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.