I don’t remember much about today except it was HOT. Yes, it got hot and stayed hot. It was in the 90s at 7 o’clock tonight. Did I mention it was hot?
I started as soon as it was light enough to see, which is just before 7 a.m. (AZ doesn’t use Daylight Savings). Nice, easy peddling through to Jake’s Corner (that’s the odd “zag” you see on the map above) but all that changed once I reached HWY 87, or The Beeline Highway.
HWY 87 was not a pleasant stretch of road. The heat aside, the road is a major artery into Phoenix and traffic is very heavy. There are also some serious elevation changes.
More bluntly: Hills. Big, damned hills.
The heat, traffic, and hills combined to make it miserable. No doubt they could hear my whining at the International Space Station. I was ready to pack it in by noon.
I am inexpressibly grateful for my patient, kind, and helpful support team. I passed several people today who were packing their own gear and was glad I had an air conditioned car to get into when the weather got too brutal. And I’m glad for chocolate, too.
I only took one picture today (there appears to be an inverse relationship between pictures and misery) and it is of my SAG crew, Brantly and Gigi.
The greater Phoenix area is not one I would like to approach on a bicycle. We came in from the Tempe side and drove around aimlessly for a few hours while we tried to find a motel.
Finding accommodation proved to be unbelievably difficult, not to mention expensive. The first place we booked over the phone was horrific and we left before we even unpacked our bags. Even 1.5 star Quality Inns are over $250 for tonight and over $300 tomorrow night. (That’s where we are staying and grateful to get it!)
The city is besieged by people coming here to watch spring training. (And I thought football was over after the Super Bowl.)
The good news is there is a wide variety of food. We had excellent Greek food today and will go on a doughnut hunt in the morning.
I will meet up with my cycling buddy-Leslie- for the first time tomorrow and we will head out Saturday morning. I’m guessing Saturday will be a half-day as it is projected to be the hottest day before the heatwave breaks on Sunday.
The really, really good news? There are at least two Nordstroms here. . .
