Paul on a bike, except when I'm working on the new house...

Spent my last day in Arizona, worst thing I can say is it seemed like one long trailer park, the housing just didn't do it for me. The road out was fine, and yup, more hills.  Had a goad of getting out of AZ, 13 miles and getting 13 more into NM, I made that, but I couldn't find a place to camp until I found one of their country roads, pulled off, and set up camp a few feet from a cowpie that's been there for a while, so I should be okay, with the hat and riding my bike I tent to spook most of the cattle I see on the side of the road. But I made it through, now tonight I spend my first night in New Mexico. Been riding in the road since the shoulder is pretty messed up, and with as little traffic there is on US 60 it's been okay, only the jerkwads who want to play "wavy games' are honking. As I type this offline I hope the next place has wifi, because I need to buy some brakes and have them waiting for me ahead.  I spent a half hour trying to fix the front b...

First day out of Show Low, only a few orange syringe caps, not like US 77 where there were several needles and almost as many burnt spoons. Only made it about 30 miles, but with it mostly all uphill to 7550ft. So made it down a few hundred feet, into a little valley, doesn't seem to windy, that was where the cold was kicking my behind last time camping, and tonight I have my Bivy and flannel jammies. The weather said it wasn't going to get below 30 tomorrow morning, weird how it's coldest around 7am. Found a drive way for State land, I guess people get permits and go hunting on it, so I'm on the non hunting side, and it's winter, who's out hunting?  So seems like a good place to camp. Still dreaming of that two story house in Coleman, that hapless feeling waiting to get somewhere hoping that the place will still be for sale when I get there.  I have a couple of fall back places just in case. The second story just screams out SOHO loft art space to ...

Today started pretty slow, had to disassemble the cargo on the trailer, then reload, almost didn't bring the key back by 11 it took so long. The Super 8 was for sale so the hard working people who worked there had a full supply of 'out of order' signs. I was looking at some of the other properties in Holbrook, and saw the Super 8 was on the block as well. I took some pics of the Bucket of Blood Saloon, coincidentally it was on Bucket of Blood St. Be a great street to have a bike shop on though. when I was taking pics I discovered a trailer wheel was low, it made it nearly 25 miles before giving out. There were over six pieces of metal wire in just the tire alone and I found one more in the tube I was using as a liner. Now right before I checked in there was a nice lady in a church van inviting people for pancakes, but I had to dig into the bins for the tube an tire, and by the time I finished, it was starting to get dark, and I didn't want to get ...

So did a little picture taking here in Holbrook, and more planning out the route I'm taking, the google is very frustrating, no I'm not constantly looking at the phone, I actually know what a map looks like, and I think I've got the garbage eliminated from the route google wants to send me, why leave a road you are already on, just to go over a block, then turn left for 1/2 mile, then turn left to get back ON THE ROAD YOU WERE ON IN THE FIRST PLACE. Here's the Dairy Queen, nice old neon sign, kind of weird to see it below the brand new one.  The arrow to point to the drive thru is pretty cool.  Shogun Warrior Pow Wow...  So much cooler without the light pole in the way.  This just reminded me of the Sheriff office in the tv show Banshee, where the Sheriff office was in an old Cadillac dealership.  One word describes this place, Diversify, ice cream, knives, petrified wood...  And this is the really cool painted door, to look like an...

But it was against a headwind, slightly uphill, and then in the last 8 miles I had to nurse a 1/2mile leaky tire, ran over something, and every 1/2mile I had to refill the sucker, made it though. True a flat sucks, but that tube an tire has lasted since Eureka, so you could say it's lasted. I've got another tube, just need to break it out, tape up the inside of the tire to keep it from fraying. Next Walmart I'm gonna have to buy more tubes/tire. And yes, Paul tired, though it could be the lingering effects of that chamomile tea I drank last night, three cups. Tomorrow I'm gonna go to a really old Dairy Queen, maybe have a sundae.  Take some pics of the old neon sign. Snagged some Vileo aloe/mango drink , so good, has little bits in it, total refreshing...

As I have been getting closer to NM, I was checking the directions to get to Coleman, Tx, and on Google there are the 'left' 'right' 'unnamed road', parts that only work if you are looking at the phone, and have service, Google people can't imagine a world in which there isn't a moment looking directly into the phone. I tried Mapquest, another non biking group of people, at least with their info the basically same directions, and at every turn to this road or that, the tagline of "Unpaved Roadway", I asked for bike directions, not MOUNTAIN BIKE directions. So this leaves me on I-40 until Amarillo, then south on I-27 to Lubbock, then it's a crap shoot.

I started the day taking my time, since I had planned to stop at mile marker 225 where there's a little exit, and camp there(Flagstaff is marker 196). But as I was biking along, I just kept seeing the miles fly by, and it couldn't have been noon when I saw the exit for 225, so I just kept going. Woot, mile after mile, just kept flying by, and here I am 58 miles later, a little tired, but feeling good, might be able to do this again tomorrow, on my way to Holbrook tomorrow, just a little 34 mile jaunt... So, as I was biking by saw the twin arrows, then the bright shiny casino on the other side of the interstate(places that are bright an shiny don't come from a bunch of winners).  You would think they could do something for the upkeep of the 'twin arrows' with all the winnings.... Looks to be between paint jobs, this isn't my pic , I was busy pedaling. Then after Twin Arrows, I saw the heavily photographed Two Guns, where there is an abandon KOA camp, ag...