I'm heading south from Tempe through Tucson then to Bisbee. My first (and only) experience so far is the adventure cycling route that goes west from Tempe to San Diego. There were some ridiculously long stretches of empty desert where i actually drank all my water. I did make it into my reserve gallon in the back once but I never really came close to running out of water. Actually, it was my girlfriend that was drinking the reserve.

But yeah. I learned the first time that I was carrying way too much stuff. This time I'm going to carry a lot less, travel faster, and try to enjoy myself more.