Day 11 - Globe to Safford, AZ

After yesterday's disappointment in doing half the ride, we awoke today to light rain and 37 degrees. Dressed in several layers and added a rain jacket and struck out for Safford, AZ. The clouds cleared away after about 2 hours and the remainder of the day was gorgeous. For the longest time I felt like I was riding through the Red Sea. I could see a heavy rain way off on the north and another storm way off to the south. But, we were riding down the highway under soft white clouds and brilliant blue sky! Tailwinds most of way made us feel like we were flying. I finished the 78 miles with 14.5 avg. which for me was great. We started the day with climbs but spent most of the day riding through the San Carlos Apache Reservation with barren flatlands but exquisite mountains in the background. The only site to see in the reservation besides the land was the casino! It was huge and seemed quite busy at 8:30 AM or so. The end of the day took us through Pima (as in cotton), Thatcher and then Safford. This was agricultural country where cotton is the big crop. Reminded me of Silver City, MS on last year's trip. Taylor Freeze in Thatcher was the big stop for the day. My chocolate milkshake really hit the spot. . . . Being St. Patrick's Day, Linda cooked "green". She had homemade split pea soup and green salad, good bread and several desserts. . . . Approaching Safford we were privileged to watch the most gorgeous mountain to date. Mt. Graham is huge and was covered with snow. We must have seen it for 30 miles. We were routed away from the Adventure Cycling (AC) maps today and followed Hwy. 70 instead. I think this may have been less mountainous! I didn't hear any complaints. The road is very good and has a good shoulder despite the rumble strips which we all hate. Somewhere close to Safford, we passed a young man who turned out to be from New Zealand. He is going cross country on a skateboard and trying to set a record for Guiness Book of World Records. He started in FL and is headed for San Diego. I had a flat today, but it was a "room" flat. Actually, it was soft on the road but when I pumped it up it held the entire day. I put in a new tube tonight so I should be just fine. It's gone soft on me several times. Probably a leak aound the valve stem. Overall, this was a really good day. If I can't add pictures tonight, I'll post them later. Many thanks to all for your comments and emails. Forgive me if I don't answer the emails for I really do appreciate hearing from everyone. It's just that I'm on borrowed pcs.