2 Days, 2 Centuries

For those who don't speak bike geek, a century is a ride of 100 miles or more. We rode 102 miles yesterday, and 117 today. All of it through the desert, and a lot of it on Interstate 10. Usually, bikes aren't allowed on the interstate, but I-10 is the only road through this area, so we're legal. Lucky us. Your sense of distance changes in the desert. At one point, we could see a small town in the distance, so thought we'd be there soon. It was 23 miles away.

We crossed the border from California into Arizona today. As you can see above, they have a lovely welcome sign. We all felt like Arizona really wanted us to visit. We also felt quite secure, as you can see below.

What could be better than tanks and armored vehicles to make you feel safe and welcome. We understand the armor at the border is to protect against invasion by "furners". These are people who talk funny, which really worried the French Canadian in our group. Even the French think he talks funny.

Actually, the armor was outside the General George Patton Museum in California. Here's a shot of George:The museum is in the middle of nowhere. It's in the desert, just off the highway, with only a convenience store sharing the space off the exit. You might think that this was his birthplace, but he was born in Massachusetts. The people in the convenience store had no idea why the museum was there. We were too afraid of the tanks to go in the museum and ask.

We also visited the town of Hope, Arizona. Here's their version of the "You are now leaving Springfield" sign:Just because you live in the desert doesn't mean you lose your sense of humor. However, they may want to work on their grammar.

Today was the longest ride of the trip, and these past two days are by far the longest pair. However, it was fairly flat, and there's not much to stop and see, so you might as well charge right through it. We're in Wickenberg, Arizona, tonight, which is a really nice little town. If you're ever here, stop for homemade ice cream at the corner of Tegner and Rte. 60. When we explained our journey, they gave us extra scoops. It doesn't get any better.