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A Bike Trip to Remember

Three days before Christmas I answered the door and was greeted by one of my best friends and his wife. Big G and I have known each other since 1974 when I first started teaching, him PE and me Music. Eventually he became a Principal and transferred to a different school in the district but we still kept in touch on occasion.
That friendship took a turning point in 1983. He called me and was excited about watching the movie 'Breaking Away'. He wanted to ride his bike to San Diego (where his wife's parents lived) and wanted to know if I would ride with him. I thought long and hard about this (5 minutes) and said it was a great idea.
In June of 1984 he stopped at my house, loaded my bike on his car and drove his family to San Diego. We had previously decided to reverse the direction and ride from San Diego back to Colorado Springs because of the prevailing winds. As it turned out the winds blew in every direction on the trip. I flew out to San Diego and spent a few days with my aunt and uncle to wait for him to arrive.
Our ride officially started in the last week of June of 1984. June and July, this is when we started a bicycle ride through Southern California to Arizona crossing the Mohave and Sonoran deserts, that was smart.
Just some of the highlights:
We rode into El Centro, CA. at 10 in the morning and it was already 110°, stopping at the Visitor Center we put our bikes in a back room and went to the local swimming pool. We played hippopotamus until 4:30 PM. To play hippopotamus you find the deepest part of the pool placing your finger tips on the edge, your entire body is submerged except for you nose and eyes. The temperature topped out at 115°.
We crossed into Arizona at Yuma and ate lunch at a Village Inn where the place mats showed a map of the local area. Waiting for our food I saw a long squiggly line on the map describing the 'Devil's Highway'. Maybe it was the heat, but I thought " that would be a great mountain bike ride"(see my post 'El Camino del Diablo').
Quartzite Arizona has the grave of Hi Jolly, the camel wrangler who was involved with the U. S. Army's experiment using camels in the late 1800's.

Hope Arizona has the sweetest water in the state (Local's comment).
"Have a good journey", statement from a Native American as we passed him in Gallup NM.
"The wind is always in your face": No. 3 of 'Jerry's principals of  biking'.
Arriving in Colorado Springs, a spoke broke in my rear wheel. This was the only mechanical we had in 1200 miles and it waited until the final mile. Things have a way of telling you that the journey is over.
17 Days, 3 flat tires, 1 broken spoke
and a Treasure of a Lifetime!
This bike ride elevated our friendship, creating a bond with memories that neither of us will ever forget.

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