GoGeezGo : Easy Rider II, Day 15, March 31, 2022

Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Easy Rider II, Day 15, March 31, 2022

I got my first touring flat ever today in Bylas AZ, just east of the San Carlos Apache reservation.

I got the flat, despite using Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, which the Germany-based manufacturer promotes as “flatless.”

I think the culprit was a “steelie,” a sharp piece of wire from one of the many delaminated, steel-belted truck tires that litter the highway shoulders, or a short section from a discarded hypodermic needle.

I pulled it out with a pair of pliers.

It was not a lot of fun to perform this operation on the hot, shadeless shoulder of a desert highway.

This is why I have always paid a premium for the Schwalbe touring tires, which in my opinion are the best on the market.

But this is also a good example of why it makes sense to consider switching to tubeless tire setups in the future. Tubeless tires are filled with a liquid sealant that plugs most punctures from the inside of the tire. Tubeless tires do not use tubes.

Speaking of road shoulders, the ones along Hwy 70 through the San Carlos Apache reservation are dirtier, rougher and skinnier than most. In addition, thorny mesquite bushes grow out into the shoulder periodically, forcing cyclists into the highway’s traffic lane.

The desk clerk at the Safford Best Western, where I am staying tonight, said the part of Hwy 70 that I rode from Globe to Safford today was considered to be dangerous by local cyclists. “There are accidents there all the time,” the clerk said.

Thankfully, the section of 70 that I’m riding east from Safford into New Mexico tomorrow is OK, the clerk said.

Dan (below), a westbound cyclist I met this morning, told me the campgrounds in New Mexico are nice.

I hope so, because I’ve been busting my budget by staying in too many hotels.

Dan also said he got chased by a lot of dogs in Louisiana.

“I lost count of how many,” he said.

DM: 81.3; TM: 703.9; 8.28 hrs riding; 9.4 mph avg spd; 2,169 ft climbing