i ended up having a great time in phoenix even though i didnt warm to the city. stayed with jay who was a cyclist and it was fun to chat with him about his trip across the states and have a few beers. also i bumped into a friendly guy called terry and i went over to his house for some pasta with his wife. thanks terry and heather!
on thursday i rode through downtown phoenix and out of the city with terry who very kindly guided me through some nice areas and quiet roads for cyclists. yesterday afternoon was fairly uninspiring as the road was staight and uphill all the way to wickenburg. stopped off at a grocery store run by vietnamese people in a place called wittman. was really strange as everyone seemed high (perhaps it was all the meth-amphetamine that i hear is rife in small town america?). one guy even said he would come to england in a couple of weeks and asked if i wanted to phone home on his mobile.....i politely refused the generous offer! camped in wickenburg and raced all the mexican kids around the RV park trying not to win (was quite hard as i still have that bording school competative streak). read my book outside a mcdonalds in true hobo style. getting used to this lifestyle.
today has been a pleasure to cycle as i have made lots of progress without too much effort as i have been going steadily downhill most of the way. keep passing loads of RV parks where all the retired people from the north of the states come down to avoid the cold (snowbirds). it is a odd because they pick some pretty uninspiring places to park themselves for the entire winter. am now in quartzsite (just short of the california border). think i have 240 mile till i finish the trip so it should be 3 more days to go.
