Arizona...Another Epic Trail II

Sunday, May 29th

0120 hrs - "Something doesn't feel right...better take a look"  I roll over onto one knee and slowly peer over the saddle of my bike.  My vision is blurry and I'm trying to focus on whatever it is I'm suppose to be looking at.  I scan the darkness for something, but I have no idea as to what I'm looking for.  I look over at the first R.V....nothing.  I look at the other motorhome...quiet.  I always strap on the K-Bar when I sleep anyplace unfamiliar, so I unsnap the retaining strap because I know something is close by...I just wish I knew what the hell it was.  The sound of the strap release makes something move in my peripheral and my eyes dart over in that direction.  At first I thought it was WillyD moving but then I realized that two blazing yellow eyes were staring me down.  The lone pole light behind me was enough to make those eyes glow bright...something that resembled a hell hound that you may have seen in a horror movie.  A chill shot up my spine for an instance....then I came to my senses.  Whew!...Its a mid sized coyote...or a desert fox.  I can't quite make it out but it's standing right behind WillyD's melon.  A big grin crosses my face as I want to laugh out loud...but I really wanted WillyD to turn around and see this thing sniffing at his head.

"Willy!....Willy!....don't move." I whisper trying not to laugh.

"What the fuck...what do you want now...can't you sleep you stupid bastard." WillyD growls back.

"Shhhhhh....Behind you...you are about to be a main course brother...roll over slowly....you'll see exactly why I'm awake." I quietly whisper back.

Right about then a Arizona State Trooper pulls quietly to the side of the road a hundred feet from us.  The critter jumps back from WillyD a safe distance and continues to eyeball him.  WillyD rolls over and says, "You woke me up for a damned dog?  wait...that's a coyote!  No shit!"

"No shit....not only that, the man is watching us from over there." as I point to the patrol car.

"Can't anyone leave people alone...fuck.....why do people always gotta' be messing with other people...are we doing anything wrong?  No.......I just wanna get a few minutes of shut eye...damn!"  WillyD rants with sheer annoyance in his voice. 

"I'm going to lay back down...if he has a problem he will come over here and let us know." I chuckle as I dropped back down onto the pavement and watched the coyote trot off into the brush.

A few minutes later the Trooper gets bored and head back out on the road.  All is quiet now and I'm drifting once again.

0155 hrs. - I'm wide eyed once more.  I hear footsteps nearby.  K-Bar gets unsnapped again as I roll back up on one knee. 

"What the hell is it now." I grumble to myself as I brush off a bug that was crawling on my face.

I peer back over the saddle to see an older gentleman talking on a cell phone.  I can't make out everything he is saying but I did hear, "Well, I better get everyone ready then.  It won't be much longer before they get here."

I'm watching this and thinking to myself, "Who?  Out here?  We are in the middle of nowhere...and I mean no where.  Who in the hell is going to show up here at this time in the morning?"

Suddenly the generator on one of the motorhomes fires up and the lights turn on inside.  Then I see the other R.V.'s inside light beam up.  15 or more folks start piling out of the two motorhomes like a fire alarm just went off in a fire station.  People are running around getting ready for something that I am not privy to.

"Sheeeeaaaaattttt....what now!" I hear WillyD curse as he slowly stands up.

People are setting up flashers on the side of the roadway and hauling expensive $4000.00 bicycles off the rear racks of the motorhomes.  I'm starting to laugh because this is exactly what I signed up for on this trip...the unexpected.

An older gentleman walks over to us and starts apologizing for waking us up.  He explains that they are part of the "Relay Across America".  It's a relay race, on bicycles, from San Diego to New York.  Riders would peddle 50 to 100 miles at a time along checkpoints, were the race would continue with fresh riders taking over.  WillyD and I just happened to stumble onto one of the checkpoints....pffftttt.

We talked to the folks for about 30 minutes as we watched the weary riders roll in.  As the new riders headed out I whooped and hollered for them...after all, there wasn't a whole lot of fan far going on at 2am in the morning.  It was the least I could do.  They fed WillyD and I barbecued chicken on a stick.  After we chowed down, Willy and I decided it was time to move on.  We thanked the group and headed out.

0330 hrs - It's getting brisk as we rip through the desert.  The moon finally showed up on the scene.  A double sized, blood red, crescent moon just above the horizon made the night surreal.  I was really digging the sensation of it all.  We approached a small town and saw the lit sign for a quickie mart.  As we roll into the lot, I see the female clerk quickly move to the front door, then disappear.  As I walked up to the front door my suspicions were validated....yup, she locked us out.  Oh well...par for the course I suppose.  I went around to unload some liquid refreshment while WillyD started to put on his cold weather gear.  The temps had dropped to 58.  I burned one as I waited. 

WillyD finally speaks, "Well...if they don't want me using their bathroom then I guess I'm going to have to piss outside."

WillyD heads to the side of the building in a well lighted area and commences to taking care of business.  I, on the other hand, start laughing my ass off.

"What!  What's so funny...haven't you ever seen anyone taking a piss?  You act like it's the first time you have ever seen this." WillyD spouts out in his usual monotone drawl.

"No....I have seen it before alright,....,just haven't seen anyone do in front of a big ass video camera before!" I laugh out loud as I point to the gigantic camera up on the corner of the building, that just happend to be zeroed in on Willy's Willy.

"Whatever....it'll give 'em something to talk about...let 'em watch...besides, it serves them right for locking us out." Willy says as he finishes up his business.  "But we probably should get moving on before the squad car shows up....here, drink this", as he throws me a 5 hour energy shot.  (These things work really well.  No crash and they make you feel like a million bucks...for a short time anyway.)

0445 hrs - The sky is turning light blue and the sun is started to make it's appearance.  We roll into Wickenburg, AZ.  My cell phone rings and it's Boston on the line.  "Where the hell are you guys...hurry the hell up.  I just woke up for a smoke but Caveman is going to be around.  My ass is going back to bed...see you when get here.  Love you guys and be careful."

It was a nice thing to hear right about that time.  We were on the final stretch.  We were both tired but not in the danger zone.  The air was crisp and we sat around a Shell gas station drinking coffee for awhile.  WillyD was going off on a full sermon about how great Dunkin' Donuts were.  Donuts, Donuts and Donuts.  I believe Willy....I believe.

0545 hrs - We headed out and after another hour or so, finally made it to Caveman's cave.  The garage door was open and his impressive collection of bikes was gleaming in the morning sun.  I don't remember his first words as we dismounted, but it was something sarcastically funny....that I do know.  Boston was up and as cheery as she possibly could be at that time in the morning. 

"You two are insane...good to see you guys made it.  You've got a few hours before everyone shows up...my ass is going back to bed.  Crash wherever."  Boston said as she stumbled back to her room.

We did indeed crash for a couple of hours.  We needed to be somewhat functional for whatever was going to happen next.