Day 8: April 7, 2009

Globe, AZ to Safford, AZ: Apache country

Tuesday April 7, 2009, 76 miles (122 km) - Total so far: 580 miles (933 km)
Weather: Sunny skies, temperatures 57-77, winds east at 15, changing to SW light and variable.

We left Globe to a headwind and a couple of long climbs. The terrain started to change from the last few days as we saw more vegetation and more trees. We were riding in the Gila River valley. Water from the river is used to irrigate cotton fields around the town of Pima, AZ, noted for the famous soft Pima cotton. The mountains are the highest we have seen so far. Mt Graham near Safford is over 12,000 and still has lots of snow on the top.

About 10 miles out of Globe, we entered the San Carlos Apache Reservation.
In the middle of the route we rode through the town of Geronimo, an appropriate name. At one rest stop, a local Apache came up to speak to us. He said he was a professional horse tamer and a steer wrestler in the rodeo, and had a ranch in the area.

At another rest stop, a west-bound cyclist stopped for a few minutes. His name was Garrett, a recent college grad, who was riding solo from St Augustine to his home in San Diego. He was on day 34 of his trip. In the town of Pima, we visited with Vern's cousin, a retired rancher from Arizona, and his wife. We spent some time in their living room listening to stories about the old days on the ranch. They were extraordinary people.

Overall it was a tough ride, until the winds shifted to the southwest. The scenery remains spectacular. One can understand the lure of the American West when you cycle through it. The world looks much larger out here! We are also learning that the people here are pretty much like Americans everywhere.

Answers to a few more questions:
1. Do you think you will make this an annual event? Probably not this one, but there is one may across Scotland and Ireland that would be nice. (The wives are included)
2. How long did you train before leaving? I've been riding for a number of years, I rode 10,200 miles in 2008 and started seriously training in Nov. 2008.
3. Have you ever had an injury from riding a bike? I've had a few falls but only one time taken to hospital to have stitches in my arm.
4. Did you kill the snake you saw yesterday? No, we do not kill snakes, a car must have run over the rattlesnake.
5. Is the food good? The food has been very good, we've eaten a lot of Mexican but tonight we're eating all (Buffet Chinese)
6. Have you seen any big animals? Coyote, Road Runners, cows, horses and a buffalo.
7. Did you pick out your favorite bible verse because it is about Eagles
and Wings which you like or did it just happen like that? Isaiah 40:31 is very appropriate for this journey.
8. Did ya'll go to church on Sunday? Not yet, we don't have a day off until May 10th.

Until later...
Uncle Barry, Flat Stanley, and Share Bear