Operation Air Dry …since I was going to be putting a helmet on today anyway,
I decided to conduct an experiment this morning after getting out of the shower. I usually blow dry my hair because I can
subdue the weird flips and curves with a round brush, it’s the quickest way to
have not wet hair and the brush gives it a little poof. I’m not a fan of flat hair. Today I didn’t use the blow dryer….I decided
to see how long it would take to air dry my hair in this warm dry heat. I don’t have long hair and it doesn’t take
long for the top layers to dry; it’s the underneath stuff in the back that
takes so much longer. I don’t ever put
on my helmet when my hair’s wet…uh uh, no way! So that’s my criteria….how long
does it take to get from wet to helmet ready in the warm air. Out of the shower at 8:20….hair dry at
8:53….33 minutes to dry, but the ends were flipping up and it was flat on top, not at all my favored
style but again it was going to be covered by a helmet soon. It would have taken at least 2 hours at home
to get the same style. J
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Saw a coyote today but it wasn’t Wile
E. Coyote and he wasn’t chasing a roadrunner. J As we turned off Hwy 77 onto Hwy
79 or the Tom Mix Road as we now call it, a coyote was trotting across from
left to right. I had to ask Kim what it
was because it kind of looked like a German Shepard...same size and face shape
but different coloring. And it looked healthy, not like some I’ve seen around
home. Anyway, he picked up the pace as
we approached and I think I saw him looking back in fear at the sound of Flame
and Zeus together.
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Today was just about riding….there was
no end game, just a day for riding. We
consulted the map, plotted a general course and headed out about 11:30. No GPS…just the open road in front of
us. After getting through Coolidge, we
headed for the Tom Mix Road which would lead us to Hwy 77, where we turned left
into the foothills of the Superstition Mountains. We’d been on that route last year and thought
it would be more fun on the bikes that it was in the truck and trailer. We didn’t get as far as the super twisty area
down into the Salt River Canyon, but still got plenty of gentle winding curves
made for cruising. If the curves get too
twisty (think twisty like an intestine), I get a little edgy…these were very
manageable. Rode out about 130 miles,
turned around and headed back. It was a
day well spent.
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At some point along the way, I started thinking of
this ride as a celebration ride. First,
I was thinking of the riding I had done with Jeff, snuggled in behind him on
Pearl. I loved it when we were cruising
down the highway and he would reach back and hold my leg…to let me know that
doing this with me mattered. Kind of
like ‘you may be behind me but we’re doing this together’. Anyway, he always believed I was capable of learning
to drive. I was the doubtful one…driving
a car requires the use of one foot, two if it’s a manual transmission…driving a
bike would require the use of both hands and both feet. I guess a car requires both hands on the
steering wheel but on a bike they each have a different job to do. Through the circumstances of life and the
support of my kids, I conquered my fear and doubt and learned how to properly
drive a motorcycle…and I hope somehow Jeff knows that I did it and that it
gives me incredible joy. He rides with
me all the time…I made a pocket out of his old do’rag and put some of his ashes
in it. Might seem weird to some, but it
works for me. And second, I was
celebrating the riding I do with Kim, who’s ridden with me for about 75, 000 of
the 80,000 or so miles I’ve ridden since 2010.
Although I prefer my own bike, there have been times when I’ve snuggled
in behind him, too. So, today...out
on the open road with the sun on my back, music playing, Kim riding up ahead...was a
day for celebrating!
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We knew that our route would take us past the Ghost
Bike on Hwy 77….the one we noticed and researched last year. Also knew from experience that was a little diner up
the road from the Ghost Bike that served a superb BLT…in fact, last year it
became #1 on my list. The BLT I had in
West Yellowstone was bumped down to #2 at that time.
So….at the risk of the memory of that BLT being tarnished, we stopped
for lunch at De Marco’s Pizzeria in Oracle, AZ, for a second time.
And, the sandwich I was served does, indeed, equal the memory…it’s
the oregano and homemade bread that have it holding onto that #1 position. 😋
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We’ve noticed that it seems acceptable
to take random garbage and just go dump it in the desert. Not household garbage but the stuff that is
just no longer needed. Out on Toltec Rd,
where we’ve ridden a couple of times, there is a scrub field (not tilled up for
planting) littered with broken glass, so much so that it was glittering in the
sunshine as we approached. From a distance out, it looked like there could be
something truly wondrous up ahead…it was sparkly everywhere. Kind of letdown to see that it was just
discarded glass. Before we wandered out into the field, I thought it must be a
party hangout and those were broken bottles.
Not the case….there was every type of glass, the dumping seemed random
and yet planned at the same time, and it continued as far back in the scrub
brush as the eye could see. Maybe the land wasn’t being used for crops because
the soil isn’t suitable, but it sure isn’t good for crops or anything thing
else in its current state. Can’t imagine
what cleanup would entail although the ground is hard enough that a street
sweeper could be used. J And this area has plenty of landfills too…in
fact, there’s one on the way to the Field of Glass. It amazes me that somewhere along the line
someone deemed it was okay to just dump glass (and other garbage) out in the
desert. Doesn’t seem a good use of the
land, which is a limited resource.
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Rode 270 miles today….out on the road
for 7 hours
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Texts
I received today:
 |
| Picture from Angie |
When I talk to the WonderKids on the
phone, I usually ask them what the best part of their day was and it always fun
to hear how they answer. Cullen is a Cub
Scout and today he participated in his first Pinewood Derby. Before heading out on our ride, I received a
picture of him holding a plaque….1st place for Pack 289! (When I handed Kim my phone so he could see
the picture, I told him it was kind of dark for some reason. He shot back at me “Well, it could be because
the brightness on your phone is turned down so far”. Oops!) So I called, Zac answered and said “Did you
get the pictures?” and I said “Yep,
that’s why I’m calling. Is Cullen there?”
And while we were waiting for Cullen to mosey over to the phone, Zac
said quietly, “He won every race. Every.Single.Race. His car was smokin’!” Or maybe that’s just the way I heard it….there
was lots of dad pride coming through. J And of course when I asked Cullen about the
best part of his day he told me that he won the Pinewood Derby, that his car
won all of the races. It's a time for the happy dance!!!
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I printed up several copies of the
picture of both Kim and I holding the gigantic tumbleweed, made them into
postcards and sent them to the WonderKids and the GR Grandkids. Getting a postcard is fun but I figured getting a
postcard with a picture from our trip would be more fun. While out on the road today, we stopped at a
pullout and I took my phone out to see how far we were from the real twisted
part of the route and noticed I had a text.
This is the text I got from Marshal: 😄
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