Bloomfield, New Mexico to Teec Nos Pos, Arizona
Quick breakfast then pedaled in the 40° morning sun 10 miles west to Farmington, New Mexico. Rode along with commuters on Rte. 64. Got to the Farmington Post Office and picked up one letter. The rest will have to wait until San Diego, CA, as anything sent to Farmington, will be forwarded there. I will enjoy reading that mail on the beach!!
Photo of Farmington LibraryNote the cool waterfall spewing out of the wall
In no rush today. Heading partially into Arizona. 50 to 70 miles. Passed a scrap metal yard, but was taken by a mountain of soda cans piled up next to a building. It sparkled in the sun like rhinestones. I had to take a picture of it. I feel like I’ve passed that many cans along the side of the road since I started my trip. Continuing on, the Navajo sacred Shiprock sails closer and closer, as I cruise into the town of the same name. Took a couplecouple of pictures to remind me of the ride.
Lunch at the Chat an’ Chew. Sat outside under a massive cottonwood tree. The trunk was so large I couldn’t see any part of my bike, which was leaning against it. Must be over 100 years old. I was thinking about crossing into Arizona in another 2 hours and how, ever since I made it to Kentucky, I’ve been saying I can’t believe I rode my bike to _________ (fill in the state). Each state I made it to, I thought, hey, I could stop now and go home and still have a hard time believing I rode my bike that far. But... can’t stop now.
Since I got to Colorado, people have been saying, “You’re almost halfway there.” And I keep telling them, I’m more than halfway. It occurred to me that they might think the Continental Divide is halfway - which is completely not true. Still, I wondered why so many thought halfway was so much further west than it actually is.
Crossed the San Juan River Bridge and headed up to Teec Nos Pos. Shiprock was ever closer and as I pedaled up a rise, I watched the basalt monolith sink like the Titanic. At exactly mile marker 20, she disappeared, only to re-emerge a quarter mile further along. Ahead lie the Carizo Mountains which Rte 64 will run around. To the south lie the Chuska Mountains and to the north Mesa Verde.
Totals for the day: 74.31 miles, 6 hrs. 21 min., 2697.5 total miles
I wasn’t feeling very strong as I closed in on Arizona. A lot of long ups and downs. With the ups feeling hard to pedal and the downs never seeming as easy or as fast as they looked like they would. Mile by mile, I watched the mile markers subtracting down to zero.
Finally, off in the distance I could see a big blue sign with a golden sunburst on it and I knew it was “Welcome To Arizona.” Stopped and took a self-portrait photophoto with my left arm extended, holding the camera to frame me, with a right-handed thumbs up and the welcome sign and bike in the background. Probably cut off my head, but I tried.
Called Peg to say, “Guess where I am?” Had to call someone! OK now only 4 miles to Teec Nos Pos. Can’t wait to be done pedaling. I’m tired. Then all of a sudden the bike begins to start swerving. I look at the road to see if I’m riding on in “S” shaped groove and realize I’m not. Then I look down and see my rear tire slowly going flat. ARRRRGHHHHH! 3 miles into Arizona and I get my first flat tire!
OK, I pull over and assess the situation. I have about 45 minutes of daylight left and I’m one mile from Teec Nos Pos. I have a wide area off the road to work, so I start repairing the flat. Even if I can’t fix it before dark, I figure I can camp here and walk into town to eat dinner and fix it in the morning.
Of course, the flat is on the rear tire which means removing the panniers, and all my gear strapped on the back plus the chain has to be disengaged from the wheel. I manage to get the wheel off and the tire off the wheel. Then rather than hunt for the hole in the tube, I decide to use the brand new tube I have as a spare. Put the tire back together with the new tube. Inflate it and at about 80 psi - KABOOM! Brand new tube blew up - shit! OK, now I have to find the hole in the old tube. I pump it up and immediately hear air hissing. Mark the spot where the hole is and apply a patch. Re-assemble the tire and mount the wheel just as an amazing fiery red and orange sunset is filling the western sky. I loaded the gear on the bike and noticed a broken spoke on the back wheel. I have no spare spokes and it probably didn’t matter because the broken one was on the side where the cassette (gears) sits and I don’t have the tools to pull it off anyway.
Don’t know why the new tube blew up. But I know the sky looked pretty, so I took a picture of the bike in its outdoor bike shop and coasted down the hill to Teec Nos Pos. The name of the town means Round Tree in Navajo. The town consists of a convenience store and a trading post/cafe. I pulled into the cafe. It was just 8 PM and the owner was locking up. I asked him if I could pitch my tent on the ground outside and he said that I could. Then he offered one better. There was an outdoor patio that was beyond a wooden gate. He told me I could sleep there if I wanted and that there was a bathroom way in the back. He appointed me night watchman and left. Just then I noticed that my front tire was now flat! DOUBLE AARRRRGHHH!
Well, thanks to John McCulloch, the owner of the Teec Nos Pos Trading Post, I had a port in a storm. Although the store was locked, there was a lot of fluorescent light and a bench near the entrance so I could work on my bike some more.
The convenience store across the street stayed open until 9 PM, so I went there to relax and get a bite to eat. Teec Nos Pos is really in the middle of a very remote part of Arizona. Four Corners Monument is about 10 miles away. Mostly desolate beauty. The only reason for this town is that it’s at the intersection of 2 roads that go to more distant populated areas.
I ended up sleeping on my air mattress on the floor of the outdoor patio of the cafe. It was nice because I didn’t have to set up the tent. The temps were mild, too. I actually slept well. Before bed, I called my “pit crew” back home for some tech advice. My son Ryan and Evan told me I could ride with a missing spoke and just needed to loosen the brake a little, so it doesn’t rub. I was concerned because of the 50 - 60 lb. of gear plus this might cause added stress on the remaining spokes and possibly cause the wheel to collapse. Didn’t want to be cruising down a hill and have that happen. My worry grew to the point of... what do I do when the nearest bike shop is 200 miles away? So their assurance let me sleep easy. Good night.