We're in Arizona?!

August 9, 2013

Pie Town, NM to Springerville, AZ

Today was the first morning that was really cold when we started biking.  I finally made good use of my leg and arm warmers!  The day started out as a struggle with a flat within the first 5 miles with no tubes to replace it, and to make things worse I ran out of tissues.  Luckily a rider caught up with me and had a new tube that he let me use.  I biked for a while after that by myself until I ran into Jeff who had also gotten a flat.  The rest of the day we rode together, praying we wouldn't get anymore flats because neither of us had any good tubes!  The day was filled with flats and rolling hills.

The scenery in New Mexico is absolutely amazing--I was not expecting to love this state as much as I do!  Jeff and I continued playing the same categories game we had been playing the day before with Casey to pass time.  This time we were "Having a movie night" and "Going to a concert".  After lunch we crossed into Arizona and gained an extra hour because Arizona doesn't follow day light savings!  

I didn't think it was possible but the scenery in Arizona has blown me away the same it not more than New Mexico so far!  We were still climbing rolling hills, but the views from the top were terrific and the rock walls next to us were a sight to see.  We had some fun at the top of hills having dance parties and trying to climb up the walls.  

The rest of the ride went by pretty quickly and we spent some time exploring Springerville since we arrived before the van.  That night we stayed an athletic dome that housed a turf football field and two volleyball courts.  We made dinner tonight since we didn't really have a host and gave the last of our rider affordable housing presentations.