According to Katherine: Day 8 Recap

We left Wickenburg, AZ at 7:00 a.m. It was 50 degrees -- very, very cold! -- and the sun was barely up. I did not have on full-fingered gloves, so my hands were numb for the first hour.

The highway shoulder was very rough, so we needed to be riding on the white line of the edge of the highway, or to the right of it. I eased onto the highway a few times, and a highway patrolman pulled up beside me, rolled down his window, and barked, "I don't want to see you on this side of the white line again, ya hear me?" I was mostly compliant the rest of the way.

The challenge is to ride on the white line, or in the narrow space between the white line and the wake-up strip!

It was a great relief when we got to a newly-resurfaced stretch of road. At one of the SAG stops, we enjoyed Marlene Kropf's gorgeous grapefruit cut in wedges. So succulent.

There was a "Welcome to Phoenix" sign at least 25 miles before we reached the densely-populated area. Thank goodness for bike lanes!

The cacti stood at attention, like sentries guarding their land.

We had to go to a bike shop to have my gears and breaks worked on, and to get new cleats for Marge's shoes. We cycled several miles past the turn going uphill! Fortunately, it was downhill to get back to the road we needed! The men in the bike shop helped us locate a Verizon store to get the calendar working on my BlackBerry. The cool stores were a pleasant respite from the afternoon heat. From the Verizon store, we rode into our destination hotel. We got the laundry started, and ourselves cleaned up for dinner, which consisted of pork roast, quinoa salad and mashed sweet potatoes.

This was followed by a celebratory ice cream social, hosted by Convatec and Hollister for the Phoenix-area WOC nurses. Karen Lou Kennedy-Evans and Donna Brewer, the directors of the ET program at the Tucson Medical Center back in the 70s and 80s, drove two-and-a-half hours to be here. What a delight to see old friends, and meet new ones!

I happily fell into a deep sleep by 9:30. 50 days to go. 386.4 miles completed, and 2,713.6 ahead. This is such a joyful journey!

Dr. Jeter Day 8 on Polyvore.com