Day 38 76 miles 2824 feet of climbing 13.8 ave

Julian CA to Oceanside CA

totals:

3493 Miles
171,415 Feet of Climbing!

When you are riding in a long bicycle race the last 50 miles or so is the most painful. All you want is the finish line and the suffering to end. That is not the case with touring.

When we reached the “50 to-go” point we wished there was more. We all miss being home of course but we know we will miss the adventure.

The weather gods that had dished out beatings in the last month surrendered and gave us a perfect day. Winds of less than 10mph and bright sunshine was the forecast. We were still at more than 4000 feet so the temperature was a pleasant 65 degrees.

From this point on there would be some hills but we would loose altitude until we reached Pacific and sea level.

Julian is a beautiful mountain town with inns and great places to eat. We were told this was an anomaly for this part of southern California. There were plenty of expensive cars parked along the streets. Aston Martin, Jags and the first Ford GT 40 I ever saw on the road. What a bad looking machine that was.

As we headed down the hill and out of town we came across what looked like a police roadblock. There were at least eight highway patrol cars and twice that many cops outside of them with assault weapons drawn. This looked serious. They gave us a passing glance as we rode by. A mile or so later we spotted another SWAT team with guns drawn. Here they had some kind of military looking personal carrier with an armed officer coming out of the top of the large vehicle.

This would not be all the police presence we would see. Around every corner tucked into the weeds the black cruisers and SWAT teams could bee seen. Guns poking out everywhere. This must be some sort of police practice maneuvers or something. But why would they have their guns drawn?

Near the bottom of the hill we pulled into a convenience store for liquids. We asked the clerk what was all the police activity as another fleet of cruisers went by. He told us the Mongolians Motorcycle Gang was camping up on the mountain. They are archrivals of the local chapter of the Hells Angles and they did not want any trouble. I guess they did not realize that the Infamous Connecticut Biker Gang is more dangerous than both the Mongolians and Hells Angles. Maybe our spandex shorts scared them off.

As we got closer to Oceanside we knew soon more of the Race Across America riders would be coming by soon. The race is from Oceanside CA to Annapolis MD and we have followed most of this route. Then just in front of us one of the teams in a tight draft started approaching. Before we could cheer them on the lead rider yelled to us “ Hey we saw you guys on the road…you're awesome” …. We were flabbergasted. They must have spotted us on their way to Oceanside earlier in the week. The guys we look up to, the ultra riders calling us awesome…how cool is that?

The final leg of our trip was on a long paved bicycle path that led us to the beach at Oceanside. We pulled our bike across the sand and let the waters of the Pacific touch our bike as we did with the Atlantic just over a month ago. Our journey has ended.

Our next order of business was a shower and a good meal to celebrate. Ken’s mom had our dinner covered in spades. We ate everything on the menu along with a couple bottles of great wine and a rack of beers. A BIG thanks goes out to her.

The ride may be over but the work is not. We need to rent a car, package and ship our bicycles back home book airline tickets and get to the San Diego Airport. We will be busy. Hopefully we will have a couple hours to relax before we leave the west coast.

This has been a ride of a lifetime for us. Something we will never forget. The difficult winds and weather just made it more exciting. We would not have wanted it any other way. We did not forget that our families and friends helped us get to this point. They sacrificed also….we had the easy part all we had to do was pedal.

We saw a few RAAM riders on the road today.

Also today was the Finish!

Day 37 74 miles 4668 feet of climbing 11.9 ave

Brawley CA to Julian CA

When we woke up this morning we all knew only 140 miles remained to complete our transcontinental journey. The Pacific Ocean and the end of our ride in Oceanside was closing in on us fast. That distance could be completed in one day but we decided two days would be more reasonable. Once in Oceanside there would be plenty to do preparing for our departure for the east coast and home. Large cities have busy roads and they are always best traveled in the light of day for safety.

You know you are getting close to the California shore when you hear “The Surfing Report” on the news channel.

Today the heat of the dessert would not take us by surprise. Our bikes would have plenty of fluids on board this time.

None of us really expected so much dessert to be in California. We had all thought the largest part would have been in Arizona. But most of the Arizonian dessert expanses are actually just south of our route.

We still had at least 50 miles of dessert in California left with temperatures again well over 100 degrees before we would start a big climb to Julian CA.

Unlike the east coast, off-road use by ATV’s and other four-wheel drive vehicles is legal in many places. Along our route we have passed thousands of acres of land put aside for this use. Immense sand dunes and miles of dessert roads are there to transverse. This time of year the dunes are empty though. The off road season shuts down April just before the heat turns on. They start up again in October.

About thirty miles into our desert crossing we came upon the Blu-In grocery store. This is a small store in the middle of the dessert being operated by three friendly women. They told us the store is a very busy place during off-road season but now is slow. A couple of their kids were playing Monopoly on one of the tables. We sucked down glass after glass of ice tea and loaded our bottles with water. The store had a “Go RAAM” sign in front of the building. Remember RAAM (Race Across America) is the route we are following. And in fact we should soon see the first of the bicycle racers going by tomorrow if we are lucky.

The women took our photo for the stores web site being impressed with our adventure. http://www.bluincafe.com/ Is their URL address.

Today our route would take us from below sea level to over 4000’ feet. All of this elevation gain was in one short steep climb off the desert floor up the mountain to Julian.

It is amazing to watch the sparse dessert brush change into pines in just a couple thousand feet of climbing. One of the first things you notice is sweat appearing on you skin. In the dessert our skin was dry as the sweat evaporated before it even had a chance to cool us. This would be the final climb of the tour. From the top of this mountain we basically have a downhill ride to sea level.

Day 36 90 miles 2194 feet of climbing 13.3 ave

Blythe CA to Brawley CA

Who turned up the heat?

Things change fast when you venture into the dessert as we found out today. Our day started at 7:30 AM with an air temperature of 62 degrees and by noon we were roasting like pork sausage links at 104! Oh but it is dry heat…. Yea right, the sweat never has a chance to cool your skin it vaporizes before it even emerges.

104 is the temperature in the shade. The temperature in the direct sunlight is much hotter. And as any car racing fan will tell you the asphalt (track temp) is always much higher. That additional heat radiates up off the pavement at a cyclist .

Our little traveling band left Blythe and headed south towards Brawley CA. The terrain was flat and winds light so we were making good time for the first few cool morning hours.

The sun started getting higher in the sky and the sparse vegetation became even thinner as we pushed forward. The few houses and farms soon disappeared and all we had left was a baron scorched landscape. We had also reached our lowest elevation of the tour. Lower than any of us have ever ridden a bicycle before. 90 feet BELOW sea level!!

We all loaded spare water bottles in the morning and figured we should have plenty. The first available fluid stop appeared to be about 60-65 miles away in Glamis CA. It really was not all that hot out right now anyway. Well we were dead wrong on that calculation. About half way to Glamis it was apparent we were not going to make it on water.

Running out of water in the desert seems like a bad way to go for sure. Without some more fluids we would be in trouble. Ken waited for the next car to pass and put his hand up like he was drinking water with out having a bottle. Bingo the car turned around and the driver offered the two bottles of water he had in his car to us. Next was a pick-up truck and they stopped and turned around after seeing the same hand signal. They had about a half-gallon to share. More great Americans. This should be all we need now.

Well as that sun beat down on us more and the temperature went up the water supply again started looking bleak. We would make it but it would be ugly.

Then about 20 miles from the Glamis we came upon on a US Border Patrol checkpoint. Joe pulled right in and asked for water. They gladly filled our bottles with nice cold water. What water we had left was already at least 100 degrees.

Then a car pulled into the checkpoint. He rolled down his window and said “Hey I saw you guys in Cottonwood Arizona a couple of days ago”. He was a contractor returning from a job somewhere in California. “You are easy to spot with the bright yellow shirts and bags.” That is a good thing to hear, at least we stick out in traffic.

Just as we were about to leave the Border Patrol checkpoint they told us the store we were counting on in Glamis may not even be open this time of year. That was not what we wanted to hear.

Lucky for us when we arrived it was open. We drank our fill and then some. We also purchased a few additional bottles to take with us. Even this cold water was warm as tea within 30 minutes. Hot water is very unsatisfying in the sizzling heat BUT it is much better than no water at all.

Tomorrow we will not make the same mistake with fluids.

Again our daily mileage was determined by the availability of a sleep spot as everyday is. With the desert heat and lack of watering holes we stopped at 90 miles.

Day 35 63 miles 1576 feet of climbing 12.8 ave

Salome AZ to Blythe CA

As soon as the sun came up we made our escape from the dingy red light motel. One nice thing about staying at a dumpy motel it gets you on the road quicker in the morning. We picked the bed bugs and other critters off our bodies hopped on the bikes and made a quick getaway.

The next available sleep spot was either at 65 miles or 150 miles away. Our route takes us into such remote areas the availably of motels is very limited. Knowing today we would be entering the final state of the tour we opted for the short day. That way we could get the laundry done and hopefully get to bed at a reasonable time for a change.

Arizona is a very mountainous state. Every time we cleared one set of mountains another massive mound of mountains appeared in front of us. This all started to change as we approached the state of California. For the first time since we left Connecticut we actually descended more than we climbed. We are now at elevation 250’. A far cry from the 10,800’ we were at a few days ago.

The wind gods were not as harsh on us today. The 30+ mph winds of blowing dust and heat were replaced with light winds and mild temperatures.

The Arizona landscape stayed flat and bland. Patches of saguaro and prickly-pear cactus mixed in with the low brush. Most places we passed were closed for the summer. Unlike the east coast where establishments close for the winter, here summer is the harsh season. It is not uncommon for temperatures to reach over 100 degrees for weeks at a time.

Today would be a new experience for all of us. We will actually be riding on an interstate highway for the first time…ever. This is legally allowed in Arizona on the approach to the California border. We merged onto I-10 about 32 miles from the border. A sign on the entrance ramp said for bicycles to say on the shoulder and off the roadway. Duhhhh. With the highway speed limit at 75mph and semi’s buzzing by we had already figured that much out.

Believe it or not the 32-mile highway ride was not all that bad. The shoulder was plenty wide and traffic light. The smooth surface and gentle grades made for some fast riding for a change.

The final major river crossing was just ahead. We have crossed the Connecticut, Hudson, Mississippi, Missouri and even the Rio Grande rivers. Now it will be the Colorado. The Colorado River is clean and dark turquoise almost like the Caribbean Ocean is. It is a truly beautiful site to see.

At the center of the bridge we saw the sign. “California State Line” ….. Wow, that sure is a long way from Niantic, Connecticut.

Once over the bridge we had to touch the Colorado. A boat launch just below the bridge served this purpose well. The air temperature was over 90 degrees and the cool river water felt nice even if it was only for a minute or too.

Blythe, CA would be our sleep spot for tonight. Unlike western Arizona this city had plenty of motels to choose from. We do not need the Ritz-Carlton or Hilton but please not another dump tonight.

We stopped at the first few nice hotels and shopped price. When we checked at the Regency Inn and Suites the manager at the desk recognized us! Hey, I saw you guys a couple hours ago on the highway outside Quartzite AZ.

Come to find out she was the regional manager for this chain and was traveling in from Phoenix at the time. She asked of our journey and was impressed with our feat. We then found out she had just completed her first full marathon and had the medal to prove it. Having suffered for 26 miles in the heat running she knew what it took to ride cross-country. For this we were given a nice room for a mere $49! THANKS!

Today may have been one of our easiest cycling days of the tour and was welcomed.

Day 34 102 miles 3676 feet of climbing 11.6 ave

Prescott, AZ to Salome AZ

And let the beatings continue…….

The wind has become sick and tired of the light and fluffy daily reports we have been posting lately. The wind no longer wants to hear about nature’s scenic beauty, perfect weather or the good bike spirits being with us. The cycling fantasy world we have rode for the past few days came to an end today.

Our morning started with the sun shining and pleasantly cool temperatures. Prescott is in the higher elevations of Arizona around 6000 feet. We left the Hampton Inn at 7:15 and started a relatively easy climb over the mountain.

Once we cleared the mountaintop a winding road of switchbacks appeared below us. This turned out to be one of the better downhills of the tour. Fast turning and with only one-way traffic made this decent fun and fast.

But the fun and games ended abruptly at the valley floor when the wind handed down its sentence……20 to 25 mile per hour head winds without the possibility of parole.

The beautiful and colorful rock formations of the last few days were replaced with a bland flat landscape of low-lying brush and occasional cactus.... But at least you still had the surrounding mountains to look at in the distance through the clear sky. The wind was a steady 20 to 25 mph blowing in our face.

The wind robs you of one of you important cycling senses. That sense is hearing. All cyclists use their ears as well as their eyes and mirror to detect approaching traffic. When you have the wind screaming in your ears you loose the “eyes in the back of your head” so to speak.

About 15 miles outside the town of Congress we spotted another cyclist with panniers. He was flying from the opposite direction with the wind at his back.

The rider an economics teacher on his way to Chicago from San Diego. He was no cyclo-touring amateur either. Harley (the cyclist) was on his 9th tour from the west coast to Chicago! He was using part of the RAAM route as were we on this trip. Just before we departed he spotted one of Ken’s custom made mirrors and asked about it. “Email me when you get back home and I will make you one” Ken told him. We exchanged information and parted ways.

I think the wind was upset with our momentary socializing with Harley. It did not like the smiles on our faces as we chatted. It only likes to see pain and suffering.

Our little wagon train was now in for even more punishment. Our new sentence would be 25 to 30 mile per hour winds heated like a blast furnace to 90+ degrees. And the clincher, this would be high winds of blowing dust off the baron landscape. The huge mountains we once could see in the distance became nearly invisible now by the blowing dust.

Just what a cyclist needs to make for a perfect day. Heat, headwinds and air filled with fine dust to breathe. Gosh what else could anyone want? Air to ground lightning?

The availability of water to replenish supplies on the bikes in this part of Arizona are few and far between. And as far as motels go…. well forget it. We knew there were only two choices about 100 miles down the road. The “International Inn” …sounds impressive right? And another real sweetheart, the infamous Sheffler’s Motel. We could see the “International” was a real low life dump directly connected to the local bar. We went with Sheffler’s.

We knew this was a nice town when we stopped at the town’s only grocery store. The outside of the establishment was completely surrounded by a six-foot tall steel bar fence with razor wire garnishing the top. The windows and doors also had bars covering them. After we passed through the open gate I was not sure if this was a store or the entrance to San Quentin.

When we arrived at Sheffler’s we knew this was a 5-Star motel. The glowing red neon tubes surrounding the building was a dead give away. We asked the 150 year old women running the place where we could get some dinner locally. Well in the town of Salome AZ there are no restaurants. Just a gas station that will fix a flat change your oil and whip you up the most disgusting pizza you could ever want.

This would be our reward for a day of pain and suffering. Undercooked gas station pizza and a sleaze bag motel. Got to love it….