Jan 12--Seemingly Walking All Day

We seem to be getting earlier and earlier starts each day. This morning was about 7:15. The guys, except Herb, are waking up about 5:30. It's not even light out until after 6:00! Jon was a tiny bit perturbed to be woken up so early. He usually gets up at 7:00, I think he said. We left before him, but he caught up to us not too far down the road.

Today we headed back into the mountains. The route was rough, and I walked more than I have so far on this trip. My arms feel like they want to fall off. I managed all but one spot where Brent helped me push MC. Part of the problem was that we are carrying a lot of water. I had 8 liters, plus my three bottles. All the extra is on the back of the bike. It makes it a bit harder on the steep bits because the front tire loses traction. I also came off the bike three times today. I never actually fell down, but MC did. Only one time did I scrape my right calf.

We saw lots and lots of cactus today. Even some that were blooming. There was also a surprising amount of water. I came to a creek that I had to cross. I looked at a path that went over a narrower part of the creek, but it looked like there was a lot of pokie bushes. I thought, if I walk through, I'm sure to get my feet wet. If I ride through, there's a chance my feet won't get wet. So I rode through. Yeah, my feet got soaked. It kind of felt good though. I think it softened up some of the large amount of dirt in my shoes, thus making it softer on my feet! Always a silver lining!

We stopped for the day at about 3:45. We had just under 6 hours of ride time today, yet we only made it 29 miles. It was a tough day. Also, Harry's saddle broke. The part where the tension bolt goes, broke off. He duct taped the nose to the rails. I think the Selle Anatomica is not a good saddle for rough off road riding. We heard of another guy who's Selle broke too.

Tomorrow we will continue the push to the next water source.

What I felt like doing to the route today!