Day #9 - 4/22/2016 - Old Man Riding a Bike

RIDE NOTES…

Long hard ride today, ugh… 75 miles from Casa Grande, AZ to Tucson, AZ. Longest day of riding to date. Left early at 6:15 AM to try to take advantage of the cooler morning temperatures. A few twists and turns to get to the interstate 10 frontage roads but I made it no problem. Rode past Picacho Peak just west of I-10 and got some great pictures. Rode pas the Pinal Airpark which is the largest commercial aircraft storage and heavy maintenance facility in the world.I rode for about 40 miles and the frontage road had a no outlet sign. I kept riding and Bart met me at about 45 miles where the frontage road turned into one way the opposite way. I had to ride for a few miles wrong way and then crossed over the highway and there was a frontage road on the other side. I rode until 53 miles and met Bart for lunch at McDonalds. After lunch I got a flat front tire at 60 miles. Bart was close by so he came to help me change the tire. The tube replacement was easy but it turns out the pump wasn’t assembled correctly and it needed to have to input rubber piece reversed to fit my valve. It’s a good thing this happened while Bart was still with me. I should be able to handle tire changes no problem now that I’ve done it though. With a high of 97 degrees, 75 miles, and the flat tire, today was an 11 hour day! I plan to take off for a few days and rest in Tucson. Bart has been such a huge help this past week. Everything has gone pretty smooth and I hope I have all the kinks worked out so I can make the rest of the trip unsupported.