You can't shovel sunshine

January 4, 2022

Apache Junction

The day started out pretty mellow. It was sunny out but too chilly to ride until afternoon, so we spent the morning doing a little shopping. At least we're not home shoveling snow!

We went back to the little market and picked up quite a bit a cheap produce to carry us into Tucson. Then we stopped at a nearby thrift store where Don found some nice cuff links. He didn't really need them but tends to collect nice ones when he can. I bought a long sleeve exercise top that had lots of bright pink and orange swirls in it which will be good visible colors for biking. From there we continued to Walmart and got a few more items.

By the time we got back to camp, it was nearly lunch so we put stuff away then grabbed a quick bite to eat. Then Don got the tandem ready for another ride.

This time we headed east on roads toward Superstition Mountain. For the most part, traffic was light as we traveled through nice neighborhoods on large lots.

We were just moseying along, gradually climbed uphill, when Don started yelling and grabbing his back "get it out, get it out, something is stinging me!" We came to a halt and swatted at his back, feeling some type of insect under his shirt.

He finally just took his shirt off, but neither of us could see anything on the skin. Not even any stingers. Whatever it was must have fallen to the ground. Maybe a wasp? But then how did it get under the shirt?

Don said his back was stinging but wanted to continue the ride. So we went a little further before stopping again. This time he asked me to look at the area as he said it was hurting. I saw a small red spot where something had clearly stung him and swelling started around it.

We dug out the first aid kit and found some sting/insect wipes which helped a lot. Enough that he said he would soldier on as he really wanted to do the ride.

So onward we went, enjoying looking at the views of the mountains and the forest of saguaros marching up the hillsides. I could see why people wanted to live out here.

At the top end of our ride, we entered an upscale development with beautiful custom homes. After looky looing for a bit, we headed back west.

We took a couple of different roads back and we were slowing creeping up a little hill when I heard Don's phone in the trunk bag start talking - "911, 911, what's your emergency?". What??!!!

Well, we weren't in a good spot to stop, so we kept going to the top of the hill. All the while I'm hearing "911, 911, what's your emergency?"

Finally at the top, we pulled over and Don got the phone out of the bag and told the operator that we didn't have an emergency but that the phone was in our bike bag and had dialed itself.

This has happened one other time as it appears that his new phone has an SOS feature and all it takes is rummaging around the bag to set it off. Wonderful, just wonderful!! I told him to just shut the phone down so we didn't have the emergency services trying to track us down.

We thought that was the end of our day's excitement but nooooo - we ended up dropping a chain. The second time it happened Don got out his multi tool and made an adjustment to tighten it up. That did the trick and we made it back home without further incidents.

We would have liked to have ridden a few more miles through those neighborhoods, but at this point we were both happy to make it back in one piece! We'll ride more and further when we reach Tucson. Maybe not the 42 miles everyday but we'll keep working on building up the mileage again.

The rest of the day was spent doing some packing up of our campsite so we can get ready to leave tomorrow. It's been fun here, but I know we'll enjoy being in Tucson again.

Pictures coming soon!

Today we rode to the east through some neighborhoods that were located on the flank of the Superstition Mountain. Lots of saguaro out here!

We saw this interesting landscaping plant in several yards.

In this hoity toity neighborhood we saw many homes that had planted saguaro in their yards. I counted at least 20 in this one front yard! That had to been costly. Most had no arms.

The owners of the KOA had planted many different types of cactus throughout the campground. This one is so interesting looking.

And of course, every RV 'er needs a bit of whimsy at their site:)

Today's ride: 12 miles (19 km)
Total: 1,683 miles (2,709 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	5
Comment on this entry	Comment	5

Gregory GarceauA few years ago, while riding on some country roads , my phone also somehow dialed 911. In my case, I had the phone in the back pocket of my jersey and I didn't hear the operator answer. At some point on my ride I stopped and had a look at my phone. There were three missed calls. One of them was from a county sheriff's officer who left a message saying to call him back. What did I do, I wondered? Maybe he saw me go through a stop sign, which is something I commonly do while riding. But how did he get my phone number?

So I called him back and he said my 911 call was referred to him for follow-up. I told him I didn't make a 911 call. He assured me a 911 call came from my phone. I checked, and he was right. I apologized like crazy and explained I must have accidentally "butt-dialed" the number. I also assured him I was doing just fine.

"I know," he replied, "I drove past you a little while ago. I figured that must have been what happened."

I was a little surprised that he was able to pinpoint my location like that--apparently from my phone--and even more surprised that he didn't stop to talk to me at that time. I mean, what if I had been riding my bike to the place where the emergency happened?
Reply to this comment
2 years ago

Rachael AndersonSorry about your sting. I’ve had 3 different stings in the past couple of years and have had pretty severe reactions. I hope it won’t cause you any problems!
Reply to this comment
2 years ago

marilyn swettTo Gregory GarceauInteresting story! We had just passed a fire station when this happened and I was just glad the 911 operator took Don's word that all was okay!
Reply to this comment
2 years ago

marilyn swettTo Rachael AndersonFortunately he never had a reaction other than some swelling and itching around the sting site. I've been stung on rides a couple of times but it's always a bit exciting when the sting happens on a tandem while riding! One other time the wasp or whatever it was climbed down inside his shirt and stung him repeatedly as we were climbing slowly up a hill! He was yelling "get it out, get it out" as I tried to slap his back. We had to stop as we nearly fell over!
Reply to this comment
2 years ago

Rachael AndersonTo marilyn swettSounds awful! Most of the time I’ve been able to stop right away but one time I was on a long descent and couldn’t stop.
Reply to this comment
2 years ago