Day 6, Palo Verde, CA to Quartzsite, AZ

Up at 6:00 am PST. Jim washed our riding gear yesterday and my soaking wet wool shirt dried outside even though it was in the 40's this morning. I guess that's what happens when you're in an area that gets an inch of rain yearly.

Our host made us another wonderful meal and we are so grateful to experience this hospitality from strangers who help cyclists. Thanks Nancy!

Riding through irrigated farmland similar to the Imperial Valley in the morning we stopped to shed gear as it warmed up.

 I left first and it took Jim longer to catch up than it should've. He had to put on an extra 1 and 1/2 miles to go back and retrieve his gloves. We followed her tip to get to Blythe, CA on back roads, and then to eat at Lalo's Mexican Restaurant.

 

Across the Colorado River and were in the 2nd of 8 states we are crossing. On the shoulder of I-10 we finally got a little push from the big rigs wake and a tailwind, hallelujah! 

We stopped at a rest stop and an older couple pulled in with a van advertising jerky. Since we've been eating jerky I asked about buying some. We tasted some samples and said which ones we wanted but the whole process took about 20 minutes. It's a good thing we weren't in a hurry. A long climb brought us to Quartzsite at 2:00 pm (3:00 pm with the time change) where we paid $10 each for pitching our tents in what amounted to a big gravel and rock parking lot surrounded by land yachts (RV's). 

Watch out for those trees, they fight back, and draw blood. 

50 miles today (for me) including circling the RV park several times, looking for a tent friendly place in vain. 

Day 5, Brawley, CA to Palo Verde, CA

We got up at 5:00 and our host made a great breakfast burrito for us with home made salsa. Perfect road fuel!  We hit the road at 6:18 with our headlamps and tail lights, riding for about a half hour in the 45 degree temps before the sun came up. We were treated to the aroma of manure riding through the endless farms of the Imperial Valley. 

We  eventually ran out of farmland when we went over a rise and saw dunes and the Chocolate mountains. We climbed and descended small hills most of the day as we worked our way past Glamis and over the mountains. 

Unfortunately we apparently can't go uphill on this trip without pushing against a strong wind and that was our story all day after the sun came up. 

I caught up with Jim at the Border Patrol checkpoint where they offer water to cyclists. I had nearly filled my 100 plus oz collapsible canteen so I didn't need any. 

We arrived at our hosts after 67 miles at a little after 3:00 pm, four miles short of Palo Verde. It was good we made the day as short as possible because I didn't have much more left at the end. 

 Nancy made a wonderful dinner with homemade bread and we watched the full moon rise over Arizona. 

Day 4, El Centro, CA to Brawley, CA

Somewhat of a rest day today. We only had to go 15 miles to Brawley from El Centro but I went nearly twice that with the errands I ran.

We started with a simple complimentary oatmeal breakfast at the motel and headed out to catch the bike shop when they opened. There was some confusion because Siri told me the bike shop was in downtown on Main and the ACA map said it was at a mall on the edge of town. I tried calling both places numerous times before we left but no one answered before opening. Siri was right. We got to the mall when they opened and it was a chain shoe store, "Finish Line". The bike shop was "Finish Line Pro". We rode back into town and I got some new cycling shorts and a spare tube to replace the ruined one. Jim rode back to the motel to beat checkout time and the room card had already expired. I arrived by the time he got the maid to let him in. 

We had a beautiful but short ride up to Brawley and got grocery shopping done while we waited for our "warm showers" host to arrive. They are both cyclists and made us feel welcome, sharing their home and facilities. Thanks to them both!

I made run into the Brawley post office and got rid of some things, the heaviest of which was the solar charger. It worked great but it's unlikely I will run out of juice between outlets. 

It seems surreal to see "Seasons Greetings" in 81 degree weather

We are getting an early start on the nearly service less 67 mile run to Palo Verde. 

Day 3, Live oak springs, CA to El Centro, CA

Thankfully we caught up on some sleep at the Sacred Rocks Reserve Campground. The wind blew but nothing close to the previous night. The 3800 ft elevation meant it was in the 40's but warmed as daylight spread across the rocks. I recovered enough to feel okay on the bike as we climbed up Hwy 94 on then zoomed down to Jacumba, still on Old Hwy 80. We had breakfast there and lumbered up to the precipice of the 3000 ft drop to the valley floor. 

We had 12 miles of gravity fueled fun bringing us to a lunch stop in Ocotillo. We walked through a bar tended by an older gentleman without customers to a back room where a grumpy cook did us a huge favor by selling us food. At least they were good sub sandwiches. 

From there it was a straight, fairly flat, 24 mile spin to El Centro on the worst pavement I've cycled on. I won't complain about the local chip sealed roads anymore. 

Plaster City provided us with a rest stop. Thanks United States Gypsum!

We had a bit of a Dillema. We needed to make it 20 miles further to be staged for the next leg that is long and without services. Jim is looking out for me and agreed to get a room in El Centro so I can recover and make an easy one tomorrow before tackling the long day to Palo Verde. 

58 miles today. 

Day 2, Alpine, CA to Live Oak Springs, Ca

We got almost no sleep last night. The winds were almost non stop and roared like a 747 on take off. Nick and Carolyn's tent fly was ripped, Jim's tent blew down at one point in the night. My tent and everything in it was covered with dirt that came through the fine mesh screen. 

We wouldn't be smiling this morning if we knew what was in store for us. We left at 8:40 and had a big tail wind for ½ mile. Then we turned east and had 30 mph gusts in our face as we climbed steeply, on heavily loaded bikes. We had to ride on the shoulder of I-8 for almost 4 miles while the wind pummeled us in the face. At one point we were unwillingly stopped In our tracks by a vicious blast. The road was steep enough to make starting from a stop on a loaded bike difficult. The gusting wind made it beyond difficult and we elected to walk for awhile until the wind wasn't hitting us so hard. 

We had to exit I-8 and take 79 to Pine Valley. More climbing with stiff head winds for 5 miles then a short downhill (all downhills are short!) into Pine Valley were we had lunch. Just before town I got a front flat. We couldn't find any objects causing the flat. Pumping up the tube we saw a slit that had to have been caused by the flat proof strip I added before the trip. Putting things back together I noticed the front rack was loose. I went to tighten the bolt and found that it had been cross threaded by Roger (Bernie's bike shop in San Diego). Jim had to endure some expletives at that point. After Pine Valley we paralleled I-8 on Old Hwy 80 to Live Oak Springs where the campground listed was closed. Fortunately the campground 4 miles away was nice and charged us $10, $26 less than the previous night's camp. 

We rode the toughest 36 miles I ever hope to see and made a whopping 8.8 mph average. 

Day 1, San Diego, CA to Alpine, CA

Jim is still on Ohio time and was awake since 4:00 am. I barely slept in my dorm room with all the issues of a hostel full of 20 somethings. 

We got underway at 09:10 in fog and headed down to the beach to pick up the bike path along the San Diego river/floodway. Not much river or flooding here lately with a record drought in play. 

Between the two of us we figured out the route in light Sunday morning traffic and worked our way out of town. Once we got higher and farther inland the sky was clear and the temp felt in the 80's. Pretty tough to complain given the weather at home. We got lunch in Lakeside and had another of several conversations with people interested in our trip. 

From here the road got steep and I found myself in low gear at times. The map shows an exaggerated elevation profile but it felt real pushing the touring load I had. We made it to a campground about 4 miles past Alpine, CA. 

Amazingly, Nick and Carolyn from Bikespot in Anacortes showed up at the campground and set up near us. It was so cool to see them and we had a great time talking biking and other stuff. They are mt biking nearby tomorrow. We all hope the Santa Ana winds die down as it is roaring as I write this at 10:00 pm. 

Sunny So Cal

Colleen and I  made it to SeaTac in good time despite the horrendous conditions. Big wind gusts and heavy rain squalls made driving in traffic a challenge. 

A two month separation made for an emotional good bye at the airport. 

I found a pair of convertible pants at the Ex Officio store in the terminal across from Anthony's. 

All went smooth until I caught the bus into downtown San Diego, the opposite direction I intended. After a $2.25, one hour bus tour of downtown, I was on the right track.

Jim was gracious in the wait for my arrival, meeting me at the bike shop where my transcontinental machine was assembled by Roger at Bernie's Bike Shop. 

After leaving the bike shop we got a head start on tomorrow's ride by doing the ceremonial touch the Pacific.