Yesterday, Monday, was a long day, the longest so far but today we were also blessed with periodic tail winds of 20 mph. Had they been headwinds it would have been a very trying day, but as it was, it was almost universally the best day so far for everyone.
Unfortunately I was so tired when I went to bed Suday night in Brawley that I put my camera into the suitcase without thinking, so I ended up riding with a camera borrowed from Janet, who was driving SAG, and it will take a couple of days to get them transferred so pictures of the ride itself will have be added later.
We spent much of the first 40 or so miles riding up to , in to, through and out of the Imperial Dunes National Recreation Area. On the north were the Chocolate Mountains and the closed area of dunes, on the south was the recreational part of the dunes where dune buggies and sand buggies prevail and RV vehicles are the transportation of choice for camping and hauling of said buggies. On the left the dunes had vegetation, yes it was sparse but it was there, and a lot of a low growing small purple flower along with scattered Palo Verde and Desert Acacia trees, while on the right, the landscape could have passed for the Desert world Tatouin in the Star Wars movie.
The road was covered with drifts of blowing sand, and went in gentl rolls over the higher dunes. It was early in the morning so not many campers were out riding yet, and the traffic was lightwhich made it blessedly quiet. At times all I could hear was the sound of my tires, an occasional bird song and the whisp of the blowing sand. The wind and ripple patterns on each dune were different and endlessly fascinating.
Because of the distances, and the sparsity of towns, the SAG wagon did lunch for us at 10:30 just after we finished the dunes. Near where we stopped there was amonument to a precolumbian foot path. Yes the endless rocks and gravel looked a little more trampled down in the fenced off area, but I caught myself wondering how they really knew it was there as there were no signs of any sort of dig or exploration. Inquiring minds wonder about these things.
As the dunes retreated, the Choclate Mountains got close enough to the road to see that they were primarily a chocolate covered rock and gravel which looked slightly reddish. The road began a long stretch of rollers across the valley. You could reach the crest of one hill and look forward over the crest of the next several hills but each roll was gentle enough that with proper timing it was possible to coast almost to the top before having to peddle. In fact, between proper gearing and aerodynamic riding and the tail wind, I did a stretch of several miles without having to peddle. All I had to do was drop into a tuck on the downhills and sit up on the uphills to catch the wind. I was averaging as high as 30 mph with peddaling and 18-20 without. It was a good tail wind.
We started crossing irrigation canals and getting back into stretches of green fields just outside of the town of Palo Verde at about mile 70. Because of the sparsity of population centers, water and services, everyone is into the "never pass the possibility of water and flush toilet" philosophy. Every one stopped to use the facilities and had ice cream or a cold drink to carry them through the rest of the ride.
While we were stopped, three men, two pulling camping trailers pulled in on their bikes. All three were from Anchorage, Alaska and were doing the Southern Tier as well so that makes at least 4 others, all male, who are doing the same route more or less. I rode with them for awhile to chat and exchange trip memories and experiences but then as we got closer and closer to Blythe, like an old horse headed for the stable I got going faster and faster. After 6 hours of pretty steady riding with short SAG stops, I was ready for the ride to be over.
After negotiating the traffic of downtown Blythe and checking into the motel, everyone disappeared to rinse off and start the recovery day activities like laundry and repacking, and selecting excess to be sent home until we were all loaded up in the van to drive over to the local Sizzler to have dinner. Linda the cook gets two nights off.
Today was recovery day, which meant that most of us slept a bit later- til 7 or 7:30. What a nice treat not to have to be fully mentally functional at 6 AM in order to have breakfast, pack snacks, haul luggage, pump tires, fill water bottles and gear up for a 7:00 AM or as soon as it is light enough for departure.
Michelle teaching how to deal with a flat tire
Michelle gave a tire fixing, flat tire mending workshop, showing everyone her tricks for getting a tire off and out of the chain and rear derailleur without getting her hands dirty. That alone was worth the price of admission. I threw my laundry into the washing machine at the start and got it hung out at the end.
laudry line- clean clothes to follow- whoopee!
The flat tire workshop was followed by a group bike clean and lube session. When I had taken off my socks and bra yesterday it was disconcerting to notice a line of black grit between the elastic and my skin. This was undoubtedly due to the blowing sand and grit, but it was also a sign that some heavy duty bike cleaning was needed.
practicing a new way to take off the rear tire without gettting the hands dirty .
The SAG trailer carries cleaning stuff, tooth brushes, artists brushes, rags and lube and the motel owner let us use his hose, so everybody got busy scrubbing down every visible surface as well as all the nooks and crannies. The newer riders each had a more experienced rider as well as Michelle nearby to help and make suggestions and there was much hilarity about whose whatsis was the most disgustingly dirty.
and a massive stint of cleaning and lubing of bikes ensued
I took the opportunity to scrub down my chain and gear stack as well as the bike frame and all the other parts and then helped out others with their parts. A rinse with the hose to remove the final bits of grit, an air dry and polish, and a relube of every metal on metal part and the chain and a quick check of the brakes completed the morning.
Mary Jo celebrating her first successful solo tire change
By this time my laundry, hanging out on the fence around the pool, was dry so I hauled it in and wandered over to the local grocery store and drug store to pick up a couple of items and grab a coffee at Starbucks.
A group has organized the van for a trip out to a local Italian Restaurant with a good view for dinner, and then after dinner both my suitcase and duffle bag will get emptied, reorganized and repacked with clean dry clothes.
Our next stint is 8 days without a break and will take us through Arizona to Silver City, New Mexico so it will be lovely to be able to start out clean and organized. Since we also cross into Arizona tomorrow, there will be a Margarita celebration, which according to Michelle, might help to make up for accomodations in Salome, Arizona. She did also hasten to reassure those of us who were on the Underground Railroad trip last year that Salome was not quite as bad as Eutaw, Alabama was.
Here's hoping that that holds true both in accomodations and weather.
Today's Stats
mileage ridden 0
Time ridden 0
chores and maintenance accomplished- everything including bringing the blog up to date
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