Yesterday afternoon I crossed over the Colorado River Road Bridge from Parker, AZ on Agnes Wilson Road about 1:45. I've included a selfie with the view towards California. Still have a challenging 67 mile ride tomorrow to make it across some hot desert to Brawley, CA. Drank 1.25 gallons of water yesterday. Google reported the temperature at 112°. At times the wind enveloped all of me - nothing but heat where the airflow was almost stifling. Still able to breath and thinking to go easy. I actively drank water. At times would stop to make adjustments, change socks, clean eyeglasses and apply sun block. Stopping could be a baking session but with the benefit at times of staring up again - water was pouring from my visor and down my face. Often landing on the screen of my phone (which was in automatic dark mode to prevent overheating) and sometimes landing on the lenses of my eyeglasses (which meant taking my helmet off to get my glasses off to clean them again. If sweat landed on my helmet mirror as a result of pointing my head down, the mirror too would need to be cleaned or it would not provide a clear image of what's behind me. One pleasant upside which felt great was once in this mode of my body doing it's job to cool down, true relief came when I got back on the bike and almost immediately with forward movement felt like I had a Carrier AC unit blowing cold air all over my body. Movement created airflow and in combination with my sweaty state there was a nice cool 😎 relaxed break. I enjoyed it while it would last and reminded myself to endure, as the edge of the day would pass. Go slower and let it pass. And it did. Delighted to be in California. Maintaining tempo to final destination. 'It ain't over till it's over"...and part of me does not want that to happen.
Day 89, Tuesday Morning, Aug 15th
anthony5736
Anthony, you've made it to sunny☀️ San Diego by now 😃 what an amazing accomplishment! Not only have you completed the journey once, but twice. Beyond impressive. I can't imagine riding through the AZ heat 😦 Looking forward to reading your posts from the beginning & seeing your final updates of making it to SD. 😀 - Your friends at Pump Coffee, San Diego, CA ☕️
Day 89, in California. Congratulations!!! You have successfully ridden more than 2,500-miles. What a great accomplishment at age 66! I would put your photo on the cover of Sports Illustrated! Excellent work! Your planning is stupendous for such a long, challenging ride during which most bike riders fail. Keep up the great work & even more excellent miles of riding. Karl, Texas
Anthony, we are sorry we missed you due to the conditions of our road. You are a true inspiration and I look forward to reading your blog and more about your journey! During monsoon season our weather is no joke. Im glad to hear you are hydrating properly and keeping that "hydrate mode" we learned so very well in the military. Im a disabled Navy Veteran myself and I hope to have these beautiful experiences as I age as well. Take care, God Bless and CARPE DIEM OOOOOOORAH!!!
Sounds like each day is it's own encapsulated adventure, keep on keepin' on!