Winkelman in View. O! The Joy!

(Click on the picture to see larger view of Steve at the Shrine of Our Lady of Randonneurs)

When Lewis and Clark were on the Voyage of Discovery back in '04 (That's 1804), Lewis was writing in his journal that the Pacific was close. Indians they saw on the Columbia River were wearing British waist coats they had traded, and caps British sailors usually wore. When Lewis did see the ocean a few days later, he wrote, "Ocean in View. O! The Joy!" Well mes amis, you can imagine how Steve and Yours felt with Winkelman quickly coming up to greet us!


Our Voyage of Discovery begins in Catalina. Claire's is open. The plan is to have breakfast while the sun warms up the road. Catalina is a bit higher in elevation than Tucson--its freezing outside by the way.

So we're in the Cafe and the local Old Farts and Ranchers--guys who had cattle before all the land speculators came--hack, laugh, bellow, wheeze and cough. They tease one of the waitresses because she's taking "Orgimick Chemistry" there at the University.


Mystery Van with all our stuff.

Gentle Readers, explitives can only describe how cold it is. In fact this is one of the coldest times I can remember going out on the bike. It is January though... We are in the mountians... And we will be climbing up into the mountains... Hmm. I guess next time I should think about someplace warmer.


Claire's was good. Steve had too much coffee--way too much coffee. Anyway, if there's anything that goes with Randonneering in Arizona, its cattle guards. This butt-ugly cattle guard is the most dangerous I've ever encountered. It will be a short ride if Steve falls and breaks something.


While Steve surveyed the Tortolita Mts to the West, I rode up a few miles to the entrance of Bioshpere 2. I took this picture of what looks like old Hwy 77 up to Oracle. I'm afraid that its so cold my camera's not working properly. But I was able to get this shot and a few more.


Ready for the climb to Oracle. That'll warm us up.


The 13 mile ride up to Oracle is cold, mes amis. As we climb, all the cold weather clothes keep us warm, but make us sweat. You have to be sure and drink all the time or you can get dehydrated pretty fast.

In Oracle I get a flat. I have to pull the thorn out of my tire with tweezers. Flat tires can slow you down because it takes a few minutes to sort everyting out. Even with two people working together to get back on the road, it still takes time. If you try to hurry you can screw up and have a flat in another mile. Anyway, best to have a flat on the up hill--before a speedy down hill--umm, if you get a flat on the way down to Mammoth, at the speeds we went--well--you would probably not live to tell the tale. You would have to settle for your buddies telling the tale.

And the downhill ride was great, and I felt pretty comfortable going 30 to 35 mph for 12 to 15 miles to Mammoth. So we got to Mammoth and stopped at Circle K. Just got a little water to make sure everything was filled up--since I'd not been futher than the Circle K, I didn't want any surprises.


Just past the Circle K outside of Mammoth, I saw this shrine at the base of the Catholic Church of the Holy Sister of Sacrament-- or something like that. So we paid our respects, hoping for safety, good roads, and a good place to eat in Winkelman


Our prayers answered, mes amis!

20 miles to Winkelman so says the road signs. And it is sweet because we are gradually descending. The road is pretty smooth, and we're riding 17-19 mph. This is great but of course we know it will suck coming back. Climb climb climb--climb some more. O well, enjoy the road and the wind and sun and freedom you feel on the bike. Home jobs mundane Saturday f_ckin chores and shopping malls are many many miles away.

4 or 5 milse out, we see two huge smokestacks down in the valley below. "Must be Winkelman." I say. "Must be." says Steve. By now I am starving!

So we arrive in mining town of Winkelman, and before you can blink an eye, you're in the mining town of Hayden--and just as you are about to leave Hayden--Hayden is another blink, you come upon the two choices for food. Rosa's Mexican Resturant, or Los Dos Amigos. You can guess which one we chose--If you said the one with the least amount of bullet holes in their sign, you guesed right! Only two bullet holes in Los Dos Amigos! And we liked the sound of it.

We were made to feel most welcome and had a good hot lunch. Our waitress said the building didn't have any heat, so she and the cook were staying warm over by the stove. We didn't mind. I was just glad to have a seat and eat some pretty good Mexican food. I would definintly go back and eat there again.

Kind of weird thinking about it as I write this-- but how lucky can you be to have a fast descent, find a place to chow down with your name on it, and a strong tailwind on the return! Yes Gentle Readers, we had an awesome tail wind that got us back to Mammoth in no time. We were going back just about as fast as we came down. Our Lady of Randonneurs must have heard our prayers!

What can I tell you about the return trip from Mammoth up to Oracle? It was a cold and windy long-haul. The sun was out but is was not a warm sun. Still, we had to put on sunscreen. And we had to wear our warmers--that makes you sweat. But the miles melted away and the worst was over when we finally reached Oracle. It was exhausting.

A quick 12 mile descent back to Claire's and the Mystery Van--98 miles later and we are back.
I've already done 3 century rides in January--am I crazy or what? This ride was just a little tougher than most because it was so cold.

The 300 km in February 11th. See you there!

Owt