| Distance | 101.00 kms | 62.76 miles |
|---|---|---|
| Climbed | 1 meters | 3 feet |
| Ride time (hours) | 5.96 | - |
| Avg speed | 16.9 kph | - |
| Distance | 256.40 kms | 159.07 miles |
|---|---|---|
| Climbed | 417 meters | 1,368 feet |
| Ride time (hours) | 14.93 | - |
Friday, March 9th, 2018
Clouds in the east spare me one of those early Arizona mornings where the sun turns the tent into a solar oven and rudely forces me out to pack. I enjoy the relative cool, listening to some birds chirp until about 8:30 when I finally find the motivation to get going.
I quickly realize I've miscalculated the water situation. I've only got a liter left, with 30-something miles to go for the first chance to fill up. When the sun breaks through the clouds it gets hot; I'm feeling the pain of nursing that liter. I suspect I'm going to pay for this mistake with chapped lips.
5 miles north of Oracle Junction I feel the back tire go flat. Shit. I don't have the water to help me find the leak if it proves elusive so I just stop and pump up the tire a few times to get me to the junction. I'm thrilled to find a Mexican restaurant at the crossroads; after a huge plate of chilaquiles and a couple of tall glasses of water I'm motivated enough to fix the tire. The restaurant fills my water bottles. Outside with my stuff strewn everwhere, patching the tube, a motorcyclist walks by and says "go tubeless!". I'm still not sold on the idea for touring.
I stop at a Starbucks in Oro Valley to have a coffee and plenty of ice water. It's mostly downhill from here, in Tucson proper I get on the river bike path which takes me most of the way through the city to where I'm going. The last 5 miles I'm dealing with some kind of right knee strain, not sure how I did that, but it's painful at the end. Hopefully nothing serious.
