May14,2018 Picacho Peak to Tucson

, 43.06 miles.... Well, the bike ride was actually supposed to be 55 miles or so, to the Tuscon KOA, which is the nicest, most well thought out KOA that Pam can remember that we've been to. But......things didn't go so well for the second day in a row.
Started out the ride by doubling back and picking up the 1.3 miles that I bonked on yesterday. The next sixteen miles were frontage road right along Interstate 10. It wasn't bad riding, boring, but not terrible. The wind was behaving itself, and the high was only going to be 94 or so. The problem came with the consequences of yesterday's leg melting ride. The old wheels did not have any juice, and never felt quite up to par.
After the frontage road, I hit an outer suburb of Tucson, Maraña. It was all a repeat of the last time I rode through here a few years ago. I remembered the McDonald's that I stopped at, and remembered the roads like I was here yesterday. A few miles into town begins one of the most extensive paved bike trails I've ever heard of. With just a few exceptions, I was going to ride paved trails for the next 30 or 35 miles, right to the campground. It was exactly the same as it was a few years ago, with the exception of some closures for road construction. Much of the Diamond Trail that I rode on was part of this mega trail, simply called the Loop. Mostly it follows the Santa Clara River, upstream I might add, which is mostly a dry wash, but there was some nice flowing stream in one or two areas. The lower half f the trail was called the Julian Wash trail.
This should have been a breeze to ride, but I had been riding uphill, almost (99%) since I left Mesa, even though the grade was discernable only to my legs, not my eyes. Well, things deteriorated quickly with the hangover my legs were suffering from yesterday. Weakness caused me to have a really difficult time pedaling up the smallest of grades, like when I would go under a crossing road. There were many of those, but there was no traffic to negotiate. About 35 measly miles into my ride, cramping symptoms began to appear, and I really slowed it down. Experience has taught me that when u start to cramp, take my shoes out of the bike clips. That way if I get severe leg cramps, I'll be able to stop easier. ( See entry from North rim of the grand canyon a few years ago when I cramped, couldn't unclip, and just tipped over on the side of the road.) That was a learning experience I will never forget. That experience paid off, as both my legs went into cramps with about eleven miles to go on the ride. I delicately laid my bike down, and fell into the asphalt trail, to work out two major leg cramps. Before I got off the ground, I texted Pam and told her to come get me, AGAIN!
I walked the bike about a half mile to a little park, sat in the shade under a picnic area, and talked to a homeless guy till Pam got there. He was having some problems with his bike, so gave him a zip tie to fix something, and we became best friends. Tucson is swarming with homeless people, along the bike trails, and in every community park.
  I rode home in the Jeep for the second day in a row, wondering what the hell is going on. I have been taking a GNC supplement for the two days we've been traveling, trying to gain an advantage, but hopefully if I stop taking it, things will get back to normal. I know not to try new things without experimenting first, but hopefully I've learned a lesson, and that is my problem. If not, it's going to be a long trip across the country!