Day 10: Apache Junction, AZ to Globe, AZ
Miles: 49.46 miles
Theme: I Think I Can, I Think I Can (Eva)

Oh my, at the map meeting last night we were warned that today would be a day of hills and lots of traffic zooming by us. Carol was right on both accounts! It was just under 50 miles today but I believe at our highest point (Gonzales Pass) we were at 4,600 feet in elevation. After about 9 miles of relative flat roads out of the hotel this morning - the climbing began. Due to the climbing Liz decided to go at her own pace as Kathie, Tex and I tend to be just a bit faster on the uphills. Even with the three of us, we would get spread out on the hills, but we would wait when there was a good place to pull over to make sure all three of us were doing okay. The scenery was amazing. At first we could just see the hills/mountains in the distance, then we were right in them with rock walls on either side of us. It was truly spectacular. At one point I started singing "This land is my land, this land is your land..." It just seemed so appropriate as we were pedaling through this amazing terrain. I would climb hills any day to get such spectacular scenery. Traffic was definitely whizzing by --- but even that couldn't dampen the joy of being out on the road riding. At each incline, I would just think of Eva in the morning saying "I think I can, I think I can." And taking it one revolution of the pedal at a time, we made it to the top of the first big climb! What a feeling of accomplishment!
Our reward - a 2nd breakfast! Carol had suggested that people stop and eat at the Buckboard Cafe. She warned us that the service was slow, so don't get antsy... Their main clientel are bikers (motorcyclists) and cars - and it is usually busy, and sometimes they take better care of them than those of us going through on bikes. We took Carol's advice (she has never lead us astray before)- so Kathie, Tex and I ordered breakfast. Though it did take awhile to get the food, it was really good and we figured we would need the fuel for the climbing that was still ahead. I had a breakfast burrito made with a homemade tortilla --- is was the best I have ever had!!!!!

If anyone wanted a bump today, the place to do so was at the Buckboard Cafe. A couple people were a bit unnerved by the traffic and took that opportunity. Certainly better to be safe than sorry and there is nothing worse than pedaling up a hill when you are terrified by the traffic roaring by!

Kathie, Tex and I got back on our bikes and headed up (and I do mean that literally!) the road. We had some serious climbing ahead, not much of a shoulder to write home about and yes the traffic definitely whizzed by. Right near the summit we had to go through a tunnel. Today Katherine was on Sag duty. She would wait at the start of the tunnel for several of us to arrive. Marge and Greta were waiting for us, so the 5 of us got ready to conquer the tunnel.
First things first, get some water, get into a line, check traffic and start pedaling up the hill through the tunnel - with Katherine in "Little Bo Peep" (the name of the Sag Wagon) taking up the rear with her flashers going.

This is the only sane way to go through the tunnel! Even with the Sag Wagon behind us, it was a very intense experience. The cars are literally going 60 to 70 miles an hour. And then there are motorcycles whipping through there as well. But what was even more intense was the sound. The noise of all the cars and motorcycles was deafening. I was relieved to get to the other side and have relative quiet. We all made it through safe and sound!

Though we were through the tunnel, there was still a lot of climbing ahead of us. Again I have to say though that the scenery was so beautiful I didn't mind the climbing. "I think I can, I think I can" kept me going. We finally made it to the Top World store. Now calling it a store is being very generous! It did have a drive through Beef Jerky lane though! Now the bad news is, that the "Top of the World" store is not at the top of the world. There was another climb right after you passed it. That just doesn't seem right! Oh well, again the scenery was magnificent - "I think I can, I think I can".

Next town we came to was Miami, AZ. As we came up to Miami the mountains were striped due to cooper mining. The town was probably booming at one time, but today is a very different story. It is a very depressed area. The contrast between the beautiful country we had been riding through and this town was quite startling. We quickly moved on and went through another small town - Claypool. The nice part was we were heading downhill at this point. Even feathering the brakes I reached a speed of 38 mph. Most of the traffic was extremely considerate and gave plenty of room. Two guys in a van did come up beside me at break neck speed and yell boo. It was a little unnerving when you are speeding downhill on a curvy road. I made it down safe and sound and came to our destination town for the day - Globe Az. Little did we know however that Globe went on and on and we are staying at the far end of town. We were definitely ready to find the hotel and get a hot shower and put our feet up. To top it off - yes you guessed it, it was uphill! We finally did see our hotel and were rewarded with a room. Many of the others were waiting in the lobby because their room wasn't ready yet.

What a great day! Turns out that Kathie is my roommate tonight. As we got to the room she said "You know, I always knew I could do it (the riding), what I didn't know was how much I would thoroughly enjoy it". I am in total agreement..