes. John is staying in motels, but he carries a significant amount of water, food and gear (the usual small stuff plus spare tires and tools to repairs his bike) in his panniers, since he has no SAG support. Many thanks to Larry, Chuck and Vicki for our support. We discussed the wind in the canyon on I-8 that our cyclists came down. John will be going up. At the speed of about 4 to 5 mph that he will be travelling, the wind will affect him quite differently.
 |
| Septuagenarian John crossing America east to west |
Quartzsite is known as a place to buy rocks and classic cars. Rock hounds come from afar to see what they can buy in Quartzsite to add to their collections. As an aside, several cyclists had a lunch of meaty, juicy hamburgers at Carl's Junior. Those who do not prefer meat can get a veggie burger at Junior's. John from Malta was pleased with his milk shake. Across from Carl's was the Quartzsite rock megastore.
 |
| Quartzsite rock megastore with tons of merchandise |
 |
| Rocks, rocks and more rocks, buy 'em by the pound |
Classic cars store well in the dry Arizona climate. Rusting is not a problem. Two clean cars on the local lot in Quartzsite are shown. Hard to believe that the Belair is so expensive. Probably some old west horse trading will lower the final sales price.
 |
| 1948 Lincoln 4 door sedan - $17,000 |
 |
| 1957 Chevrolet Belair - $40,000 |
Tomorrow is a 96 mile ride to Wickenburg in the desert. It's the longest ride of the tour. The route calls for an early start with breakfast at 6:00 am and on the road cycling by 7:15. Sweet dreams!
Comments
Post a Comment