Day 4: On a horse with no name

Brawley, CA to Blythe, CA
Date: 01/05/2013
Distance traveled: 92.27 miles (245.79 miles total)
GPS tracks: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/258526341

After a lackluster breakfast at the overpriced Brawley Inn, I was on my way into the desert. It was a hard day riding – between the truly awful road that is Highway 78 and the up-and-downs and the headwinds this was even harder than Day 2. Because there is nearly n-o-t-h-i-n-g along the 68mi road between Brawley and Palo Verde (save for a boarder patrol checkpoint and the fart in the sand that is Glamis), I started the day with every container filled with water – two bike bottles, a 4L dromedary bag, and a large gatoraid bottle. I used every last bit of it.

Things that made this ride fun: (1) meeting Luka and Ashley in the desert – they took the picture of me above (2) the sand dunes were pretty (3) riding at night on nice pavement, which was a real treat, and (4) it was hard, which means on some level it was fun.

Things that made this ride awful: (1) “negative shoulder”, which is my term for when the asphalt has eroded along the edge of the road so far that chunks of the lane are gone – in many places they’ve just painted the stripe down the road over the gravel, (2) “no escape shoulders”, which is my term for when the shoulder has a curb such that you can’t actually get off the road, (3) it was actually about 5 miles longer than the maps said it should be, and (4) what’s the deal with all of this wind coming from the North! Sheesh!

Sarah Burch is a genius. She’s the person who gave me the advice to buy frozen burritos in the morning and let them thaw on the back of the bike. By lunch time, I had 3 delicious burritos ready to be devoured. Another protip – putting your frozen burritos around your water dromedary means you also get ice water for your ride. :)

While I’m thinking about food, today’s the first day I’ve calculated how much I’ve been eating on the ride. Not including breakfast or dinner, it turns out I consumed 2500 calories today in the form of:

  • 3 frozen burritos (330 cal each)
  • Gummy bears (455)
  • Sesame snaps (180)
  • Shot bloks (200)
  • 1 cup Trail mix (600)
  • 1 apple (50)

 

Towards the end the ride – just past the really really bad road and the unexpected undulating hills with 30 miles left to go – I met Nancy and (insert bicyclist name here) just before Palo Verde. She is a Warm Showers host and was planning to host this other bicyclist. She happened to see me coming down the road and offered me a place to stay for the night! So nice! I declined – I really wanted to get to Blythe, so I kept on my way.

I’m glad I kept going. The last 30 miles of the trip were the best. The sun went down, the night bike gear & lights came out, and a cruised on this section of 78 with its buttery smooth and wide shoulders though cotton fields and other farmland. On my way through Blythe I stopped at a package store to get a case of beer (I heard my hosts like to party) and headed to the outskirts of town to my lodging for the night. I was staying at B&B Bait Shop, which is another warm showers host.

The case of beer was a good idea. One of my hosts (Mark) and I chatted for a couple hours after arriving, finishing off half the case in no time flat. Liz (one of the other hosts) had made a dinner plate for me which was much appreciated! Mark is a retired special education teacher who is now just doing pretty much whatever the hell he wants, including helping to run the bait shop. We spent the evening talking around the fire until I was too tired to stand. 90 someodd miles and a half case of Coors will do that to yah. Pretty soon I was sleeping soundly in the room they’ve got set aside for wandering cyclists like myself.


My bike in the desert.


The only desert flowers I saw all day.


Luka and Ashley (I think…)


The Chocolate Mountains


Reward.

Day 3: What goes up…

Bankhead Springs, CA to Brawley, CA
Date: 01/04/2013
Distance traveled: 64.26 miles
GPS tracks: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/258037590


6% downhill grade for about 12 miles.

Somehow I’m exhausted today and having trouble writing salient thoughts. So, instead here are some random ones.

The reward for yesterday’s climb was a very long, very fast, and very fun downhill! I got up to 37 mph without pedaling. That’s what I call easy!

On the way to Jacumba first thing this morning, I came across this guy was skateboarding down the road. He jumped out of the car, put on his helmet, and took off. I got a video of him & I met them down the hill and snapped a pic of them.


“The Pharmacist”, “Mach 5” and the woman I don’t know.


I got up close and personal with the US/Mexico border fence. The border patrol is out in force in this area of CA.


The fence from a distance. There are definitely gaps – probably why the border patrol is so thick out there.


Just before the major downhill, after climbing up from Jacumba.

The majority of the ride was flat and kinda boring after the long long downhill. I grabbed a burger in Ocotillo, and then started pushing towards Brawley.


Lots of flat.


I did a little off roading through some field roads to make it a little less boring. It was fun. Reminded me of our off road adventures in Germany, except this time it was intentional.

In Brawley I got a hotel for the night… I need some really good sleep tonight. To my surprise Brawley is the home of the WORLDS BEST BURRITO at Johnny’s Burrito. No joke – the carne asada with guacamole & salsa was heaven. Good horchata, too. Only slightly more awesome is that Brawley is home to TWO 24 HOUR DOUGHNUT places… both within a 5 min walk from my hotel.

I may not leave tomorrow.

Day 2: Uphill! Now with more headwind!

El Cajon, CA to Bankhead Springs, CA
Date: 01/03/2013
Distance traveled: 55.87 miles
GPS tracks: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/257721656


The view at 3,000 ft from “Vista Point” on I-8, looking toward San Diego.

This was the longest and hardest day that I have ever spent on my bicycle. This was the hardest anything that I’ve ever done physically. And I think I would do it again.


About to get on the interstate… and climb.

55.87 miles. 6,200ft of elevation gain. It took about 10 hours to complete the ride, with about 8 of those hours were actually spent pedaling. It was a lot of ‘sit and spin’ – low low gears and slow slow going. My average speed was the slowest I’ve ever had on a ride, mostly because I spent the majority of the day going 3-5mph crawling up hill!

The hills were expected. The wind was not. Oh my the wind! There was a wind advisory today that almost made me not ride today. 20-35 mile per hour winds with gusts of 50mph were predicted on the passes. Luckily it wasn’t that bad or I would have turned back (per Margaret’s rule not to do anything she wouldn’t do). But that did mean I had wind in my face pushing me backwards for large chunks of the ride.

Sometimes I couldn’t tell if it was the incline, the wind, or exhaustion that was making me go so slow. Likely all three. I got to my destination 1 hour after usable daylight had disappeared. Glad I brought good bike lights! (Riding in the dark on strange roads is probably against M’s “don’t do anything I wouldn’t do”, come to think of it.)


The road ahead of me, heading into Pine Valley.

Before I left I was talking with M about how I was worried about my physical preparedness. She told me “You’re tough. You’ll do just fine.” That’s probably one of the factors that pushed me to go so far today. My decision point was Pine Valley, which was about half way. I could have called it a day and gotten a $60 hotel room… I’m glad I didn’t.

My hosts for the evening (David, Tina and their kids) were outside and waiting for me when I arrived in the dark. Dinner was served not long after I arrived. I’m amazed at the warmth and openness of the Warm Showers hosts I’ve had… David and Tina are no different. It was fun hanging out with them tonight and I would recommend anyone passing through to stop in.

As an added bonus, David and Tina were hosting a family who are riding cross country raising money for Susan G. Koman. Mom, Dad, teenage daughter & 8 year old son! Father & son are on a tandem, mom and daughter get their own bikes. I got to spend a lot of time talking with Rob, Gail, Dakota & Luke which made my evening – they were absolutely delightful. You can see their blog here: http://fourtheroad.com/