It is Monday AM, we have been invited to stay in Mesa with a friend I have met through the Gemvision Forum, and also at a conference in Chicago earlier in February this year. he offers, the beer or drink of choice, a place to do laundry and a safe place to rest and get some R&R while Andy and I plan the next phase of the trip.

The first thing i remember of that day was we had a steep incline about 8-10 degrees for a few hundred feet to get out of the campground. Towing the trailer;er with 60 lbs plus of gear, is no picnic either and I still cold and stiff. It is rather nippy and we're still over 2000 feet. The first thought is the power in my legs. Oh My God! I get out of the saddle and pump the peddles up the hill and my legs are screaming " Lets GO!!!"

I don't know why I feel so good. What I don't know is I'm going to need it. I calculate we have an easy 60 miles today. An easy down hill 30 or so miles to breakfast. We made some hot cocoa, but skip breakfast, thinking we'll stop in 10 miles or less and get a bite. This is the start of a series of errors this day. When I get to the first town, there is nothing. Morristown has no gas station, no convenience store.... nothing! The bright side is we are averaging almost 20 MPH for the first 1.5 hrs without a break and get into Sun City and find a cute restaurant to eat so we take a break as it isn't even 8:30 yet. Andy isn't feeling as good as me and the pace is a little to much for him. I knew ahead of time we could smoke the hills on the way down, then we'd have to slug it out in the city biking, which has always turned out to be slow. However, error number two happens. Thinking we are in a city, why carry extra fluids? There has to be a store every other block.

Traveling through Phoenix, we start to realize the pattern of the trail leads us into all sorts of neighborhoods but seldom near shopping. Also I have miscalculated the mileage. Thinking I'd be done by 1-maybe 2 O'clock, we are barely in Scottsdale, on Camelback road, and I have a flat tire. Thank goodness we have the good luck to be next to shopping center. Fluids and some lunch are in order, but again I don't reload the water.

An hour later and having checked in with our host, I find after 60 plus miles, we're still 20 plus miles out. We arrange to stop at a bike shop for some routine maintenance on this stay over, and struggle into Mesa. Tired, exhausted, but we have our longest ride to date, almost 85 miles.

One of the fun things we found in Phoenix were these underground tunnels through a long cycling path in town. It made riding safer for us, and was like a roller coaster of sorts. We had a blast going through them.

Andy and I are treated to a premium steak dinner, Tequila and beer. We get to wash clothes, private rooms with showers and a real live wholesome family to converse with and play for a day or so before it's time to move on. More about Matt, Nicole and their three wonderful young men in tomorrow's page.