Patagonia - Tombstone, AZ - Tucson Area Thanksgiving Tour 2020

November 24, 2020

Patagonia - Tombstone, AZ

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2,077 elevation gain

Jacinto is the one who noticed our bed has a memory foam mattress. I had to think for a moment and then agree. How did I know? Because when I'm sitting up for extended periods in a bed with a regular mattress, my butt goes to sleep and I have to stand up periodically and walk around. I can sit for a long time on a memory foam mattress! I had a good night's sleep. Not only was the bed to my liking, but the pillow was appropriately squishy. Our room was a touch small, with the king size bed. We had to navigate carefully around the bikes. We have a fridge, but no microwave. Jacinto approves of the TV, that's a rarity. There is a filtered water dispenser, which is unusual on tours. The Inn is built around an atrium, with all of the rooms facing inside with sliding glass doors. There are no doors or windows to the street. I had our sliding door open for fresh air because the room was humid from our wet laundry hanging. They appear to be remodeling rooms. Workers were running chain saws and cussing up a blue streak all afternoon. As soon as Jacinto got in, he shut the door. He'd rather be humid than listen to the workers. The door was well insulated. We heard nothing more of having to go for an f***ing test and worrying about the f***ing results.

The longer we wait today to ride, the stronger the tailwind. If you trust the wind, I generally don't. We have cabins reserved in Tombstone. The photos look cute. Our last visit there I went for the cheapest lodging and I got what I paid for. You know I will give you the details!

I had a great ride yesterday, I didn't whine on the rolling climbs and the distance didn't seem to long/arduous. During the winter season, anything over 30 miles is more than a typical ride for me. I hope today is good again. My legs are tight this morning. I've already stretched. When we tour, some muscle on my inner thigh gets sore, all the way down to me knee. I hope that doesn't escalate.

We've made sure today that Hank has the downloaded map for the day. Neither of us can figure out why he didn't have yesterday's map.It is a little cooler today - 46 degrees right now. High temperature in Tombstone is 64. That looks like it will be the low for the trip. Isn't that great?

We went to breakfast when Sacred Grounds opened at 7:30. Jacinto pronounced the coffee good. That was unusual. My omelet was fantastic. I liked that the menu offered to trade the toast for a different side - I chose yogurt and it was plain. That was a puckery surprise - but I ate it. We were well fueled for the ride today.

Hank and I agreed to a 9 AM departure. Jacinto would leave when they kick him out of the room. We were surprised to get back to the room and discovered it had been cleaned. The floor was still wet and smelled strongly of bleach. Hank's room had not been cleaned. I called the front desk to make sure they had us down for one night only. Yes, they did. Jacinto said he wasn't going to shower, but he was going to sit on the bed and watch TV for awhile. I hope they maid didn't have to go to too much trouble later.

Today was easy routing - head east until we hit the T intersection and go right. Those are my kind of instructions.

We had a gradual climb from the beginning. There was a nice size shoulder, but it was rough. Hank and I kept scooting back and forth, depending on traffic. There was enough traffic we couldn't ride side by side. At first Hank stayed right behind me, but I told him I couldn't see upcoming traffic and I also like to be the caboose. I suggested he ride a couple of delineator posts ahead of me. That's close enough to be within shouting distance. We agreed we would each put on some music and continued down the road.

I spend 99% of my riding time alone, listening to music. It's my mental health workout. I enjoy zoning out and looking around.

The 12 miles to Sonoita passed quickly. Hank suggested we could stop at the rest area, but it was closed. I pointed out the Mercantile store that had homemade baked goods. No, he didn't want any. We stopped at the Sonoita Inn to ask if they had rooms on Friday. We are thinking to extend the tour by one day. No, they didn't have a thing - 'we are slammed'.

Darn. That's the only lodging open in town. We are discussing if we want to avoid the interstate ride directly to Tucson enough to pass Sonoita and stay again in Patagonia. That would add 12 miles to each day. We are talking. Hank is also looking to see if he can find any lodging that I missed.

In the meanwhile we proceeded down the road. Our nice shoulder completely disappeared and traffic picked up. This was the busiest riding of the entire trip. We had gradual rolling climbs. Nothing difficult. I used the granny gear a couple of times. We stayed roughly together. I like this kind of riding. It's nice to know there's someone who will notice if I have trouble, but I can still listen to music and let my mind wander. We started an extended, slight downhill. Temperatures were crisp and the wind was mostly a tailwind. Hank said he took his coat on and off three times today. When the wind shifted to a side wind, he got cold. My long bike was a little hard to handle in the cross winds. I was glad they didn't last long.

At Whetstone, Hank wanted to stop at the convenience store for a break. We each had a V-8. Hank went in and did the purchasing. He said not a single person inside had a mask except the clerk. The energy drink delivery man brought a giant pallet of drinks. He didn't have a mask. I thought that was odd, since he was working. This is the first place we've been this trip where people weren't wearing masks. It was notable.

Whetstone was mile 30. That was an important intersection because almost all of the traffic either turned to Sierra Vista or to the interstate. We did not gain a shoulder, but we were back to traffic free riding. I was trying to enjoy the downhill, but I knew we had a last 700 feet to climb to town.Finally we hit the climb. I was still feeling good. I thought the tailwind was really to my advantage. I hadn't been riding that many miles this fall and have been doing well this trip.

We have three options for getting to Sierra Vista. I had loudly announced early on that I would be taking the middle distance option. Now I am consider the long distance. I wish there were something between 30 and 60 miles. It's not typical for me to want to ride the long option!

I knew there was a Dollar store at the top of the hill from riding into town with Tom this summer. Hank and I stopped there. He asked if I wanted anything - yes, trail mix. All of the sudden I had zero energy. I sat down. I was just fine until I stopped, then I was dead in my tracks. Hank came out with peanuts. I don't know what happened to trial mix, but I didn't ask. I had several handfuls of peanuts and then really wanted something sweet. I dug through my bags looking for a recovery drink to mix up. I certainly needed to recover! I couldn't find it. In my mind's eye, I could see the ziplock bag sitting in front of the TV at the motel room. I searched through my panniers a couple of times. I was sure I left it in the room. Jacinto would have it.

Speaking of Jacinto, where was he? He had been an hour behind us. He should be about caught up. I called. He had made the turn and was coming up the hill. We waited for him at the store. For my sweet food, I found an apple in the bottom of my pannier. It had been riding there since the trip started and still looked and tasted good. It was way bigger than an orange, almost grapefruit in size. Too big for one serving, but that didn't keep me from eating it all anyway. I felt some energy seep back.

We had 1.5 miles to the cabin. Jacinto took off out front, standing up to pedal and quickly outdistancing us. We rode down the two blocks of dirt street that were blocked off. I tried to decide the entire distance if it were okay to bicycle there, but the other choice was the sidewalks and this is the street our cabins are on. They are in an excellent location. Just two blocks past all of the action. We had contactless check in. We had prepaid and the owner sent us the door code to the electronic door. Our cabin was spacious, with plank flooring. It looked quite new, but the bathroom was retro, with the sink set into a barrel and an old fashioned toilet with the tank on the wall and a pull chain. I found it charming. There was a little deck outside that I sat on while Jacinto showered.

We ate dinner at the Longhorn Saloon. Service was very slow and my chili burger was slightly cold. The fries were hot, so I went with that. It appeared that the owner sat us down. She was a gray haired woman with an interesting mask made from a face shield cut down and then strapped upside down to her chin. The cut down part barely covered her mouth and not her nose. I wonder why not just wear it in the traditional manner? Her husband (?) was our server. He wore a regular mask. I didn't see that they had any other help and it was quite a large restaurant. The man said they didn't open until 9 AM now because they don't have enough help after COVID. Our food wasn't that great - I'm not sure what the other breakfast options in town are. We did see a couple of really deluxe looking desserts mounded high with ice cream and whipped cream. One woman (a local?), came in just for a big bowl of some sort of delectable looking dessert. She could only eat about half. I was envying every bite . . .

We are back in the cabin now. Jacinto volunteered to turn on the heater. If you can imagine that. This is our coldest spot of the tour. It was 61 degrees as we went to dinner. Overnight low is 37.

Let's see what we decide for distance tomorrow and where to eat breakfast.

The door handle on a shop I saw as we were walking to breakfast.

12 fast miles down the road and we were in Sonoita.

These plants were all around Sonoita and were less common as we progressed to Whetstone.

Both boards on the gate posts say Static Ranch. The building originally caught my eye. I like the simplicity.

As I was in full position on a side road for a pee break - what do I see across the way? TWO potties. Truthfully, I've been avoiding potties since COVID. Too many touch points.

After we passed Whetstone, where traffic could either go to the military base town of Sierra Vista, or head towards the interstate, traffic dropped way off.

Bill? The actual plants on most of these were about six feet tall. They were very common today and looked similar to the next photo, except for the seed pods. Closer examination showed the plants were actually quite different. But, looking casually, they seemed the same at first.

These are tall and sentinel like. There weren't many. But they are impressive. So, so tall. Bill?

Hank, at a hot foot break. That's when the bottom of your foot gets sore from pressing on the pedals. It's more of a recumbent thing, I think.

Jacinto's photo. We are two blocks from our lodging. Extra cute, clean, and new - Tombstone Miner's Cabins. 787 East Allen St. $89.

Today's ride: 51 miles (82 km)
Total: 171 miles (275 km)

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