Erich’s Journal -- Leg 06 – Arizona USA – Yuma Arizona, USA, to Douglas Arizona, USA – September 9, 2001 to September 22, 2001 – 14 Days.

Sunday, September 09, 2001 – Day 87 – Campground – Dateland, Arizona, USA – cycled 59 miles / 94 km (See Arizona Map)

A hot one today. We left at our usual 6:30 a.m. after a great breakfast prepared by Diane. (See photos 574, 575, 578, 579 and 580) We arrived at our stopping destination shortly before noon after an uneventful desert ride. By noon though the temperatures were climbing. In Dateland, we found an RV park called the Oasis. And an Oasis it is. In a desolate desert, with nothing between here and Mexico, we discovered the only swimming pool within a 50-mile radius. What a great way to spend 106 degree-day. Time for another dip. (See photos 576 and 577)

Monday, September 10, 2001 – Day 88 – Hotel – Gila Bend, Arizona, USA – cycled 48 miles / 77 km

You will never guess what. It was very hot today! It was great ride today. We left again at the crack of dawn. We were in Gila Bend by 11:00 a.m. It had not reached 100 degrees yet but it would soon.

The downer today was that I noticed my frame was cracked. It’s rather humorous because I just spent $580 replacing most if not all of the components on the bike. The only things that are original on the bike are the frame, the seat, the handlebar and the pedals (but not the cranks). If this had happened earlier, I would have just bought a new bike. (See photos 581 and 582)

Our plans have been altered some. Instead of taking a southern route through Ajo and Sells, we now need to bike north to REI in Tempe to get the bike replaced. This could be possibly warranty work but I won’t know until we get into Tempe, tomorrow night. I can only hope that REI will come through and replace the bike. Brian has plans to get his bike checked out too. He needs to get his rims drilled out so that he can use regular Schrader valves. Currently they can only use presta valves, which are smaller in diameter. This will allow us to be more flexible in obtaining tubes in Latin America. My two new wheels already have the larger diameter holes.

As I’ve said before, we are quite fortunate that this particular problem occurred within a few miles of where we needed to be to get the problem rectified. We should arrive in Tucson a day or so late but now we will have no reason to stay in Tucson because we are getting what we need to have done in Phoenix instead.

Tuesday, September 11, 2001 – Day 89 – Buckeye, Arizona, USA – cycled 33 miles / 53 km (The Day of World Trade Center Attack)

Wednesday, September 12, 2001 – Day 90 – Scottsdale, Arizona, USA – Residence – Rest until 9/15/2001

So much has happened during the past 24 hours that I don’t know what to do. The national events and the lives lost are beyond comprehension. My heart and my prayers go out to the families that are effected by this attack on our country and our people. I can’t even begin to realize the ramifications of this event. It is like a nightmare, seemingly unreal.

As we cycled through the desert, New York seems like a foreign land – one that doesn’t effect the BikeAmericas team. But is does. It may even prevent us from going any further. Our safety is now in jeopardy. Our goals seem trivial.

I don’t know what would make people hate so much to kill so many innocent people. I can’t understand it. It is senseless. The idea that these attacks were carried out on US ground seemed like an impossibility, but yet it seemed to be done so easily. These hidden cowards had made human life so expendable.

I pray that they are hunted down and taken out.

Our way of life will change forever.

I am currently with my brother’s wife, Christine, their two sons, Kyle and Lindsey. Brian is staying with some friends in Tempe. My brother Dan is currently in Boston on business. He is trying to rent a car to drive back to his home, here in Scottsdale. This seems to close to home considering the two planes that hit the World Trade Center, originated in Boston. My brother was supposed to fly back today.

We rolled in to Buckeye, Arizona around 11:00 a.m. yesterday. As we entered a convenience store we heard about the tragedy in New York. My bike frame by that time had gone from a cracked status to a completely broken status. I had 6 sets of plastic tie-down straps hold the two broken straps in place. (See pic 581 & 582) Those eventually broke after 33 miles of riding. I first noticed some play in my pedals on Sunday about 10 miles from where we camped. I thought it was a problem with the bearings at that time. I didn’t see the crack in the frame. The pedals however seemed very rigid. Unusual.

The next day we had biked about 20 miles when I thought I would try to take apart the bottom bracket to see if I could repack the hub. It was then I noticed a large crack that went halfway around the casing around the bottom bracket. I pedaled lightly without putting much vertical pressure on the pedals. We biked a total of 50 miles that day.

Tuesday morning, I put the tie-straps on in an attempt to keep the bike from snapping in two. We had made the determination to go north. We made it 15 miles when the bike broke. Now it was just the tie-straps holding the frame together at the bottom bracket. The two pieces would shift position from time to time. Keeping the chain from rubbing on the derailleur was difficult. It was finally when the derailleur was rubbing on the large ring of the front gears that we had to stop and catch a ride in to Tempe, which was about 40 miles from us.

My sister-in-law came to our rescue. Her company, Infoimage, had closed for the day due to the tragedy, so was able to come and get us.

She took us to REI, where a manager there was waiting to work with us. I am pleasantly surprised and very thankful to how they treated me. They had another bike set aside for me. I am very impressed and feel very supported by REI. (See photos 584, 585, and 586)

Currently they are taking many of the components that I had replaced on my original bike and place it on my new bike.

Again, I don’t know the status of us finishing our trip… It seems so meaningless…

Thanks to my family, Dan, Christine, Kyle & Lindsey for the stay during this tragic time… (See photo 587 and 588)

Sunday, September 16, 2001 – Day 94 – Motel – Coolidge, Arizona, USA – cycled 64 miles / 103 km

Brian and I had decided to take the few extra days so that we could think through the recent events. Brian stayed with some friends of his in Tempe. I stayed with my brother’s family in Scottsdale. My brother had been stranded in Boston while on business and drove back in a rental car. He got home on Friday afternoon. He and two others that he worked with drove the 2700 miles strait through. After a few days of rest, news, and family events, Brian and I went to pick up the bikes.

We left the Phoenix Metropolitan area this morning with the intent of leaving the US later this week. We rode on a remote highway – the old US Biway to the west of Interstate 10. Hardly any traffic. Tonight we are staying in a motel in Coolidge. The temps are still getting in to the 100s. (see photos 589, 590, 591, 592, 593 and 594)

Monday, September 17, 2001 – Day 95 – Residence – Tucson, Arizona, USA – cycled 83 miles / 134 km

We traveled through the desert today. We departed Coolidge toward the east into the rising sun. We stopped in Florence for breakfast, but kept it short so that we could stay ahead of the heat. There was no services in the 40 mile stretch between Florence and Oracle Junction. There was also a modest climb of about 1800 feet during the stretch, which by car is unnoticeable was we definitely noticed it as the temperatures were climbing in to the 90’s.

After we passed Oracle Junction, heading south, we started to see signs of suburbia, new houses went from sporadic to thick the closer we got to Tucson. We had a nice descent in to the heart of Tucson.

We eventually got to the house of my cousin Margo Caylor and her husband Rob Caylor, where we stayed the night. They fed us well and were quite hospitable. They have two children Carly & Casey. (See photo 595)

Tuesday, September 18, 2001 – Day 96 – Residence – Tucson, Arizona, USA – cycled 21 miles / 33 km

All of the ride today, was a route within the city of Tucson. Our first stop was St. Michael’s Parish Day school, which is a school that my cousin’s daughter Casey attends. We spoke to the 5th grade class there who were just loaded with questions. Since our last classroom presentation in San Diego, I get an ego boost after we meet with the kids. It makes our trip seem much more meaningful. (See photos 596, 597, 598, 599, 600 and 601)

The school presented us with a donation which will help fund our trip. So now St. Michaels Parish Day School is now added to our list of sponsors. I give a definite thanks and appreciation to the 5th grade class and and their support in our endeavor.

Our next stop took us to Full Cycle Bicycle Shop where we picked up some new tires, extra cables, spokes and other spare parts to prepare for our entrance to Mexico. I also had them true my new back wheel. I have a fear that our visits to bicycle shops will be few and far between from now on.

The next stop was to Circuit City, where Brian was going to pick up an additional memory card for his MP3 player. He weighed the benefits with the additional cost and decided it was not worth it. Brian picked up an MP3 player, which prompted me to later pick one up in Tempe. I guess this encourage us not to speak to each other at times, but for those that do long bike trips are aware that this can be a blessing. They definitely make the long stretches seem shorter. I also picked up a small AM/FM radio, which has been keeping us tuned to our national events during this terrible time our nation is going through. Although we don’t think that these events will alter our decision to continue on, we are prepared to come back quickly if our families insist upon it or the state department highly recommends it.

Our next stop was at Border’s books where I pick up a detailed map of Mexico and a few books on learning Spanish. Although Brian and I have taken Spanish courses, Brian has no practical practice of the language in a Spanish speaking country and my practice of the language in recent years has been little to none.

Some friendly cyclists invited us into their home for a cold drink. As we were cycling through a residencial neighborhood just east of the university, we spotted them on a tandem. As the temps were climbing into the 100’s again, we appreciated the invite (See photo 602)

Our next stop was at a computer networking company called Computers, Etc. Inc. We stopped there because my cousin Debbie Hankerd’s son, Justin works there and was going to help us transfer some files from our temporary laptop to our old laptop which was fried. He copied all of our website files as well as music and personal files on to some CDs which we can then move over to the Dell,which was fried so many days ago in Lilloet, BC. We also got some fast DSL connection internet time in… A treat. Thanks to Justin and Computers Inc for helping us out.(See photos 603, 604 and 605)

Our last stop was at my cousin’s house Tim Barry and his wife Toots. They fed us some good Mexican food and provided us with good conversation and some warm beds. There we also met with my other cousin Nancy and her husband George. (See photo 606)

Wednesday, September 19, 2001 – Day 97 – Residence – Tombstone, Arizona, USA – cycled 86 miles / 138 km. Rest until 9/21/2001

Tim and Toots offered to bring our gear to our next destination, Tombstone Arizona. We had been planning to stay with my Aunt Mildred, Tim’s mother, so again we feel fortunate to have this support wheel. Brian and I love to have this kind of support once in a while. It is a great feeling to travel without the gear. Your speed increases, you can maneuver much more easily, and your motivation changes for the better.

We climbed out of Tucson on Highway 83 some 2400 feet to the high desert and wine country of Sonoita. I grew up some 20 miles away from here, so this country has some meaning for me. I find this to be some of the prettiest country in Arizona. It is exceptionally beautiful this time of the year as the Arizona Monsoon season is ending leaving a lush green desert behind. (see photos 607, 608, 609, 610, 611, 612 and 613)

After the climb to Sonoita we had close to 35 miles of flat or slight down-hill to the San Pedro River. This stretch we must have completed at close to 20 mph. Again – thanks to Tim and Toots, we had a great ride in some beautiful country. I’d also like to add that Brian is really becoming quite the cyclist who is definitely pulling ahead of me in the game. For someone who has virtually done no distance cycling when we began, he is definitely now interested in cycling more and perhaps racing when we get done.

We are currently in Tombstone Arizona now as we take a day off. We may be delayed more as we noticed the Dell laptop has no power cord. After some phone calls, Brian discovered we had sent it back with Brian’s parents to Anchorage. It is being Fed-Ex’d back to us. We plan to depart after it arrives.

In the mean time, we took a tour of this famous Arizona town. Although I grew up just 80 miles from here and have visited often, this is Brian’s first time here. (See photos 614, 615, 616, 617, 618, 619, 620, 621, 622, 623, 624, 625, 626, 627 and 628)

Our next major trek will take us across the border at Douglas / Agua Prieta, then across the Sierra Madre over to the state of Chihuahua. We will probably put in some cycling days before our next stop. The dynamics of this trip are about to change. Our luxury days are soon to an end. A big adventure awaits us for sure.

Saturday, September 22, 2001 – Day 100 – Motel – Douglas, Arizona, USA – cycled 49 miles / 79 km

The power cord came in today. We were on the road after two days of rest in Tombstone. We definitely got our fill of Internet, Television, and Millie’s great cooking. Tim and Toots came in the morning to visit Millie and attend a wedding in Tombstone. Instead they opted to take our gear to the border for us. We thought that it was a great idea. We definitely have been spoiled while we were in Arizona and Southern California. Thank goodness for family and connections.

We cruised to the border town of Douglas in record time of 3 hours. We averaged about 16.5 miles per hour. We cruised through beautiful ranch country. (see photos 629, 630, 631 and 632) Tim and Toot’s timing was impeccable. They met us with less than a mile to go. We took a room at the motel 6 in town. We figured it was our last opportunity to have a hot shower and cable for a long time. We then left with Tim and Toots to visit a cousin of Toot’s. It was an opportunity to see parts of Douglas that I had never seen before.

Douglas has a great old town look to it. (See photos 633 and 634) Although a little run down, it has some great architecture. The downtown area and surrounding neighborhood was about 100 years old. It must have been a wealthy community at one time. The Gadsen Hotel has marble walls. Quite elegant.