2004-06-02-0516Z


So, the cop pulls me over and tells me bikes aren't allowed on the freeway between Tucson and Phoenix. Nice. That explains all the places where the shoulder narrowed to the point of impassability, that I had to either find a way to walk around or, in the case of the place near mile marker 198, go for it, almost getting killed when a truck screamed past centimeters away. The force of the air hitting me damn near knocked me out. Anyway, now he says there's a bridge up the road about a mile that I won't be able to cross. He recommends I cross the barbed-wire fence onto the dirt road. Right. I did try it but it was too high and I couldn't risk puncturing my tires. So after he left, I went for it; turned out it wasn't as bad as he thought, I could just walk along the ledge, walking my bike in the narrow shoulder. Not nearly as hairy as the other places I'd already passed.

Nonetheless, I'd been warned, and didn't want a ticket, so I did get off the freeway at the next exit that had a store. Refilled my water and asked the clerk how to get into Phoenix other than the interstate; he told me to go West to Maricopa, then North. Great. Tried it, ended up right back at I-10. Added two or three miles for nothing. Got back on I-10 to Chandler, then North on 56 Ave. Bought two $1 Big & Tasty burgers (seems BK is selling their Whoppers here in AZ for 99 cents, so Mickey has to match the deal), and poked around till I found this Kinko's on 54th St. I'm still at least 15 miles from downtown Phoenix but I've got all night ahead of me.

Now I've just got to figure out what parts of the Interstate do allow bicycles in the shoulder, and which don't. A shame they have to complicate things so goddamned much. Also, I heard from a lady in Ohio who said they don't allow bikes on the shoulder there, either. So my dream is yet far from realized. Nevertheless, I'm grateful for the length of highway I found that I can use.

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