So yes, it’s forecast to be pretty warm on Saturday. Luckily this ride doesn’t really have any slow spots to it, it’s all fairly fast trail. With that said, I want to address the lunch break. I recommend against planning to ride into Gila Bend and rather see us all bring out lunch and plan to stop on the trail in the shadiest spot we can find. I say this for a few reasons. If we plan a trail stop we can keep our non-riding time to a minimum and get back before the hottest part of the day and, due to the current immigration situation in Gila Bend, will avoid any “situations” that might arise while we’re in town. Going into town will add about an hour and a half (or more) which would put us back at the trucks and loading when it’s the hottest part of the day. As many of you know, the Border Patrol is dropping these illegals into town several times per day and from all accounts, they are wandering the streets and the place looks like a homeless camp in downtown LA. I don’t have first-hand knowledge but I do have “connections” that all say the same thing. This is a new situation that didn’t really exist until very recently. Between the increased LE presence in town, all the illegals, and the temperatures expected for our ride maybe our best plan is to eat on the trail. I’m pretty sure each of us can make the ride on fuel with the exception of anyone running on corn which I doubt they have in Gila Bend anyway. The area where we will terminate the outbound leg of the ride and begin the return is outside of town by a few miles on the opposite side of the interstate from town so there are no issues in that area that I’ve been made aware of.
This is just my take on it and I’m willing to do whatever the collective group wants. Any thoughts?