Borrego Springs, CA I sleep late for me, but Michael and Julie are still zonked. It gives me a chance to work on the computer for a while. It’s afternoon again when they rise. We chat and decide to go for a swim while daylight lasts. It’s less windy today which makes the pool more…

Salton City, CA to Borrego Springs, CA Another incredible sunrise. The wind has calmed down, and I watch in great comfort from my sleeping bag. Once I get going, the wind appears again. I don’t mind, since I’m in no hurry today. I have until this afternoon to make 30 miles to Borrego Springs. Soon…

Palo Verde, CA to Salton City, CA I awake to a neon sunrise. The sky is too pink, I’ll never be able to remember it. Again I’m climbing desert hills. I notice the cactus is far more sparse here. No Saguaros, only scattered Cholla. A light headwind makes me work and builds my appetite. I…

Hope, AZ to Palo Verde, CA I wake up alive, safe, and warm. No hurry to get up. I put the bike together and escape my cactus-strewn bed without a flat. Oh, the little cafes call to me for breakfast. I wonder how I could possibly eat without money. Beg? Wash dishes? Charm the snowbirds?…

Sun City West, AZ to Hope, AZ Vera and Hal clearly don’t want me to leave. I think I’m a welcome diversion for them, and a reminder of loving family, especially their son Tom. I see Harold fighting back tears as I pedal away. Into the warm air and flat desert I go. My left…

I enjoy more talking and helping to put food together. Vera has a big dinner going: broccoli bake, acorn squash, apple sauce, fresh cranberry bread, asparagus, and a Black Toad beer. We watch a movie and I help figure out their TV and VCR. It’s ridiculously complicated. We laugh. I hope it doesn’t scare them…

I have a mellow day with Aunt Vera and Uncle Hal. Harold is so unassuming and quick to smile, I really warm to him. Vera is warm too, but also observant, quick, and selective in what she talks about. Still, I feel her letting her guard down a little as we talk. We ease through…

Mesa, AZ to Sun City West, AZ 11782 mi The Mesa-Phoenix sprawl seems endless. One shopping center after another. Orange trees everywhere. Even at dawn, the air is invigorating but comfortable in shorts and a T-shirt. I think I have a 30+ mile ride to reach my Great Aunt Vera’s, but it stretches on and…

Seneca, AZ to Mesa, AZ 11733 mi Alas the wind returns, and the going is slow down to Globe for breakfast. But then an amazing thing happens. The wind shifts behind me. An Easterly. The day gets hot as I sail by the copper mines and last dry mountain passes. Dropping into Devil’s Canyon is…