Today when we got up, it was not hot. That is a statement that when made in the Phoenix, Arizona area this time of year would get a whole lot of eyebrows raised. It was actually a tad chilly this morning. Usually, around this time of year, at 5:30 in the morning, the temperatures are in the upper 80's already. It had to be in the low 70's when we started out for staging this morning.
Today was a long day, a total of 400 miles, and we were not sure how hot it was going to get. The weather was reporting close to 100 degrees today, but you never know for sure until you actually get going. Also, going 400 miles with now over 300 of your closest friends on motorcycles, can get to be stressful. For us, thankfully, the leadership of Run for the Wall made every effort again this year to ease our stress of travels. We had police escort in California yesterday, and police escort in Arizona today. It is really nice to have police escorts, they help keep the cars out of the motorcycle pack (and with 300+ riders, that is critical). We are sorry to have caused any people trying to drive to work additional strain, but we only do this once a year and we try to be as considerate as possible, by getting out of town as quickly as possible.
After our breakfast and morning travel, we ended up in Marana, AZ (about 35 miles north of Tucson) for a brief fueling of motorcycles and more hydration. We cannot emphasise enough how important it is to drink enough water during these next few days through the heat of the desert. At each stop we all make sure the other riders are drinking enough water to get them to the next stop. It is so easy to dehydrate and get heat exhaustion, even though today, it was not very hot (probably in the mid- to upper 90's) by Arizona standards. After Marana, we went to one of our favorite lunch stops, Willcox, AZ.
We were again greeted by the Willcox Police Department (not in a bad way, they came to guide us into their town) and we had an excellent lunch at the Elks Lodge. After meeting and eating lunch with our friends in Willcox, we got back on the bikes again and headed off to Savoy, NM.
In Savoy, the truck stop we usually stop at was having a grand opening. Instead of having us go elsewhere, the wonderful people at the Savoy truck stop not only provided us use of all their pumps for about 30 minutes, but also provided the riders free drinks. We were eternally grateful because it was starting to finally get warm on the road. In too short a time, we had to get back on our bikes for our next eagerly anticipated stop, Las Cruces, NM.
We stopped at Barnett's Harley-Davidson in Las Cruces, NM, and even before we got to the off-ramp, we saw the huge United States Flag hanging from the Fire Department's Ladder truck. It was truly a sight to behold. The owner of the Pic Quick gas station donated fuel for all the riders (which is totally awesome!!!) and then we rode towards Barnett's Harley-Davidson. Before we could even pull into their driveway, you could smell the food they were cooking for the riders. We were greeted by the National Guard and were entertained by some wonderful performers. Now that we lost an hour (going from Pacific Standard Time to Mountain Standard time) the riders were really pooped and all wandered off to their respective hotels for some well earned rest.
Until tomorrow...
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