Day Five: Brenda, Klaus, Clean Restrooms

Yes, I REALLY woke up at 4:45. It was still dark when I left at 5:15. I attached my red flasher to the back of my bike and pedaled away into the darkness.

At the convenience store on the edge of town I bought some powdered donuts and energy bars. As I was about to pay I noticed a novelty item and bought it, too... A children's light necklace. It's the kind where you break it, some chemicals mix, then it glows for a few hours. I needed less than one hour.

Once outside, I sat down and ate my breakfast. Shortly after that I put on my new piece of jewelry and left town.

From mark on a bike 08

I feel a lot better today. I feel.... saturated, something I haven't felt since I arrived in the Mojave Desert.

I crossed the river east of Blythe and entered Arizona. I always try to take a picture of my bike next to the state signs as I cross them but there wasn't one.

This picture was taken as I crossed the Colorado river bridge into Arizona.

From mark on a bike 08

There was a climb which began at the river dividing the two states, then a short descent into Quartzsite where I refilled my water bottles.

By 6:15 I had pedaled ten miles, one fourth of my goal for the day.

Leaving Quartzsite, I began climbing again and would continue to do so until about six miles before Brenda.

Part of this route put me on Interstate 10, but the shoulder was quite wide and it was actually kind of nice when the 18-wheelers blew past me because the wind they created pushed me that much farther up the mountain.

Here are some pictures from the road.

From mark on a bike 08

From mark on a bike 08

From mark on a bike 08

The scenery is actually prettier than the pictures make it appear. It's the kind of stark beauty you see in deserts.

By 8:00 I had done twenty miles, and was still feeling pretty good. The cooler (though still warm) temperature really made a difference. Occasionally, I even felt a cool breeze coming off the mountain, but it only lasted about two seconds.

With the temperature in the 90's, I rolled in to Brenda at two minutes before 10:00 - just as my cellphone was ringing. I wasn't able to answer it right then, but the caller left a message:

"This is Jane at the Black Rock Motel in Brenda. We received your message about a motel room. Our motel is not open at this time of year because our air conditioner is not sufficient for this heat, so we're sorry, our motel is not open. Good-bye."

Brenda has a population of zero. It has a grocery store and a restaurant. The restaurant, like the motel, is only open October through May. The only inhabitants are the snowbirds who come to the two RV parks.

I sat down at a table and thought about what to do as I drank a very cold soft drink. Nothing came to mind, so I started another one.

While I was sitting there willing myself to stop sweating, the cashier struck up a conversation. Her question about how far I planned to make it tonight prompted an answer of "I don't have any idea," and an explanation of why.

After giving it some thought, she suggested I try calling Desert Gold, the RV Park. They have a room they rent, and she looked up the number for me.

I learned they charge $53.99 per night, but there's a two-night minimum. The lady at desert Gold suggested I try calling the other RV Park, Brenda's RV Park. I called, but Brenda's charges exactly the same as the Desert Gold. The lady at Brenda's also told me I should try calling Desert Gold. "Perhaps they have a room," she said.

While I was sitting there trying to decide what to do, another bicyclist came in. He got something to drink and asked if he could join me.

His name is Klaus Kuras, a 42-year-old IT Program Manager. His trip began at his home in Frankfurt, Germany, about 7500 miles ago. He traveled across Europe, Russia, Mongolia, and China. He was in Beijing during the Olympics, then flew to Los Angeles, biked to San Diego, and ended up in Brenda, Arizona. His goal is to ride around the world (and you thought I was crazy). Once he reaches Florida he'll fly to France, then ride home during the winter.

From mark on a bike 08

Interestingly, this man who pedaled across the Gobi desert, passing dead camels who weren't able to survive the heat, decided that he was going to start waking up very early and riding until noon because of the temperature.

We talked for half an hour or so while he had a couple of drinks and cooled down as well. Eventually, it was time for him to go - he's trying to do at least 100 kilometers (about 68 miles) a day so he can get to Florida before his visa runs out.

I was really kind of stuck, unsure about what to do, when he suggested we ride to Salome together. Seeing how limited my options were becoming in Brenda I thought what the hell... And said sure.

Stepping outside into the heat was like getting slapped in the face, but we climbed on our bikes and started riding.

The ride to Salome was uphill, but not steep. We stopped frequently, and I drank more than my body weight in Gatorade. I also poured water onto my head, neck and back.

I can't remember... Did I mention it was hot?

We stopped in Kofa (pop. Unknown since it's not even on my map which includes towns with no people) for lunch, a cheeseburger and multiple refills of Dr. Pepper. Klaus didn't know about free refills on soft drinks in America and I'm sure he's going to take full advantage of it during his stay in the States.

An interesting perspective about drinking... Last night Klaus ate at the Sizzler and ordered a meal which comes with a free drink. Understandably, he wasn't very happy when he was told that beer isn't one of the options. It DOES say a free drink, and beer IS a drink... It's one of those cultural things that we just know about and people from other countries don't.

From our waitress/cashier/owner I learned where the name of the "town" comes from... it's an abbreviation of King of Arizona.

I spent a little longer at the cafe than I wanted because the sign in the front said "Clean Restrooms." Fortunately, they weren't very dirty so it didn't take me too long.

From mark on a bike 08

We left at 1:00 with ten miles left to go. We had more climbing, but it was still gradual.

We went through Hope and made jokes about it then saw this sign, misspelled but still funny, at the edge of town.

From mark on a bike 08

It was somewhat easier riding with Klaus. In addition to the conversation making the miles slip by faster, I also drafted most of the way. Drafting is a technique in which one person rides behind another person, staying in the slipstream and avoiding some of the wind resistance.

From mark on a bike 08

From mark on a bike 08

Even so, I began fading during the last five miles and was really glad to see the Salome (pop. 1690) city limits sign.

After about a fifteen-minute wait the owner, Marjorie, finally showed up - she was picking her daughter up from soccer practice. She also told us what activities there were in town this evening, i.e. watching the high school football game, but I pictured griddle marks burned onto my butt which exactly match the lines on bleacher seats and decided I would prefer to burn myself on my own terms.

We got a room with two beds and I immediately turned on the air conditioner.

From Marjorie, the owner, we also learned that there were three other cyclists at the motel, and that an ambulance had just been here right before our arrival because one of them was sick.

Klaus had met the three of them a couple of days earlier. Their names are Hewes and Susan Agnew. Hewes, a retired cardiothoracic surgeon, and his wife have traveled several places around the world on their tandem (a bike for two people). Their friend, Paul (also a doctor and an experienced cyclist), apparently got dehydrated in the heat and stayed in his room so I didn't meet him.

I took a long, cold shower shower, then the four of us met for supper at the town's only café, a Mexican food place across the street. We enjoyed a long meal together, then went back to our rooms. I wrote down my mileage as soon as I got to the motel because my odometer has been acting weird. It's a good thing I did, because when I returned to my room after supper it said 139 miles. By the time I went to bed it said almost 200.

Jeez, no wonder I'm so tired.

I set my alarm for 4:40 and went to bed at 9:00.

63.659 distance
10.6 average
5:59:03 time