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2011-02-12 tl;dr: The land is dry. The slopes are sneaky. But there is plenty to see in the desert. Morning in the desert is cold. At least it's a dry cold. I was up long before dawn and had hit the road just as it was light enough to see. Still, until the sun was good and up I chose to get way off the road when a vehicle approached.I have never bicycled an entire day without coming across services (or even a house) before. Much like yesterday I spent my time on tremendous straightaways bordered by ever-slowly-changing desert landscapes. Unlike yesterday I didn't have a tailwind. That makes a difference. Highway 68 carried much less traffic than Highway 95, and most of it was bound in the opposite direction. But when people passed, they passed fast. For a long stretch Highway 68 is paralleled by an aqueduct and a railroad. The aqueduct was basically dry, and I never saw a train on the railroad. The railroad bed itself, however, was target of miles upon miles of an innovative rock graffiti. Apparently people just stop and make their mark. A very few abandoned structures could be found along the way. Some novelties could also be found, including the "shoe fence", a very informative sign post, and some sort of FAA station. By late morning it was warm enough that I was stripped down to shorts and t-shirt. I probably should have carried more water. Like maybe twice as much at least. According to the lady whose wallet I had found I had some karma coming, so I figured I'd not worry about it. Eventually I came across three large trucks loaded down with dune buggies in a pullout. They were fixing something. I decided to be bold and ask if I could top off my water bottles. It turns out they were headed home from a rally. They proceeded to drag water and sports drinks out of their coolers and pile them at my feet. I had no idea how I would carry it all, but I easily downed three Gatorades right then and there. I was more thirsty than I thought. There are no hills in the desert. But there are plenty of slopes. And they are very sneaky. It took me a while to figure out I was going uphill, because at first I just assumed I was a wimp for using granny gears on flat terrain. About 2 PM I decided I was done for the day. Actually, the daunting presence of another miles-long slope climb decided I was done for the day. My self from the previous July would have easily kept going and made it to 29 Palms before sunset. My self from today was faced with more humble realizations. So I set my tent up behind some giant jumbles of rock and attempted to nap the afternoon away. Thanks to the efforts of birds (several kinds including hummingbirds), bugs and these whistling rodent-things I was mostly unsuccessful. Night is little better with large insects smacking into my tent and mice try to climb up it. I managed only about 50 miles today. |
 FAA station with handy outhouse  graffiti  more graffiti  prime real estate   shoe fence because the shoe tree was burned down   snow? probably not  it's a wash   topping off  about the most middle-of-nowhere I've ever camped |