Glenn Charles

LIFE-STYLE | TRAVEL | AERIAL

Photographer/Videographer specializing in Life Style, Travel, and Aerial Imagery.  FAA 107 Certified for sUAS flight operations throughout the US.  Fully insured.  Videography work is limited to Aerial productions.

Based in Maine (May-December) and SWFL (Jan - April). Available for travel year round.

Filtering by Tag: Salsa Fargo

Day 76 - Wilcox to Tucson (Vale)

I spent the night camped in a little league ball field, the second time in my odyssey that I have needed to resort to such tactics.  When I arrived in Wilcox last night, I immediately made my way to the local park, but it was much to well lit and populated for any form of camping.  After dark, the people left, and I found myself in a far off field next to Interstate 10.  Other than the constant drone of the trucks and the full moon, it was pretty pleasant night.

I woke early, even earlier than normal, to make sure I was out of such a public place before people started moving around.  The night before I had stopped at a Safeway, the first one I have seen since the east coast, to pick up bananas.  What I love about Safeway's is they have Starbucks in them.  I knew that they opened early, so after packing up I headed over and sat down for a great cup of coffee and free WiFi.  Before you know it I had met this really talented artist and found myself talking about his art, my travels and great places in the US to call home. He and his wife were headed back out west after doing the east coast art scene but they had made the decision to relocate to xxxx North Carolina, one of my favorite places on the east coast.

Due to my lounging in Safeway for way to long I was now off to a late start.  It was 80 miles from Wilcox to Tucson and I had hoped to make it to the Colossal Cave state park which lies about 17 miles out of the city.  However, the winds have really been coming up, and I had just done to big days, so I was really unsure of how far I would make it once I hit the road.  Luckily as I started out, the winds were reasonably light and my legs had enough energy to push me forward at a decent clip, although not as good as yesterday morning. 

The terrain seemed to largely be a climbing elevation, which also contributed to slightly slower speeds.  None the less, I found myself making good progress as I approached Texas Canyon, a location I had been warned about as being one of my last big climbs.  By then I was feeling pretty good and just moving along at a good clip, even up hill.  I must say the lighter load in the BoB is making a big difference in my climbing speeds.  Then, well, the dreaded feeling that only occurs with a rapidly deflating tire.  Here I was, half way up the climb, 18 wheelers wizzing by, and really no place other than the shoulder to do a repair. 

I slowed to a stop and watched the last of the arir flow out of the rear tire -- why oh why is it always the rear tire?  I must say right now, that I have been so lucky compared to others that I have met.  This is only my 4th flat over 2500 miles, and that is really impressive.  People ask me all the time about my huge tires and if they are really efficient, to which I say, hey they really roll when inflated.  Scientifically, well, I have no real idea and speculate to a certain extent that smaller tires would be more efficient, and I might even try them out when I get to the west coast, but you can't argue with the flat resistance of the Schwalbe Big Apples.

I managed to repair the flat, put in another tube, got back on the bike and it immediately flatted again.  Needless to say, I was questioning my luck, but I figured out that it was a bad inner tube that I put in and not another flat.  However, I still had to repeat the whole process of changing out the rear tire, and re-inflating the monster 2.3 Big Apples, something that is really quite a chore with my little pump.

Later that morning, I approached a lone rider going down the highway just short of Benson. I slowly worked my way up to them and met Leann, a woman from Orlando who was riding across the country at an amazing pace.  We stopped and had lunch together where I learned that she had left Orlando barely a month ago, averaging over 100 miles a day for a good portion of the trip.  She had started with a BOB trailer, but quickly dumped it in favor of an ultra light setup. She managed by her lightweight setup by eating out all the time and staying in hotels the majority of the nights.  This allowed her to carry the bare minimum on her carbon fiber, dual suspension mountain bike.  We finished the day by riding to the Tucson area and she really could cruise up those hills.  On the downhills, the Fargo and Bob, quickly pulled ahead of her, but I was never able to keep up with her on the clims.  It made me long for an even lighter setup, so the wheels in my head continue to turn as to how I can go ever lighter without sacrificing my ability to camp and cook.

I managed to roll off the highway at the Vale exit and worked my way another 7 miles to the Colossal Cave state park. I got there after five with the gates closed for a special event.  I don't mind ignoring closed signs when I have to but an event with people made me skittish, so as tired and spent as I was, I went in search of a place to camp.  Not 200 yards outside of the park entrance was an elevated creek wash that I quickly rolled the bike into and found a nice rocky/sandy oasis in a desert of pointed, prickly, stingy things.  It turned out to be an perfect place to watch the moon rise up over the canyon, back lighting the giant Saguaro cactus and listen to the coyotes howel at the brightly lit sky.

Day 74 - Silver City to I-10

I was somewhat sad to say goodbye to Silver City and William, my host, this morning as I had grown fond of the town and the great people I met.  It is a very eclectic town with something for everyone, including a travelling vagabond like myself.  To William and Glenn and my new friend Jim, thanks for making my stay so enjoyable.

The ride into Silver City as you may recall was an amazing downhill experience.  Well, as you can imagine, around here what goes down then goes up, so the climb out of Silver was exhausting.  The vast majority of the first 28 miles were up hill, occasionally offering up a descent, which only meant you lost valuable altitude which would then need to be regained.  This went on exactly as William had described, so I was at least mentally ready for it.  The most challenging point was crossing the Continental Divide, again, and then realizing there was still one more brutal climb up and out of this range.

Finally, at almost exactly mile 28, I crested the the top and was greeted with a sweeping panoramic view of the valley below, with the ever-present New Mexico mountains off in the distance, ringing the valley almost as if they were sentinels guarding the way.  The treat now, 15 glorious downhill miles to the intersection of 70, just a couple of miles outside of Lordsburg.  It was one of those down hills that was sloped just perfectly, enough of an angle to give you a good 22 or so mph, but not so steep that you had to spend half your time on the brakes.  It allowed me to just cruise down the mountainside and into the valley, all the while taking in the breathtaking scenery.

From there it was up and into Lordsburg and a stop for more bananas.  In my quest to find the cheapest form of snacks, I have discovered that out here bananas are incredibly cheap, often in the .49 cents/lb range making them one of my favorite go to foods.  They don't do so well in the heat, so it is important to get a few ripe ones and a few green ones in hopes that they don't go bad before you eat them. 

Lordsburg gave me the impression of a fairly dusty and dry southwestern town, not at all what I had been used to up in the Gila area.  I got my bananas, found a McDonald's to re-charge at, and then hopped on I-10 with all the hustle and bustle of a world I left behind a couple of weeks ago.  It made me realize just how special it was to pedal those crazy graded farm roads up and over the mountain passes, nary a car or truck to be seen, just beautiful mother nature patiently waiting for you to soak it all in.

I managed to make it to one of the rest stops and have set up camp here with a number of other weary travellers.  There is even one of those monster RV's out in the lot, sides extended, satellite dish pointed up.  I see these huge RV's all over the place and I just can't figure them out, but each to their own, and if it makes them happy then more power to them.  At the price of gas, which I see across the street is over $4/gallon, I sure don't know how they do it?

Tomorrow I push on to Tuscon, hoping to get in a good 60-70 miles before the wind kicks up.  It is a constant issue now as the spring winds are in full force, and unfortunately, they blow West or South West every day.  The odds of me getting a tail wind are zip!

Lastly, I had some time in Silver to research other cyclists that are out on the trail, some simply seeking adventure, others searching for meaning, some doing both.  There are two pretty amazing women that are cycling the ancient Silk Road, starting in Istanbul and working their way to India.  It is a fantastic journey, with a great story and they have some amazing pictures, so be sure and check them out here, and if possible, donate a few dollars to their 'Scurvy' fund.  I just love that!

Day Two

Evening camp in the Ocala National ForestI woke in the middle of the night, surrounded by the tall pines and strange sounds of the Ocala National forest.  Even though I was only about 2 miles off of the main road, I felt completely isolated -- it was so serene.  The cold front was moving through and the tree tops were bristling.  The sounds of animals made me question my food storage, so up I got to check things out.  All in all it was good, although a wee bit restless sleep that night.

Morning broke with blue skies and chillier air.  The day before had been in the upper 70's and now my watch showed 49 degrees.  I knew the day would be a bit cooler, which was fine with me because yesterday was just a bit too warm for my liking.  The hills of Florida had taken a toll on my legs and I was definitely feeling it as I woke, had coffee and ate breakfast.  My plan had been to get on the trail and go north through the forest, bypassing the hustle and bustle of Ocala.

The first kink in my plans came when I discovered that I had snapped the rubber do-dad that holds the cotter pin for the BOB trailer.  Yikes, how was I going to hook it up and if I couldn't what would I do.  I mean I was back in the forest, off the main trail on a horse trail, it would be a reall pain to deal with if I could not figure this out.  So I crawled on the ground for 30 minutes looking for the pin, all to no avail.  After another 15 minutes of contemplating, then hand zip ties came out and I was able to use 3 of them to hold the trailer securely on, at least I hoped it would be secure.  I was back on these dirt roads that I new were going to bounce the bike and trailer around, so I was definitely concerned.

A local biker greets me as I come out of the forestAs I headed out it became clear that while the trailer was going to work fine, I had lousy directions for heading through the forest.  I attempted to use my little phone GPS, but the end result was I did a big circle and came back out on the main road. After going 6 miles up and down gravel and sand roads I had probably made no more than 2 miles of good distance and expended a great deal of energy in the process.

From that point on it was smooth going.  I was able to find an Ace hardware store and buy some pins that would hold in the short term.  Since I was going through Citrus country quite a few places were giving away oranges which made for great snacks throughout the day.  My goal was to make it to Gainesville where I had made plans to stay with a host.  I rolled through Paines Prairie, right on the outskirts of town, just as the sun was beginning to set.  It made for a beautiful end of what was a very long, 76 mile day. 

Sun setting as I arrive in GainesvilleDay Three will be a nice short day to let my body rest and recover from the shock of fully loaded touring.