So I bought a cup of coffee and a personal pan pizza for breakfast at the Dateland gas station. I also bought a small bag of dates to snack on later and hit the road.
Alas, as I rounded the corner from the station, and pedaled east onto Old 80, I was met by a headwind.
And that’s where the wind, which ranged in speeds from maybe 5 mph to 25 mph, stayed until 3 p.m.—directly in my face.
Into the breeze, I struggled to maintain a speed of 7 mph for much of the day.
So it took me almost seven hours to cover the 54.7 miles to Gila Bend AZ.
I had been really hoping to stay at Gila Bend’s kitschy Best Western Space Age Lodge.
Though I had reserved a room there through expedia.com, Carmen, the lodge clerk, told me the place had been overbooked.
So she booked me another room at a $135/night plain vanilla motel on the highway several miles outside town.
There was a Subway in a truck stop within walking distance of this motel.
But all of the veggies at the Subway except the spinach appeared to be way past their pull dates. The lettuce was wilted and brown-edged.
Most disgusting Subway I’ve ever been in.
For a consolation prize, Carmen gave me a complimentary coupon for a Space Age Lodge restaurant breakfast in the morning.
It was just one of those days, folks.
DM:54.7; TM: 361.6; 6:45 hrs rdg time
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| These have been marking the route |
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| Hat helps with sun but not wind |
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