What a day! We departed Payson, AZ, the scene of that encounter with the ‘Pro’ at Denny’s, and we began the next phase of the trek… the one where I got seriously bugged… That day, however, was notable for other reasons, as well… It was, you might say, rather eventful…
It was so good, though, and the ride back down the ridge from the high country into the ‘valley of the sun’ is, in my humble opinion, stunningly beautiful! No good pull-off opportunities to attempt to grasp it all in pictures, at least not the views I really would like to have photographed. Even though others might not believe it, I know it really did happen! It sure is good to be me!!!
Following the turn onto AZ 188, we rode on down to Roosevelt, by the dam, and then a break. A restful place to just sit and people watch… There was a group of ladies riding bicycles… interesting.
Lots of giggles and inaudible conversation, and impressive get-up. Expensive looking bikes, snappy ‘correct’ apparel, PC helmets and safety gear… They were all dressed for the occasion, and they… Well, whatever makes folks feel good about themselves and their endeavors can’t be all bad, I guess… Personally, I couldn’t rule out some ‘statement making’ also going on…
Back on the road again, we rode past more stop points where on previous rides we’ve taken breaks… Not this day, however, as we’d tried a different stop this time… Then we arrived in Globe, and made the turn onto US 70… I’d been pondering where we might head for the evening, but I hadn’t stumbled across any inspiration… yet. Time for another break!
Yep, breaks are good for lots of things… ‘relief’ to ease any distress, a beverage, perhaps a snack, to… you know… It’s also a grand opportunity to consult one’s Google Maps and/or atlas… Which was the main reason for this particular stop. I did go inside after topping off, though, and I did perform a preemptory relief deed. Then a snack and beverage, and… conversation with the nice lady making change…
She was quite young, by my standards anyway, probably in her mid-twenties. She openly talked about having arrived in Globe from Holbrook, AZ. She’d come there to ‘dry out and become sober’… drugs… She’d been successful and had been dry for over a year now. She needed a change of venue to accomplish that, however, because her previous home was toxic for her… and she would have had to completely drop her friends, yet remain near them… and temptation… I congratulated her and told her I thought she had been most wise…
I rode off thinking about all of that! WOW! I’d pretty much missed out on all of that when I’d been a teenager, because, although we heard vague references now and then, it really didn’t exist, that I knew of anyway, in our cloistered, safe environment in north Alabama… Even in the Army, and even though we were constantly being warned to steer clear, I never came into contact with any of that until I returned from Korea… and then it was definitely all around!
I don’t know what might have happened had drug usage in my high school back then been like what it is today… Maybe I would have succumbed to peer pressure the same way I did with tobacco and alcohol… I’ll never know, and I’m mighty glad about that! Lots of potential problems with that stuff, and I choose not to participate… Fortunately, I had a bit more maturity by the time I had to make that choice!
While at that stop… more thought. I’d been agonizing over where to head for the remainder of the day… I really didn’t want to retrace our steps back towards Deming, NM, but… OK, let’s have a gander at the atlas… Hmmm… How about Benson?
Well, most of the way there would be good… plus a check with Google Maps offered a way around Tucson! Dang, I do not enjoy riding through that place! Huge, spread out, lumpy streets, traffic, and no good, efficient way through or around that I’ve ever found.
OK, let’s have a go with that alternate route… I could sure use knowledge of such a route now and in the future! We made the turn down AZ 77, and went in search of ‘Veterans BLVD’ in San Manual… We found it right where we thought it would be! Dang, I should have known that was way too easy!!!
We took yet another break to water-up and delayer a bit… yeah, a bit of ‘relief’ too… Then we were back at it… Cruising down a rather nice road, lots of scenery to distract me, and… The road all of a sudden made an abrupt left turn!
I hadn’t seen any signs warning of that, so I was completely unprepared! The ‘old road’ had gone straight, so there was an opportunity to safely decelerate and do a turn-around… Had it not been for that, I don’t think I could have made that turn… Wheesh!!! Sure dodged a bullet there!
Slowed down considerably after that… I even stopped for a pic!
Another few miles, and then… "Do what?!" The pavement ended… the road became unpaved, and right at the point of transition was a sign… 'Benson 50 miles'! No way! Say it ain’t so! Hmmm, what if it’s only like this for a few miles… surely it can’t be 50 miles of that?!!!
I rode down that trail for about two miles… it never improved. We topped a small rise and I could see for another mile or so… no signs and no pavement! Dang, we’d already ridden more of that very poor road than I wanted to, and who knows how far it might continue! We gave up and turned around…
Some bad news indeed…
All the way back to AZ 77, then southward towards… Tucson… yuk! Traffic there was surprisingly more than I’d thought it would be for a Sunday afternoon… It had warmed considerably, and we’d been going for some time since our last break… so… More relief, one more layer removed, and all vent zippers and tabs opened… Then, more traffic…
We finally made it to I-10, and I have only rarely ever been that happy to see a freeway! Then it was off to Benson and a stop for that very long, draining, but entirely productive and enjoyable day!
DDT
