Phoenix Nights

We had a great rest day today in Scottsdale, AZ. It feels like we have finally cycled into the weather that we had been hoping for throughout our trip. Today was in the 70s…perfect for brunch outside, a quick wander around, a dip in the pool and the usual rest day activities (laundry, route planning, admin etc). Sounds like a typical Sunday, right? Well, it would be if we weren’t still completely exhausted, but we’re getting there.

Scottsdale seems like a wonderful place to live: never that cold, dry heat when it’s hot (and we believe that it does get ridiculously hot here). Also, full of cycle paths, bike trails, parks and outdoor activities, with stunning backdrops, plus plenty of quality restaurants and stores. We had a fantastic but reasonably priced fine dining restaurant right next to the hotel; and we’re now a big fan of Fry’s, a chain of supermarkets which is new to us, but which serviced our every need while we were here.

Tomorrow, we cycle 65 miles through Phoenix and out to the small town of Wickenburg. We’re focused on how close we are to the Pacific Coast now, and are hoping for some nice weather and some relatively easy riding to help us to continue to recover from some of the recent challenges. The forecast is “Scorchio” for the whole week, so for once we are hoping that the weather guys and gals have got it right.

Us x

P.S. Title chosen specially for Susie Bean, since we know it’s her favourite comedy show.

P.P.S. Well done Lewis Hamilton.

C’mon Lewis

Apparently there is a high chance that, like most of the 50 states in the USA, Arizona, with its high budget deficit could file for Chapter 9 Bankruptcy. The news reports are everywhere and to make things worse it’s alleged that party officials are so busy slinging mud at each other they have lost sight of how to run the state effectively and efficiently. Much like the rest of the world, Arizona has been confidently borrowing and spending with the belief that insurmountable debt is good, because if things get really bad the ‘Credit Fairy’ will turn up and wave her magic wand and make everything right again. Unfortunately, that magic credit fairy is currently on vacation, leaving the state of Arizona to think for itself and fix their debt crisis. Not that we’re complaining! As we pedalled the remaining 20 miles through Chandler, Tempe and into Paradise Valley, with the sun in our face and the wind on our backs, gliding along perfectly groomed tarmac arranged meticulously into 8ft wide cycle lanes, whilst we gazed upon the numerous crystal clear water fountains framing the entrances to each multimillion pound gated community and up-market Shopping Mall lining every street; we smiled and thought “what a lovely place this is”. It’s really not surprising there’s a mammoth budget deficit, even the road signs look as if they were commissioned to and designed by Philippe Starck …we love this place. We’ve published a couple of new photos on the site that show how decadent the bikes paths are!

Our Hotel is an example of coolness. Cheap but beautifully clean and managed by very professional staff, we’re stunned by how much is on offer for such a reasonable price. However, we have a slight problem with the building next door. Avalon Restaurant! It’s to die for, great food and wine, beautiful people and a great bar; they have even promised Anthony he can turn up at 8am tomorrow to watch the start of the Grand Prix …c’mon Lewis!

FYI the riding today was a perfect 60-mile flat ride into Scottsdale, AZ …just cruisin’ baby! Rest day tomorrow.

Us x

Pizza & Pasta in Florence

It’s always difficult to get moving again after a rest day, so having had two glorious rest days in Tucson, and adoring the little B&B where we stayed, it wasn’t easy. However, we felt refreshed by our break, and were thrilled that the weather was being kind to us for a change. It was a fairly straightforward 72-mile ride today from Tucson to Florence, AZ. The sun shone and the winds were light so, although it was a long way, we completed the journey in good time, and at a moving average of 14.1mph, our fastest average for some time. The scenery was lovely as usual and, as well as the various cacti to which we have become accustomed, we were also treated to masses of wild flowers along the sides of the road as we sped along. When we arrived at the hotel, we soaked in the hot tub, followed by a quick cold plunge in the pool before heading across the road to a small Italian restaurant (in fact the only restaurant around) where we had pasta/pizza and a glass of wine: just the ticket. We’re off to Phoenix/Scottsdale tomorrow, and will then be back on the cycling maps again…California, here we come!

Us x

More Rest Vicar?

Today we give thanks! Thank you Thursday for being the day after Wednesday and bringing another day of rest to our weary bones and fatigued muscles; thank you Followers and Commentators for living the dream, doing good in the world and continuing to support us along our flight of fantasy; thank you Family members for being patient as your 40/39 year old children embark upon craziness you would have expected us to do during our terrible teens …better late than never we suppose; and thanks to Georgios Varnasidis the owner of Athens on 4^th Avenue, a Greek restaurant in Tucson that serves the most authentic Greek food outside of Skiathos … cheese and prawn saganaki followed by chicken souvlaki: deeelicious.

By now, you will have already guessed that yesterday’s fun packed day has left us with little to do today but eat, laze around and be merry. It’s upsetting for us to write a blog without having anything interesting to say, so in an attempt to make this a little more interesting let us share a few of today’s activities:

(i) Kat shook the cobwebs off her itsy bitsy teenie weenie brown polka dot bikini and sunbathed in the walled garden, trying to fade-in some of the prominent suntan lines acquired from spending hours dressed in t-shirts and shorts riding a bike; (ii) Anthony shaved his head; (iii) we both read books; and (iv) we took a stroll down University Blvd and had coffee and cakes (and pizza) for lunch.

We start cycling again tomorrow; 75 miles into Florence, AZ.

Us x

Let's hear it for the boys

Today was all about our heroes, Trusty & Steed. As we mentioned in one of the recent blogs, they have been badly in need of some TLC for a while now, and today we started to sort out a few of their issues.

Tucson really is an amazing city for cyclists. You have never seen as many bike lanes, dedicated bike paths, and cyclists. Apparently it is the 6^th most bike-friendly city in the US, the top 5 places being taken by Portland, OR, Boulder, CO, David, CA, San Francisco, CA and (our old favourite NYC) respectively. We can’t imagine how anywhere could be more cycling-friendly than we have found Tucson to be, but we’ll report back as we get to California and Oregon.

Another advantage of this state of affairs is that Tucson has a wealth of excellent bike shops, churning over bikes for service almost as quickly as items of dry cleaning, with hundreds of them stacked up ingeniously in rows all over the walls, each with its little tag on saying what is wrong with it/what has been fixed etc.

The issues with Trusty & Steed, however, need a little more than a day to fix. So, we rolled over to Performance Bikes (E Speedway Blvd location), where Bryan, Maxim, Chris and Ricky helped us order all the parts that we need to be delivered to their San Diego store, where we will book T&S in to be stripped down and rebuilt. These four guys worked like Trojans for us to get all of the parts together, and matched an internet price that Anthony had found, so we were very happy indeed. Thanks guys!

Then we cycled over to Fair Wheel Bikes, a Specialized dealer, where Steve kindly sorted out Steed’s rear ‘freewheel’ hub, which had been making a terrible racket, all for the price of a 6-pack of Hoegarten. Thanks Steve – you’re the man!

By the time we had finished all of this, we were “Hank Marvin” so we wandered out to a nearby Thai restaurant. The meal would have been great, were it not for the fact that we chose a bottle of wine from the ‘wine wall’ (there was no wine list and no prices) which we found out, when we received the bill, was $60, compared to a meal otherwise costing $35. Even though the wine was nice, we felt ripped off. You win some, you lose some, we guess.

Anyway, we’re enjoying our break here in Tucson, and particularly having two rest days in a row, which we haven’t done since Austin, and which we have now realised is really essential every now and again to recharge properly. And we must also say again that the Peppertrees Inn is one of the nicest places we have stayed. We’re being well and truly spoiled, and it will be hard to leave…

Us x

Sooo-phisticated

As soon as we crossed into Arizona state, we sensed an air of wealth and sophistication about the place. Clifton, Safford, Bisbee, and now Tucson (notice we have excluded Willcox, which was total shite) all felt refreshingly different. It’s difficult to describe but, much like when crossing the Brooklyn or Severn bridges, there is the undeniable feeling that you have left one environment and entered into a very different one …think of Osmosis! The bridge/state line being the semi permeable membrane and you/we being the ‘energised’ solvent … who would have thought that south east Arizona is a hot bed for hippies, thespians, students of life, bohemians and cool 40 somethings!

Excited at the prospect of staying in Tucson for a few days, we woke up this morning after having a great night’s sleep at the Sonoita Inn (big shout to Alfred the day manager who made our stay perfect), had breakfast by the open fireplace then set out for the 57-mile trip. The first 50 miles were perfect, bar a few violent 23mph gusts (too many cowboy beans last night); the last 7 miles were spent cycling square into the wind, with sheets of freezing rain cutting into every piece of exposed skin.

Arriving at the Peppertrees Inn B&B and meeting with Jill (a joint owner) we were overjoyed to be staying 3 nights at this most wonderful place. After a quick wash and brush up, we took Jill’s recommendation and ate a restaurant called the B-Line; it was great and full of sooo-phisticats.

Before we go we’d like to say a big ‘hiya’ to MG&T, Pat and SB

Us x

Bye, Bye Bisbee

(Apologise for the delay. Limited Internet last night)

We were slightly dismayed by the “Local on the 8s” forecast on The Weather Channel last night: 1-2 inches of snow overnight for Bisbee. We went South to avoid that! But, despite the winter weather advisory, by the time we hit the road this morning, it was fine. A little chilly, but we can cope with that. We waved a fond farewell to Bisbee (we loved that place, especially our hotel, Letson Loft – thanks Jami!), and were on our way.

It was fun descending the massive hill that we had climbed in the dark two days ago…especially in the light. Our problem today was the wind: sound familiar? Well, when we rode into Bisbee on Saturday, we were travelling South and the wind was blowing from the South, or South East. On the way out of Bisbee, we were travelling North, and then West/North West. So, where was the wind coming from today? Yes, people, you know the answer to that. And it was blowing at 20 – 30 mph, with even stronger gusts. When will it ever let up?

Still, it was a much shorter ride today; just a 55-mile hop into Arizona wine country, and the town of Sonoita. Taking it steadily, and weathering the odd shower along the way, we tried not to fight too hard against the wind, and found that we pulled into the hotel car park in fairly good shape and at a respectable time. We were looking forward to our arrival all day, as we knew that there was a great restaurant next to our hotel where we could have a decent steak and sample some of the local red. We weren’t disappointed.

Soon after sitting down in “Steak Out”, we found that the chef, Vince, was English (though he has been in Arizona for around 30 years). So, as well as a fantastic steak and a great bottle of wine from the area, we had a really entertaining evening chatting with Vince, and his other half, Toni, who was our server for the night (they run the restaurant between them.) We were also treated to a bowl of Toni’s special dessert, a type of frozen “mudslide” on top of crushed Oreos….yummy.

We’re off to Tucson tomorrow, where we will try to ensure that Trusty & Steed, who have been suffering a bit recently, get some TLC before we are on our way again. Bless them.

Us x