Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Globe, AZ to Tucson, AZ

So we left our host family in Safford, AZ after laying over a day to watch the Super Bowl.  It was an interesting cultural experience to watch the Super Bowl with a Mormon family, since they do not drink alcohol or coffee.  We got chastised for asking if anyone drank coffee in the morning, since Drew and I are both coffee addicts on this trip.  We both didn't realize that Mormons didn't drink coffee, so we got an apple cider/Tang concoction in the morning.  Definitely not the same "kick in the glass" as coffee.  The grandmother was cracking me up because during the Super Bowl, there are obviously about 5,000 beer commercials, and after each one she would say, "I just don't see the point in drinking beer and getting drunk!".  I would look at Drew and remember some of the times we have indulged in the heavenly barley pop and just laughed.  We were both glad that we decided not to pick up a 6-pack at the grocery store earlier that day.  Drew tried to defend us lowly beer drinkers and said, "sometimes I just like the taste of beer."  Also, it was funny to fast-forward through the half-time show because Madonna is much too promiscuous.  But our hosts were so incredibly nice and we thoroughly enjoyed staying with them and talking with them.  As is true with this entire trip, Drew and I are amazed with the wide range of people we meet and all the experiences we have.  I love it.
Anyways, we left Safford and knew we had a long biking day ahead of us.  We had about an 85-90 mile day to get to Globe, but luckily we had another host family and a warm place to stay to look forward to.  We started off with the wind at our back, so we soared for the first portion of the trip.  From Safford to Globe, you go through a massive Indian Reservation, and we had heard from a lot of people that we should peddle fast through "The Rez".  Since the reservation is not technically part of the US, we had heard that a regular consequence to rape and murder is an $800 fine.  So if we got hit by a car, we would be lucky to get $25 bucks.  We stopped at a gas station to pick up some chocolate milk for Drew, and it took him about 20 minutes to get through check out.  I was waiting outside and was seriously considering going in and checking on him, but all I heard when Drew finally came back was "it's just a different pace in there."  We got back on our bikes after a quick lunch, and got back on the road.  The bad thing about the roads on the reservation is that the shoulders on the road are terrible and full of broken glass, so you have to choose whether you want a flat tire, or risk your life riding on the road with the cars.  Fun times.  Some giant semi trucks and buses flew past us with only inches to spare.  We could have touched the cars with our elbows.  Needless to say, it was a scary and stressful ride to Globe.  But we finally got to Globe and met our new host family.
In Globe, our host family was super cool and made us an awesome dinner.  We stayed in their pool house, and even though they didn't have a bed it was a warm place to sleep, which is all I need!  Also, they wanted to show us their tandem touring bike in the garage, but the bike was quickly dismissed after Drew saw the family's two dune buggies in the garage.  These dune buggies were amazing and looked like way to much fun to be legal.  Our host told us about where the buggies were built, and even told us that he is good friends with the builder.  He said that the builder's shop is on our route, and that when we get there we should call him and he'd set us up for a free ride!  Drew hasn't been talking about anything else since.  Just kidding, but seriously, how cool is that?  We left Globe after another great stay and set off extremely excited about getting to Tucson.  We had about a 60 mile day, and our host, Spencer, even picked us up before we had to do a massive climb.  We arrived in sunny and beautiful Tucson and within minutes Drew and I were in the hot tub soaking our tired legs.  We are both so happy to be here and we have already had an amazing time visiting and laughing with Spencer and his wife, Stephanie.
New photos are up on facebook... more updates to come!
Love,

Natalie

p.s. Another side note: we had another hilarious encounter on our trip that I HAVE to put on here.  After leaving our Mormon hosts in Safford, Drew and I sinned and went to Starbucks to feed our extreme caffeine addiction.  While sitting outside Starbucks (aka Hell), a man in sweats pushing a running stroller came up to us and asked us if we were biking through the country.  We said we were, and he told us that he was running/walking across the country.  His name was Peace, and he was walking across the country to spread love, art, and (of course) peace.  He was hilarious and we loved talking to him.  After almost everything we said, Peace responded "right on, man!"  Anyways, if anyone wants to follow Peace's blog, his address is Thepeaceartist.com
I'm checking that shit out right after I am done writing this.  I love all the characters we get to meet.
Needless to say, Drew has changed his name to "Unity."

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