Day 70 - Live Oak Springs to San Diego

Tuesday. May 25.

A chilly morning delayed our start, the thought of screaming downhill at 30mph with 40 degree temps wasn't appealing.

After we got going, we passed a wind farm up in the mountains.


A quick downhill brought us to Pine Valley, where we passed yet another eastbound cyclist. Bruce from Oregon was just beginning his journey, and we were admittedly a little jealous.


Climbing out of Pine Valley was a comedy, we laughed and joked, knowing it was our last climb of the trip. It's all downhill from here.

We stopped for lunch in Alpine, about 30 miles from the ocean.

I tried and tried to soak in every last mile of the ride, but they still seemed to go by too fast. The Pacific Ocean was a big tease. I expected to see it somewhere way up on the top of the hill, gleaming as a finish line out in the distance. It wasn't to be. Smaller hills would always obscure the view.

A few miles were through a very cool park pretty much in the middle of suburbia San Diego. The cars were restricted so the biking was great.


The anticipation kept building as we turned onto Friars Road. I remembered this road from the Rock n' Roll San Diego last year, and the familiar location was nice. We were so close!


Soon enough, we could see Sea World, and then we crossed the San Diego River. The sight of the ocean was glorious!


The final ride down to Dog Beach was surreal, and then we hit the sand.





After enjoying the ocean for a while, we met up with friends and had a victory dinner.


What a trip. Wow.
I don't think reality will set in for a while.

Day 70 - 67.76 Miles
Trip to Date - 4015.03 miles
Coast to Coast - 3012.58 miles

Day 69 - El Centro to Live Oak Springs

Monday. May 24.

After a great rest day in El Centro, we were excited to resume riding. With the ocean so close, the end of our trip finally began to seem real.

"Tomorrow? We finish tomorrow?" was asked repeatedly.
Yes, it was true.

The first 30 miles of our riding was very flat, but the road wasn't great. Luckily, we found a bike lane exiting El Centro that isn't on the Adventure Cycling maps, which was very nice to ride on. Once we hooked back onto the official map, the road quality went south. Many people have blogged about this section of road as the worst on the trip. It was bad but maybe not the worst. All this said, I got my second (third) flat of the trip. A staple was able to puncture all the way through the mighty Schwalbe Marathon Pluses.


Anyways, we eventually reached Ocotillo, right at the base of the climb. We stopped for lunch at a little cafe. A hot pulled pork sandwich was a welcome change to our standard gas station food.

We also met a family who was riding bicycles east bound. They had an army of bikes on the back of an RV. One person drove, and the others rode. It seemed like a really fun strategy for touring cross country.


Leaving Ocotillo, we entered the Interstate for the longest continuous climb of the trip. In New Mexico, we climbed much higher but it was broken up by a stay with Shipley in Kingston. This climb brought us from 400 feet above sea level to 3400 feet above sea level in 10 miles.

Up and up we went, and the canyon was beautiful. Not too steep, not too hot, and the shoulder was huge the entire way (excepting one bridge).




It was during this stretch where I saw my first 'border crossers'. About half way up the climb, at least 5 miles from another exit on the highway, at least 10 miles from a building of any kind, there were two guys standing in the shade under a tree. Since we had just left the town, I was full up on liquids. I pulled a bottle of gatorade from a cage and offered it up. They were very, very excited. I tossed it to the ground where they could get it, gave them a wave, and continued on my way.

Near the top of the climb, there was a creek overpass full of 'people'. I don't know the back story to these, but perhaps they are put there by local residents to prevent illegal crossers?


I exited the highway at the top of the climb and got on "old highway 80". Right around this exit, there was a car on the highway completely in flames. I took a few photos and rode a little further. A guy near the fence asked if I could send him the photos, it was his car and most all of his belongings. Bummer.



We rode on and on, coming very close to the border at times. The fence between the countries is pretty crazy.


We stopped at a campground in Live Oak Springs. The camping was expensive and the amenities not so great (no electric, shower/restroom pretty gross), but there was a restaurant next door. We ate dinner, sat around watching TV, and finally went to bed. Up in the mountains, it was chilly. Possibly the coldest night of the trip. Who knew after 69 days, the coldest night would be in Southern California towards the end of May?

Tomorrow is the day. A little uphill, then lots of downhill, all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

Day 69 - 60.99 Miles
Trip to Date - 3947.27 miles
Coast to Coast - 2944.82 miles

Day 68 - Rest Day in El Centro

Sunday. May 23.

The wind is blowing up a gale again today, so we decided to stay put in El Centro. The NWS forecast for today reads as follows...

* WINDS: SUSTAINED WINDS FROM 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 55 MPH.
STRONGEST WINDS WILL BE THROUGH THE BANNING PASS...THE EAST-WEST
PASSES OF SAN DIEGO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY...AND IN THE SAN DIEGO
COUNTY DESERTS.

* VISIBILITY: BLOWING SAND AND DUST WILL REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO
LESS THAN A HALF MILE AT TIMES IN THE DESERTS.

* IMPACTS: HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES TRAVELING ON INTERSTATES 8...
10...15 AND HIGHWAYS 74...78 AND 247.

A few weeks ago in Texas, we departed from a super nice accommodation and decided to challenge the winds. It didn't end well, and we spent many restless, windy hours in Kent, a town with one building. Fool us once, shame on you. Fool us again, shame on... We won't get fooled again! We are going to enjoy all the amenities Marriott has to offer, including the warm breakfast, hot tub, TV, and most importantly, enclosed walls keeping us out of the winds.

We are going to watch a movie this afternoon and hopefully get a jumpstart on tomorrow.

Two days of riding left... So close!

Day 67 - Blythe to El Centro

Saturday. May 22.

Whooboy! Long day.

We left camp by 7am, and once again headed West. It was about 25 miles to Palo Verde, a small town which would be our last services for quite a while.

During the first 25 miles, we crossed paths with two more riders going East. One was an older gentlemen who was ultimately going to the Florida Keys. The second was a guy named Tim, who was riding for a cause. Tim was riding light and fast, just like us. Best wishes to them both!


In Palo Verde, we stopped at a gas station, then backtracked to eat some home-made breakfast burritos to make sure we were properly fueled for our ride. Pretty good stuff and worth the backtrack.

Unfortunately for us, the winds picked up earlier than we had hoped. It was a long slow ride starting about 30 miles in. Usually, we hope to reach the halfway point early enough in the day where the second half can be slower without too many problems. Not today.

At least the riding was still pretty.


At the half way point of our 'empty stretch' we hit a town called Glamis. This town is on the edge of the sand dunes. We've heard horror stories of crazy expensive food/drinks, but I can't say I blame them. They are out in the middle of nowhere, and don't have much of a season. They are only open from October to May, and we got lucky to arrive on the second to last weekend of the season. Yes, things were expensive ($3.50 for a 32oz Gatorade) but we gladly paid the money.

We met a number of riders who were enjoying the sand dunes on motorbikes and ATV's. They were all pretty impressed that we were riding all the way across the country. I was impressed that a 8 year old (+/-) was riding one of those ATV's.


Today was cooler than yesterday (90 instead of 100) but the sun is still a strong beast. We sat in the shade and drank our expensive liquids. The winds had really picked up by now and going 8mph was challenging. The next town, Brawley, was 27 miles away. On a great day that is 1.5 hours away, today we were figuring on three.

Just as we were about to get rolling again, a young lady cruised in on a bicycle heading Eastbound. Audrey was from Alaska and didn't really have a destination in mind. She left her truck in San Diego and started riding. She is going to the Grand Canyon and then wherever the winds take her. Best of luck to her, the trip is great.

These next 27 miles were as brutal as anything we've encountered. Super slow riding, and constantly getting pelted by sand from the dunes made for a very challenging afternoon. It was pretty though.


(note the windy shirt)



After we got out of the dunes, we entered the Imperial Valley. It's all below sea level, and has more water than most parts of California. There wasn't anything to block the winds, so we continued to get pummeled all the way into Brawley.

Brawley was 93 miles into our day of riding. We were wiped. The hotel options weren't so great in Brawley (as we were warned by the guys a day earlier), so it was frustrating. The Best Western wanted $100 for a room. We tried another place but they wanted $55 for a room with one bed that smelled awful. I was exhausted but didn't want to stay there. I also made the mistake of looking up Marriott's. There was a Fairfield Inn in El Centro, the next town down the road.

Now my mind was fixed on having a nice room for potentially free. I called my friend, Alan, and he did some searching for me. He had enough points to get us a room, all we had to do was get there.

I justified in my mind that we would be riding South instead of West and that the wind would be better. I told Jake I wanted to go for it unless he objected. Off we went, and within a mile I started regretting my decision. The crosswinds were just as aggravating as the headwinds. Instead of going 7mph, we were going 11mph but constantly getting pushed into traffic.

If you're going to be dumb, you gotta be tough.



It was another battle at the end of a long day. We pulled into El Centro just as the sun was setting. The Marriott was so glorious. Two beds, no smells, pool and hot tub.

We relaxed for a while, then ate a ton of food at Chili's.

What a day!

The winds are forecast to be even stronger tomorrow. We've made the decision to hang out in El Centro and rest.

Day 67 - 111.59 Miles
Trip to Date - 3886.28 miles
Coast to Coast - 2883.83 miles

Day 66 - Aguila to Blythe, CA

Friday. May 21.

Riding was easy early in the day. We've found that the winds are quite calm between 6am and 10am.
We made it to a town called Salome, where we grabbed some food and more liquids.


After Salome, there was a long, gradual, descent followed by a long, gradual, climb. It was not so bad, and the last few miles were back on the Interstate. Cresting the hill, we descended down again towards the town of Quartzite.

On the descent, Jake got a flat from a piece of wire that would have stopped pretty much any tire.


From Quartzite, we had less than 20 miles to the California border. We had considered staying in Ehrenberg, but the RV campground there looked pretty dumpy and we decided to continue across the bridge.

CALIFORNIA!


It was another hot day, so we splurged and camped at a KOA. This one happened to be right on the Colorado river. We met two more Eastbound riders at the campground. They were about our age, studying International Relations at NYU. We drank some beers while sitting in the river, which was a great break from the heat. Enjoy the ride guys!

As the sun was setting, a dinner at Wendy's was much needed and then we called it a day. Tomorrow, we have a long day scheduled through a fairly deserted area.

Getting closer!

Day 66 - 88.79 Miles
Trip to Date - 3774.69 miles
Coast to Coast - 2772.24 miles

Day 65 - Phoenix to Aguila

Thursday. May 20.

We didn't leave Justin's until almost 7am, but it worked out OK. A huge thanks to Justin and Jena for hosting us and letting us do laundry!

In the excitement of the previous day, we didn't make it to a bicycle shop and Jake needed to purchase a few new tubes for his wheels.
There was a shop in the Phoenix suburb of Suprise, and it opened at 10am. We rode the 25 miles from Justin's house and arrived at the shop at 9:30am. We burned 30 minutes at the grocery store, got some tubes and continued on our way.

Today was pretty hot, about 100 degrees. We just took it slowly and kept cranking out the miles.

We stopped for lunch in Wickenburg at Anita's Cocina where we drank a whole lot of ice water and ate some pretty decent chimichangas.

The afternoon was grueling, but we did get to see some cyclists riding the other way. A guy riding solo was heading East somewhere between Aguila and Wickenburg. He was just getting started and we are almost done. It's a weird feeling. The roles have reversed since we met Don and Marilyn in Florida many, many days ago.

The headwind was noticeable, but not terrible. Everyone told us that riding East to West was a recipe for headwinds, and it hasn't been until recently that we are starting to believe them.

It was good to reach our destination town of Aguilar, where we stopped for drinks and dinner before finding the RV park. When we were in the parking lot, a pair of Eastbound riders zoomed by, enjoying the tailwind. We waved and told them good luck.

The RV campground on the west side of Aguilar is decent. (for any potential Southern Tier riders... take note this RV campground is closing in August 2010) We set up tents, took showers, and then played a few games of horseshoes before calling it a day.



Tomorrow, we hope to get almost to California!



Day 65 - 86.42 Miles
Trip to Date - 3685.90 miles
Coast to Coast - 2683.45 miles

Day 64 - Rest Day in Phoenix

Wednesday. May 19.

What a rest day. Guns and Pizza!

In the morning, Justin had his brother and his cousin come over and we drove out into the middle of the desert. It was time to shoot guns!

The night before, it had been discussed that neither Jake nor I had ever shot a gun before. I just couldn't think of a reason why I'd need or want to shoot a gun. However, this day seemed like a good one to change that.

We drove to the QT (QuikTrip), picked up some Gatorades and filled the trucks with gas. It was about 20 miles out on paved highways, and then at least another 15 miles out on dirt roads leading into miles and miles of empty.

After finding a suitable place to set up shoot (big hill behind the targets to we knew where all the shots were going), the targets were set up and we were ready to go. Our targets consisted of an old muffler with two cans on the top, and an old monitor.


After the guys who knew what they were doing showed us the ropes, it was our turn. Jake shot first, and me second. Pretty crazy. Guns are really loud even with ear protection. I'm not a very good shot. We were pretty far away, and out of 15 shots I hit the can once, the muffler twice and the rest of my shots went into the dirt (although I did shoot off one branch from a bush).


(target is in the grey patch, bottom right)

Resetting the targets.


Later on, we got to shoot a 38 Special revolver from the 1940's.


We weren't very good shots with this either, but did our best to mimic a scene from Bottle Rocket (scene at 0:28).

While shooting guns was fun, I don't imagine I'll be doing it again any time soon. America!

The main highlight of the day was going to eat pizza.
Pizzeria Bianco has what is believed to be the best pizza in the country if not the world. Even Oprah says so.

However, this place is only open from 5pm-10pm and is quite small. People wait in line for this stuff. When they open at 5pm, they seat the restaurant and then take names for the wait list. Three hour wait times are common.

We are riding our bicycles across the country, so we have some time on our hands. Waiting in line for pizza is much easier to do than waiting in Kent, TX for the wind to die down.

Justin let us borrow his truck, we drove down to the pizza place, and we got in line. Even arriving at 3:45pm put us a solid 15 people back in line. We took some pictures and chatted with people around us. The people in the front of the line were professional 'foodies', and were excited to tell us about the place. The people just behind us in line happened to be two couples, one from Kansas City, and the other from New Jersey. Small world! We had lots to talk about with them, so the time flew by.



The line just before 5pm.


They opened the doors and people began entering the restaurant. Luckily for us, we were the third to last table to sit in the first round. Fantastic! The restaurant has about 12 tables and a short bar area, so it's quite cozy.

We ordered three pizzas, and some of the people around us looked at us a little funny. Our response was simple "we rode our bikes here from Florida, we are hungry".
When the pizzas finally came, boy were they good.


My previous favorite pizza, Spin! Pizza in Kansas City, is a solid two notches below this pizza. Everything about it is just right.
Crust. Perfect.
Sauce. Perfect.
Seasoning. Perfect.
Cheese. Perfect.
Toppings. Perfect.

We devoured all three pizzas, impressing some of the tables around us.
After dinner, we drove back to Justin's, watched a little TV and got ready for bed.

While this rest day has been fantastic, the Pacific Ocean isn't getting any closer when we don't ride.

Day 64 - 0.00 Miles
Trip to Date - 3599.48 miles
Coast to Coast - 2597.03 miles

Day 63 - Superior to Phoenix

Tuesday. May 18.

Since the forecast for Phoenix was hot (by Kansas City standards, not Phoenix standards), we started riding early again. The first 30 miles or so was a gentle downhill, with not much traffic and generally good roads. The scenery continued to be amazing, and we got our first glimpse of the Phoenix metro.



As we approached the city, traffic increased but the Adventure Cycling maps took us off the highway at the first opportunity. We rode through Apache Junction, and into Mesa, Tempe, etc. The city was awesomely bike friendly. Most of the roads we took had great bike lanes, and even had buttons to turn the street lights right on the road (instead of having to go on the sidewalk to reach them... hint, hint, Kansas City!)


We stopped for lunch at the first In-N-Out Burger we saw. It was a taste we had been dreaming about for weeks. Delicious.


On our way to Justin's house, I made Jake take a detour to look at the Optima Camelview project. This is the 'trophy' project of the company I work for, and rightly so. It's a fantastic project, and looks great now that it's finished. We did the Structural Design for the project, but also managed the procurement/construction of the steel and concrete divisions.




From here, we rode the remaining miles to Justin's house where we planned to spend the next day resting up for the final push to the Pacific.

We drank a few beers, sat by the pool, and then went out for a good Mexican dinner with Justin and his wife.

Once again, life is good on the road.

Day 63 - 71.59 Miles
Trip to Date - 3599.48 miles
Coast to Coast - 2597.03 miles