Chapter 6

100 miles, 200 miles, 300 miles, 400 miles, you can hear the whistle blow 400 miles. Was that Peter, Paul & Mary or the Kingston Trio? Today was the longest distance I have done. I left Aquila,AZ  & got to the edge of Mesa, AZ about 100 miles of riding. It was a day of opposites, Hwy 60 was 2 lanes in Aquila & extremely quiet & it was about 47 degrees when I left & when I rolled into Surprise, AZ it was 83.  Hwy 60 became 3 lanes in each direction & traffic was heavy. I veered off 60 and rode the AZ. canal bike path. It's a stretch that starts in Surprise & goes  through Peoria, Phoenix, Scottsdale & Tempe. Most of it consists of 2 canals & 3 trails. A low , middle and upper trail that parallel the top, center & bottom of the canals. I then broke south and went past Arizona State University  (very impressive campus) & then east again towards Apache Junction. Ran out of daylight again before getting to camp,soVargie will run me back to Mesa so I can take up where I had to stop. We are camped about 18 miles further east. I want to dedicate todays blog to my far better half, Vargie. She has had to wear several different hats , drive, cook, navigator to mention just a few, and I have taken her clear out of her comfort zone with all the responsibilities. On top of that she turned sweet 64 today. That's "sweet 16" four times over. She deserves a wonderful birthday present today, but will probably receive a tired, sweaty, sunburned old man to have to care for tonight who can only give her his undying love. We are both thinking of all you guys out there and missing you guys very much.
Please stay well
Mike