March 9, 2023: Dateland to Gila Bend, AZ. 49.9 miles

Last night was interesting, particularly since it was our first day of tent camping outside. While relatively warm during the day, the evening brought temperatures in the high 30’s and low 40’s, so the warm sleeping bag, blanket, and ski jacket was put to good use. I’m quickly learning the importance of getting everything done during daylight hours, particularly when camping outdoors. You all know the difficulty in folding a fitted sheet? Try the same task in pitch darkness. It almost took me as long to fold the sheet this morning as it did to put together my camping chair last night. On that note, I am proud to report that it only took me half as long to disassemble the chair this morning, however fitting the frame back in the bag set me back another 30 minutes. I have discovered that for a 7:30am departure, I need to set the alarm for no later than 4:30am, but if I wanted to use the restroom and brush my teeth, I might need to back that time up even earlier. Some of this extra time is due to the location of the restrooms, since last night, they were conveniently located about a mile and a half from the tent. By the time I got there, my feet were aching and I had forgotten why I started out in the first place.

Bathroom and shower activities have been an adjustment, as well. A few places, we had one restroom and one shower for over 30 people in this moving caravan. I’ve learned to appreciate cold showers and warm drinking water. It’s amazing how quickly one can adjust to their environment, given limited options. Tonight, as an example, we are bedded down in the Gila Bend High School, sleeping in the gym. The staff was kind enough to leave the basketballs out, however after cycling from San Diego, most of us at this point don’t have the strength to lift the balls, much less dribble or shoot. I would say that drooling is probably the closest I can get to dribbling, however given the arid, dry desert air, I don’t have enough saliva to lick a postage stamp.

I have also begun to garner a healthy respect for the desert environment. As an example, between sunscreen and a long shirt, I thought I was fairly well protected from the sun. That being said, I am staring at a small, triangular patch of skin between my left thumb and my wrist where my watch was. On this particular piece of real estate, apparently Mr. Sunshine has placed a a nice bright red stamp, as if I had successfully been passed through the doors of some sort of a disco in the desert. My skin is so dry that this morning, I looked down at my legs and didn’t recognize them as my own. For a minute, I thought I was starting at two bleached pieces of driftwood that had some hair growing on them. Either that, or I have contracted leprosy.

The ride today wasn’t overly difficult, since it was relatively flat and short, with a total duration of only about 50 miles. The two big challenges today was a) the road surface on the access road for I-8 (extremely bumpy), and b) a headwind that, while not particularly strong, (5 – 8 MPH), made you work just a little bit harder than you wanted to. We passed 8 or 10 coyote on the road this morning who were either sleeping very soundly or were not fast enough last night to get out of the way of a semi moving at 85 miles per hour last night. Given the shape of these animals, my guess would be they were the victim of the latter, though I’m trying to maintain a positive attitude.

We arrived in Gila Bend just after noon, and met with the group at Sofia’s Mexican Food Restaurant before pedaling to the school. We were chased by a few “junk-yard dogs”, who aren’t exactly excited to see us visit their town. Fortunately, no one was bitten, but hey, the day is still young. Tomorrow we travel a little over 73 miles to Casa Grande. I don’t know much about Casa Grande right now, however I’m guessing there must be a big house there. Either that, or the town is named after today’s special at Sofia’s. Either way, I’ll be sure to keep you posted! Thanks for all of your support and encouragement. It is truly appreciated!