Tidbits

Most FAQ: where are your firefighter friends this year? For those of you new to our trip history, Laura and I take a vacation every year with our two beloved friends who are firefighters. This year, we were scheduled to hike on the AT, but one of the firefighters tore her ACL and had surgery. We changed plans for this crazy ride, and we have to do it without our own personal first responders. Alas. We miss them terribly.

First day, we started in Phoenix with temps at 86 degrees at start tine of 6:00 a.m. Before the trip, We bought cooling vests that are designed to be soaked then worn over a t-shirt and the evaporation cools your body. I stayed up until midnight the night before we left to sew patches on these vests. We had several patches from charity rides, etc., so we would have the appropriate biker look.

I am a minimally competent seamstress, meaning if you give me a Butterick pattern, I could sew you a serviceable dress, provided you did not want a frill outside my skill set, such as a zipper. Or matching sleeves. But the point is, I own a sewing machine and have the requisite ability to sew a few patches onto a cloth vest. We got to the first gas stop, and Laura went to unpack the oh-so-fine vests, and, well, they were gone. Somehow they had worked free of their moorings and flew off, unworn and undetected. The hottest state and the hottest leg of our journey -- isn't it just the way?


Saw this quaint little town in AZ called Cave Creek that could be a movie set for any western. One of the side streets was named "Blood Bath Drive" on one side of the road, and "Tranqil Trail" on the other side. I am not an especially cautious person, but I can tell you on October 31, I would only be trick or treating on one side of the road. Unless Blood Bath Drive gives better candy. In which case it is an acceptable risk.


We drove maybe 15 miles, made a couple of turns, and then all of a sudden, we saw a huge pack of riders in front of us take a wrong turn. We had the guts to not follow them, although we we're second guessing ourselves. Turns out we were right, and 40 or so riders had to make a u-turn through a parking lot. Tis is probably a good lesson early that you cannot rely on following someone else and not doing tour own navigation.