Day Three - Alone Out There

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  Blythe, California, United States
Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Day Three - Alone Out There

I have a friend, Gary. Why do I mention him now? Thought about him a lot today. Gary and I have spent countless hours running and biking together. Something we hardly do any more and something I miss. Why. We would run and talk, we would bike and talk. Together we could have solved all the world's ills, if somone had just given us the power to implement our solutions. Those rides almost always went quick and almost seemed to end too soon. Not so with my 105 today. Wish you were here, Gar.

Wonder where I am? If you caught Good Morning America this morning, I spent the day riding where "Windy" intersected with "Hot". And that was an understatement. Just saw the Phoenix news, and winds throughout the state are between 30-50 mph. I challenge anybody reading this to post a comment that simply says "Day Three", the first time I complain about having to ride in the rain. Again I was amazed by the desolation. After I left my hotel, it was more than 60 miles before I came across a place to restock my water bottles. And that was 60 miles of nothing (see pics).

When I came upon this store I was surprised. I have a GPS unit on the bike and it was not listed. It was called "The Beach". Maybe due to the 10,000 miles of sand surrounding it. Wanted to tell the owner that most beaches offered some kind of water component too, but I resisted. Maybe I was afraid he wouldn't take my $3.79 for a gallon of water if he thought I was a smart ass. Apparently water, like gas, is more expensive here. But, truth be known, I would have paid 10 times that if I had to. There was a guy out front sitting at a picnic table. Asked me what I was doing out there (hmmm? I was starting to wonder that too). Told him it was just something I always considered a goal that I wanted to accomplish. He said he understood, that he had had a goal of getting a camping trailer and a quad by the time he was thirty five. Said he had just come into some money, and then pointed to a trailer and quad in the lot. He was proud and very happy.

Boredom does funny things to a guy. At one point I pulled off to talk to a border control agent sitting in his car at the side of the road. Needless to say, not something I would normally do. Said the temperature was 93 in the shade. I'm pretty sure he was kidding, 'cause there wasn't any freakin' shade for a hundred miles. On the plus side, the wind was at my back for 80% of the day. When it wasn't, it was brutal, but when it was, oh boy it was good. I think it was God's way of thanking me for going to church. Every Christmas.

Knee still hurts, but I've got ice on it now, and ibuprofen in my belly. We'll see.

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Hoping I don't run out of water	Right. Do they sell bridges too?	Guys! Found us a new camping site.	Now that's more like it.
Where are the signs with the good news?

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