Day Nine: sprawl, AJFD, lost dutchman

When I woke up at 4:30, after four hours of sleep, I realized the trip was over for me. I couldn't keep going. It was an odd sensation of certainty - Phoenix would be as far as I made it on this trip.

While I was having my epiphany, Klaus walked into the room. Klaus Kuras, the guy who has pedaled 8,000 miles across three continents, suggested we go back to sleep for another couple of hours.

I was asleep within thirty seconds.

When I woke up at 6:30 my outlook had changed markedly. I was refreshed and ready to ride. I felt ready to ride, I felt good, I felt...

Wait. Did I just say I felt GODD at six thirty in the morning??? For your information, you will never EVER hear those words come from me again. And maybe I should change it to "better" instead of "good" so I don't ruin my reputation.

At 6:35 Wayne Pinkerton called... just to see how I was doing. Man, what a guy.

We left Dave's at 7:30. For about ten miles we were able to pedal on a bike path with no traffic. It was a nice path, and we were able to talk more easily than if we had been on trafficked roads.

It was there that I learned about some of Klaus' previous traveling companions. One guy, although a nice enough guy, never ONCE during their one thousand miles of traveling together, take the lead in drafting. Klaus pulled him for several weeks. Another guy was wanting the ride to be an "expedition" trip, so he tried to make it as tough on himself as possible. That's fine, but he also never spoke. Even in the evening, camped ten feet away, he never said a word to Klaus.

By 10:00 it was 91 degrees, but we were making pretty good time and had done 25 miles by 10:30.

Even after 25 miles we were still in the suburbs of Phoenix. It seemed to take forever to get past all of the stoplights and traffic. I didn't take many pictures because it was pure suburbia. Anyone want to see pictures of the suburbs?

From mark on a bike 08

From mark on a bike 08

Lunch, still in the burbs, consisted of a Subway sandwich. One of their fountain drinks was Powerade so we each filled a water bottle with it. Klaus says it tastes like blue gum, but it does quench your thirst pretty effectively.

From mark on a bike 08

Late that morning I called the only hotel near where we'd be stopping for the day. $105.00. Ouch. Still, I was already feeling the near 100-degree temperature and was past caring.

From mark on a bike 08

Apache Junction is the last outpost of the Phoenix sprawl. We stopped at the grocery store to buy supper and a few provisions.

The last motel for miles is just a few miles up the road.

Klaus doesn't want to stop this early or spend that much money (when you're spending 8 months on the road you CAN'T spend that much) so he'll continue riding and camp somewhere on the side of the road.

On the way out of town we passed the Apache Junction Fire Station. On the spur of the moment, Klaus suggested we ask the firefighters if we could camp near the station. On my very first trip I camped in the yards of fire stations a number of times, and was regularly invited inside.

We were met by Geof, one of the firefighters, and explained our situation, asking if it would be alright to camp there.

He said he'd need to ask the Captain and ushered us into an air conditioned foyer while he checked.

A few minutes later he and the Captain, also named Jeff, invited us inside. We also met Mike and Dan, the other firefighters on duty for the evening.

Geof gave us a tour of the station, which was really quite impressive. It's less than two years old and they've taken good care of it.

From mark on a bike 08

From mark on a bike 08

From mark on a bike 08

We ended up spending the afternoon and evening with them, out of the heat, which was quite a blessing. That evening Jeff invited us to eat with them. They were grilling and although they didn't have enough steaks, they did have extra sides of baked potatoes, bread and other goodies.

We climbed on the bikes and rode back to the grocery store. There we bought some sirloin steaks and returned to the station. Mike was already seasoning the steaks. I seasoned mine, then took a shower while he grilled them.

From mark on a bike 08

Jeff, who was raised here, told us the story of Jacob Walz and the Lost Dutchman Mine.

Jacob Walz was actually a German, not Dutch. In the late 1870s he wandered out of the Superstition Mountains, which are within sight of the fire station, and into history by bringing with him a team of mules loaded with gold. After a few weeks of frequenting saloons he would disappear into the mountains again. No one was able to track him to his strike, and each time he returned he would bring another load of gold.

On his deathbed in 1891, Walz left a riddle that has frustrated and captivated gold seekers since: "There's a great stone face looking up at my mine. If you pass three red hills, you've gone too far. The rays of the setting sun shine on my gold. Climb above my mine and you can see Weaver's Needle."

For "insurance reasons," we weren't able to stay in the station during the night. If the firemen got called out, we'd be there alone. However, there is an AIR CONDITIONED conference room in the front of the station which is separate from the rest of the building. At bedtime, they could lock off the main building from the conference room. We even had our own restrooms. They weren't really supposed to do that, but I think they realized we're pretty harmless.

Our fire station "campsite":

From mark on a bike 08

From mark on a bike 08

We enjoyed their hospitality and their company.

A quote from Geof: "Everything in the desert either bites, burns, or stings."

47.11 distance
10.9 avg
20.7 max
4:17:17 time
404.1 total miles