Day 192, Take 2: Two years, two months, and one week late

We're pretty tired. I'm busted, in fact. But we've done it - got over Sitgreaves Pass and made it back over the Colorado River to enter California - just a couple of years behind schedule!  It was a gray day, and pretty cold. But I will confess that it's possible it was not just the cold that made my eyes water as we got underway. Bob and Norma followed us just down the road a bit, and snapped our picture in the spot where we'd ended our tour two years ago. I was happy to ride away from that spot this time.

The starting descent I was concerned about was not that big a deal, but it's the case we were never "too warm" today. We started out with all our layers, and though we shed some for the climb, we put them back on after lunch in Oatman and even then, Roger was freezing for the descent.

Fabulous scenery on the climb up

This is a spectacular pass. It was fun to imagine the early motorists chugging along the road. What must they have thought as they crested each turn and viewed the savage landscape opening before them?  A local said they call it "the sidewinder" - with 192 switchbacks over the top to Oatman. We're not sure about that, but if you are counting the changes of direction, maybe so. It does twist and turn through the rising buttes. Even in the gray morning, it was beautiful.

Once over the top, you descend into Oatman, an old mining town. The donkeys in Oatman are reknown. Turns out they not only wander the town, vamping for handouts, but also patrol the hillsides and roads in small posses. I would hate to witness the carnage had a motorist come quickly around the corner where we found these handsome fellows!

A PS to yesterday's post: We had a couple little "this is touring" events yesterday when we were driving in that helped set the stage for our friends. First, Roger and Bob were having a great conversation in the front row and completely missed our exit to Barstow . Then after turning around to go back, I glanced up just in time to see Roger miss it again! This gave us a chance to share some stories about missed turns - which are much harder to correct on a bike than in a car! Second, at a stop, I noticed that the front rack was wobbling on the bike, which resulted in Roger recognizing that one of the bolts had shaken loose on the rough roads. We had to find a hardware store, pronto. The one in Needles had closed by the time we arrived, so we detoured north to find an Ace Hardware. Problem solved. But we went 20 miles out of our way. Again, much easier to do in a car than on a bike!

And, what's a tour without a flat? We have not had a flat since we got the bike rebuilt. Something must have happened when Roger changed the tires, as we had one 9 miles in to the ride this morning. We decided the tape at the valve hole was cutting the tube after a second one failed. Chewing gum in the hole seems to be holding. We'll see.

Tomorrow, we head for Amboy. No idea if we will have any service, so if you don't see a post check for it the next day.

65 miles today.