Day 70 – Rest Day in Tucson, AZ – 15 vacation miles

I slept in some this morning. I ate the delicious homemade vegan pancakes that Chile prepared for us. I have tried many different vegan pancake recipes, and none have been nearly as tasty as these.

We took the two dogs, Angel and Poli (short for Napolean), for a walk around the neighborhood. Chile and Mr. Chile pointed out many different cactus types and other desert plants. It felt like I had my own personal tour guides. Angel sniffs everything, and Poli is very excited. Both are very well behaved dogs, in my opinion, but Poli is still in obedience school.

The three of us got ready to take a bike ride around Tucson. First stop: the Mesquite Milling and Pancake Festival. This was being held near Arizona University. We were on roads that had bike lanes, but the traffic was very heavy. This was because it was their homecoming weekend, and so the festivities were underway.

The Mesquite Festival was in the community garden, and there were vendors and such. I purchased a Mesquite pancake, even though I had already eaten pancakes before we left. I wanted to see what the Mesquite flour used in the pancakes would taste like. Chile’s pancakes were better.

Then I got to watch people with large buckets filled with their mesquite bean pods grind them into flour using the giant mills. These beans are very tough, and require a special mill to ground them properly, and the flour is more course than some other flours. Mesquite trees are all over Tucson, and are also popular in Arizona in general. They are tasty.

Chile and her husband are a wealth of information not only about this area, but they are Arizona natives and have a great deal to offer on many different topics. I also did not have to worry about trying to find anything, because they knew the best ways around the city. We took the river bike path (which had no river, but when the heavy rains come there is).  I enjoyed a leisure-paced ride to get a feel for what my new tires are like unloaded, and I am pleased.

After our excursion, we stopped to get burritos and took them to the house. Mmm! Then Mr. Chile took my bike to his workshop in the garage and cleaned my chain out. The sand and dirt buildup in my gears was pretty bad, and it turns out that in Arizona, it is better to use a drier lube than the kind I have been using. Good to know!

He also tried to insert some slime into my tubes to toughen them a little, but with the presta valve it was proving to be tricky. It’s fine. These tires will not be nearly as difficult to change flats with. He also tested my pump, and it was working fine for him. I just don’t seem to have the knack for seating it correctly.

Since he had a truing stand, he also trued my front wheel, which was surprisingly in really good shape. One little tweak is all it needed. I was pretty sure they were fine, but it never hurts to check.

Then Chile and I talked for a while about all kinds of things, and gave me a lot of useful tips on cutting corners to save energy and resources. I tried to find the leaks in my sleeping mat, as I had purchased a patch kit to use, but was having trouble. It was team effort to discover where the hole was, and it was very tiny. The patch kit was also tricky to use, and so I don’t know if the patch will hold. We’ll see.

We ate some marvelous soup and salad for dinner, and I reveled in being such a well-fed girl. These little things go a long way, believe me.

I washed my clothes in a bucket and manual agitator, which is like a sturdy plunger, and we dried them in a spin dryer, which is like the spin cycle of the washing machine but actually gets the clothes even dryer. My clothes dried quickly after that.

I sorted out some new directions and did some blog updates, then went to sleep a bit late. It was worth it to spend an extra day here in Tucson for certain.

Chile and Mr. Chile (Mr. Chile built both of these frames)

Mesquite bean pods

Mesquite mill

Bike part art (pedels for petals)

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