G.A.S.P.

The next morning (12-30) I got underway on the second part of the journey.  This was by intent a pretty short day, as I knew I would be somewhat out of shape after spending ten days off the bike.  I had to ride on city streets through Tucson to a point south of the airport where I was again allowed to ride on I-10.  My legs were tired after the first mile.  It takes weeks to build up those muscles, but only a few days to tear them down. 

I rode from Tucson to Benson (about 60 miles) and arrived mid-afternoon after taking a couple more rest stops than usual.  Along the way, I raced a train to the top of a pass and won.  It was going really slow.  I took a photo from the overpass to prove my victory. Upon arrival in Benson, I opted to stay at a KOA even though it was slightly more expensive than another campground at the same exit.  The deciding factor was that the KOA has a hot tub – I spent about an hour there this evening.  I’m going to stay a second night at the same campground while I do an “out and back” ride tomorrow to Tombstone.  Being someone who grew up with all of the 1950s TV westerns, I’ve been looking forward to my visit to Tombstone, but now have some apprehension about it being just an expensive tourist trap.