Here are today’s Statistics:
46.9 miles today
525.5 total trip miles
11.0 mph average
1463’ climbing
FF - 6
MP - my parents - Walter (RIP) & Audrey Wesp - they brought me into this world, trained, disciplined & nurtured me to be the man that I am. I cannot thank them enough.
Today was a surprise. It looked like an easy day on paper - 44 miles, mostly on bike trails around Tucson. It started out great, there was a threat of rain, but was just overcast early & the sun came out late AM. Joanne, Julie, and John & Carol Walsh came out to the trail in the late morning & saw me riding. We stopped and had lunch together about 11 AM. I had less than 20 miles to go after lunch & thought I would arrive before 2 PM.
But things kind of fell apart. It is nice riding on a bike trail because there is no car traffic & crossing roads is eliminated because the trail goes under the road. Tucson has a great set of trails all over town. That is the good part. The bad part is that when you are trying to get to a specific destination, the trails can be confusing. Bubba marked the route we were supposed to take, but I haven’t met another rider who didn’t make at least one wrong turn. I made 3. It added a couple miles & about 1/2 hour to the ride, but increased the frustration level more than that.
Then there was the wind - at least 20 - 30 mph & mostly in the face. All of that added up to more effort than expected. In the last mile of the day there was road construction that reduced the road to 1 lane with no shoulder. Bubba arranged that as a group of about 10 riders got to that point, he followed the group with his truck, trailer & emergency flashers going. That was great & made it safe.
I did see some interesting things along the way - a blooming cactus
Here is a picture of the large gully that runs through Tucson. Apparently at certain times it fill completely into a raging river. Always mountains in the background.
And here is a picture of what our tent city looks like.
Ready for a good night’s rest & a longer day tomorrow.
WDYLT - ILT Milwaukee was awarded the 2020 Democratic Convention.