Patagonia - Amado, AZ: Is it easier to go back to real life if you've had a rotten last day on tour? - The Squealing with Glee Tour

January 4, 2018

Patagonia - Amado, AZ: Is it easier to go back to real life if you've had a rotten last day on tour?

Important note - if you are looking to ride this route - take Pendleton Road, do not follow Ruby Road to the Interstate as we did. Read the text below for details.

Jacinto and I have to head home first thing in the morning. He has to be back to work Saturday at 4:30 AM. Ugh. Our compromise on this semi last minute work assignment was to stay one last night with the guys to enjoy dinner and breakfast. Then we will hit the road and drive the 12 hours home in one shot.

We will not be able to ride the last day with the guys, but we did ride it on our Green Valley Loop ride.

Our plan to get our van back a day early is for Jacinto to hitch a ride with Tom when his wife picks him up. Thus - Jacinto was up and at 'em at 7 AM with the rest of the crew. He needed to be in Amado with Tom early, because Tom is an early sort of guy.

We walked down the street to the cafe that was open at 7 AM. It was a busy place. There were a couple of tables of quail hunters, all dressed out in camo clothing. They were happy to be about their activity and were boisterous. That made it a bit difficult for us to have a conversation. We ate breakfast and headed back to the room to get ready as opposed to our usual lounging around for an hour or two waiting for it to warm up.

The weather forecast had been questionable. There was a 60% change of rain overnight, which was officially reduced to 0% by morning. Except that a feet on the ground (or would that be an eye on the sky?) point of view was rain on our left. Hopefully it stays there.

Today was mostly downhill with one significant climb at about mile six. I noted to Spoon that we are fairly close still to Sonoita, that these mountains must be cousins to the ones on our first day. He wasn't too tired to make a joke - he said they must be in-laws, not cousins. Good one. They were tough, for sure.

We were at mile 13 when I had a phone call from Tom saying that River Road was dirt, don't take that. Oren and I had just double checked this morning with the Google Guy. Paved all the way. I think you're on the wrong road. Just then a woman in a car stopped and confirmed that Tom wanted to be on South River Road. Ooops. Tom got some bonus miles.

In the meanwhile Jacinto had unknowingly passed Tom and was still riding hard trying to catch him. More on that later.

At about mile 20 we came to a big truck stop at the interstate. We went in and had snacks. Bertha kept us on the right side of the interstate on a Frontage Road. Oren noted that we had missed Pendleton Road. I agreed we had, but we didn't want to go that way because it added three miles and this was easier - stay on the frontage all the way. Except . . . details showed we needed to get on the Interstate twice. Oren routed us back to Pendleton to avoid one of the Interstate rides.

Leaving the truck stop wasn't fun. This was a big trucking area with all sorts of warehouses. All of the big rig drivers were professional and gave us plenty of space. Still, I'm sure they were just as happy as we were when we got out of their area.

I was anticipating a very long remainder of our day with 20 miles of frontage road. In the end it was delightful. Who would have thought? We took Oren's Pendleton Road. Spoon almost had a heart attack when he saw a giant, giant climb. He was ready to turn around and take the interstate - but our road skirted the bottom. Thankfully.

The three men and I all stayed together the remainder of the day. Oren waited for us at key points. Once we got back on route, Bertha confirmed Oren was doing a good job. We did have one interstate section where the frontage road ended and we were forced to join the traffic going through a border control check point.

Other than that the frontage road was sufficiently removed from the traffic to enjoy the ride and the scenery. It was a pretty day - much more so than I anticipated. I thought it would mostly be a getting to town sort of day.

Remember Jacinto and Tom being in a hurry? Jacinto was at the Inn by 11 AM. Where was Tom? Hmmm. At least that gave Jacinto a chance to take a shower. And wait. And wait. We were in Tubac, taking a break, here came Tom? How did he get behind us? It was quite a story, but his GPS wasn't quite as friendly as ours. Tom had 8 bonus miles to his day. So much for getting to town early.

Spoon and I were riding together at the end and stopped for some photos. We dropped quite a bit back. When we got to Amado, we could hear yelling. It was the guys calling us over to a large complex of old buildings. This is our spot. Yep. We are at the Amado Territory Inn. It is delightful. Quiet. It has a large patio in back with lots of birds and bird feeders and a cactus garden. I am looking at the mountains and am enjoying a slight breeze. The temperatures are the low 70's. Do I really need to go home tomorrow? This vacation has been more than I dared hope for.

The weather could not have been more perfect. We had no mechanical issues except tightening Spoon's boom on the first day. Even though we only rode together the last day, it was a pleasure to ride with the guys again.

We are having dinner at the Firefly Restaurant next door. I am hoping for an upscale dinner. The B&B is fixing us bacon and eggs early in the morning. Then Jacinto and I are starting on the long drive home. The guys will ride their last 34 miles to Tucson. Then they have an even longer drive.

It has been memorable in the best of ways.

I’m actually meeting the guys on the road! We stayed together the rest of the day.

I have no idea why this cow is here, but it’s fun.

I thought we had miles in the USA? All of the road signs we saw as far as Amado were in kilometers.

Harpo is just passing through and already has his own street.

The Tubac store has the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times by the register. I’m guessing their clientele is upscale.

Passing through a border check point. It went quickly. I’m not sure what they could check, just waving everyone through.

The trip is done. The Lightning P-38 has performed well.

My view while finishing up this journal. If only every journal session were as scenic.

Today's ride: 45 miles (72 km)
Total: 546 miles (879 km)

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