May 18
Safford, AZ to Three Way, AZ
37.5 Miles
1750 ft of climbing
It was 80 degrees at 8:00 AM this Sunday morning and I had such a good sleep I didn't want to get out from under the air conditioned sheets. It's beginning to sound like it's all about sleep with me. To some extent it's true. That's when the body does the most recovery. Being 22 years old, Chris's body is in a recovery mode any time he's not pedalling.
Eventually I dragged myself out and we began making ready to grab some breakfast and hit the road. It was a late start and 95 degrees when we started turning cranks. After three hard days of hot riding, and just shy of 300 miles covered during them, we were both feeling the fatigue. We agreed we would ride 35 miles through the first pass and assess our condition. Our bailout option would be Clifton which is nine miles off route to the North of Three Way. The next running water on the route is another 47 miles and it's camping only. Camping is OK as long as you can pitch your tent while its light out.
We came to Three Way which consists of a store and gas pump. The woman working in the store was very talkative and super helpful. She told us that she had met a man and woman, while walking her dog, who were camped in the trailer park next to her. She said they told her there were showers and laundry.
It was only a mile and a half down the road the opposite direction of Clifton. We thought to save the extra miles and camp down the road rather than ride a total of fifteen extra miles for a hotel in Clifton.
We stopped at a store next to the campground to get water and dessert and went on to Ponderosa RV Park to make camp. KOA it is not, but the showers work, there's a washer and dryer with a working light in the room, and at ten bucks the price was right.
As I write this we just finished eating lasagna with meat sauce and Carribean rice and beans (freeze dried). It was all surprisingly good and my packs are a bit lighter as a bonus. The only problem, it was only seventeen hundred calories between the two of us. It was plenty satisfying and filling but tomorrow we climb the remaining 6500 or so feet and go seventy five miles to Silver City. We'll be travelling heavy with extra water too. We will have about four litres each for the forty seven miles between water stops). We agreed to have Mexican omelets at the campsite (freeze dried again) and stop at the store for milk and have cerial out front before we head for the first climbof the day.
Tomorrow it's Silver City or bust. Then a day off.
More to come.
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