In the desert, you can't remember your name

December 8, 2018

'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain" - America

The overnight temperature hit about 30-degree even, but I stayed warm enough with my down quilt and jacket underneath. Since we entered the middle of the desert campsite during encroaching dark last night, we didn't notice all the .45-cal shells in the area. I probably saw about 20-25 as I packed up my camp that morning. But to be honest, I was more worried about being gnawed to death by coyotes than I was about getting shot from a .45.

Morning temperatures were still in the mid-30's so the down jacket and winter gloves were the way to stay warm

The trail continues under a dam spillway. Due to the increasing low-water conditions in the SW, there was no water spilling over this day in December. It would have been a lot more fun to walk under this under the water

Much of today's ride was like this - gravel roads with short scrub and the occasional saguaro cactus riding above the scrub

At 22 miles we encountered the Sheep bridge. This passage was originally built by the inhabitants of this area as a way to move their grazing herds from one side of the Verde River to the other. I don't think its current incarnation is the original but still, it's in use today.

Basically, much of the day was spent singing America's "Horse with no name" and substituting a bicycle for the horse. Because, what else are we going to do all day riding together in the desert?

Riding through the wash was not totally possible due to the soft nature of the rocks and sand. You can see the deep ruts we made with the wheels just walking the bikes; when riding, we sunk it even deeper and it made for a push-bike experience

The next 11 miles was a tough adventure. There was about 3000' of climbing and it was on dirt and rocky roads. They are a lot different than the paved roads I'm used to. Plus, I had gravel tires on my bike rather than knobbies, so I was not getting the traction my buddy had with his MTB tires. Undaunted, I continued on, pushing where I had to and riding when I could.

Push - push - push. Still made it to the top under my own power :-)

Image not found :( — This is the last trip I made with tubed tires. I flatted out three times today, and had two spare tubes with me. I had to repair one of the tubes the third time to keep going. Not the greatest feeling in the world to be out of cell phone range, miles into the desert, and running out of spare tubes

We rolled into camp around 4:30 in the afternoon. Camp was little more than a flat spot, somewhat grassy, in the middle of some scrub in a cattle grazing area. Cattle were around, but it looked like they weren't going to be able to squeeze into this area we chose. My legs were really tired, both from riding the bike up roads with little traction, from pushing the bike on and off for several miles, and then the 3 flat fixes for the day. It was a tough day for me. Just prior to this trip, I swapped out my front 42T chainring for a direct mount 30T. That really helped with the climbing. I don't know why many gravel bikes with 1x11 are spec'ed with higher gearing - maybe it's about going fast rather than climbing under load, but I see the gravel bike as a fantastic touring platform (heck - it's like the Subaru Outback of the touring world) and just by tweaking the original delivered bike it really performs well.

My campsite for the night. Ground tarp with sleeping pad and quilt lofting just after taking it out of its stuff sack. Never used the hammock I brought with me

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Today's ride: 34 miles (55 km)
Total: 86 miles (138 km)

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