Garmin says: 93.05 km 3810 cal 1783m ascent
I suffered crazily, the whole day strong headwinds and on top of that the route followed a hwy 60 which has heavy traffic awful shoulders, if any. It was pretty hot and my weird swollen and infected growth in the right saddle touching area is still infected and got worse over the day. I met Justin in Superior for Lunch. He can still not start properly in the first gear. When I came to Globe, I couldn't believe, that it was full of Motels and I had found only some pretty expensive ones online.
By now it starts to get dark by 6:30h and it was to late to look at the town, which I regret a bit. I had a long swim in the pool and got out just to see a bicycle standing in the room next to mine. the door was open so I asked him if he toured as well. But he was a Arizona transportation worker and used it on the street repair sites. The second presidential debate was running and he offered me one of his buds to listen with him. Being an Arizonian he said I am a republican. I asked him if he really thought that his party would be the party which represents worker like him the best. But he told me that Obama wants the people and especially small business owner to pay even more taxes. I asked him if he makes more than 250k ayear, but to no avail...
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
6th of October - Phoenix from Surprise to Apache Junction
No Garmin, Justin doesn't have something like it but he rode this segment. Ca. 60 miles through the City, not a lot of elevation but plenty of traffic and scorching sun, paired with over 100 (38 cel) degree heat.
I took meanwhile the car the lot behind our hotel belonged to an body shop and I talked to a guy back there over the fence. I had to climb on a heap of discarded air conditioners. But the guy told me to come around with the car. "It's always a pleasure to help a sexy Lady!" Weird, I never get that in my bicycle outfit, and he was pretty put off when he saw later that I was like a foot taller than he was. Anyhow he was just the help and the owner did come found a fitting screw or however that is called. Justin is very big on throwing technical terms around (only a shame that this doesn't yield much more than buying stuff, which will not solve the problem).
So I went on my way through Phoenix. I was here before and hated (looked at Scottsdale, where at least the Biltmore is great, it looks so good that I had a totally overpriced lunch there and considered a room some years ago, but it was in that category that makes me think that no place is worth more than 50$ an hour of which you spend most sleeping anyhow.)
So this time I went through downtown which is remarkably similar to Sacramento. Phoenix is not only the 5 th. biggest "city" in the US but the most stretched out as well. So if you have to drive for more than an hour to reach your downtown which doesn't even contain shops or restaurants, why would you bother.
Than I passed through Tempe which looked like small college town for several blocks and where there were actually cyclists - Justin loved it because they had bike lanes there. He is easy to please.
Finally I arrived Apache Junction where I tried the ugliest Motel 8 and than the Best Western of the map as well but they were just to expensive and stuffy as well. Leaving the best Western I saw a little forsaken Motel on the other side which I tried. The rooms were clean and reasonable
and it had Internet connectivity. When I checked in a fat couple came in as well, they were driven by a Police cruiser. They told me that the nice Policemen were driving them already for hours around but as they got only 50$ for the room probably from the city, they could not find a place to stay. Here they got a room for 50$, but they still needed 4.95 for the taxes, so I let the pretty strict Indian owner, who was a bit like Champa and scared as well as annoyed Justin, because he wouldn't allow the bike in the room, charge it to my card. They promised me to pay me back, whatever it will take. I am sure this will be pretty soon the case, they just need to have the money and than my name and address, easy!
But after all the talk, about the great depression all over again, they looked like straight out of a time capsule. How do the kids call them in San Francisco - Hobos.
I took meanwhile the car the lot behind our hotel belonged to an body shop and I talked to a guy back there over the fence. I had to climb on a heap of discarded air conditioners. But the guy told me to come around with the car. "It's always a pleasure to help a sexy Lady!" Weird, I never get that in my bicycle outfit, and he was pretty put off when he saw later that I was like a foot taller than he was. Anyhow he was just the help and the owner did come found a fitting screw or however that is called. Justin is very big on throwing technical terms around (only a shame that this doesn't yield much more than buying stuff, which will not solve the problem).
So I went on my way through Phoenix. I was here before and hated (looked at Scottsdale, where at least the Biltmore is great, it looks so good that I had a totally overpriced lunch there and considered a room some years ago, but it was in that category that makes me think that no place is worth more than 50$ an hour of which you spend most sleeping anyhow.)
So this time I went through downtown which is remarkably similar to Sacramento. Phoenix is not only the 5 th. biggest "city" in the US but the most stretched out as well. So if you have to drive for more than an hour to reach your downtown which doesn't even contain shops or restaurants, why would you bother.
Than I passed through Tempe which looked like small college town for several blocks and where there were actually cyclists - Justin loved it because they had bike lanes there. He is easy to please.
Finally I arrived Apache Junction where I tried the ugliest Motel 8 and than the Best Western of the map as well but they were just to expensive and stuffy as well. Leaving the best Western I saw a little forsaken Motel on the other side which I tried. The rooms were clean and reasonable
and it had Internet connectivity. When I checked in a fat couple came in as well, they were driven by a Police cruiser. They told me that the nice Policemen were driving them already for hours around but as they got only 50$ for the room probably from the city, they could not find a place to stay. Here they got a room for 50$, but they still needed 4.95 for the taxes, so I let the pretty strict Indian owner, who was a bit like Champa and scared as well as annoyed Justin, because he wouldn't allow the bike in the room, charge it to my card. They promised me to pay me back, whatever it will take. I am sure this will be pretty soon the case, they just need to have the money and than my name and address, easy!
But after all the talk, about the great depression all over again, they looked like straight out of a time capsule. How do the kids call them in San Francisco - Hobos.
5th of Oktober - Restday in Phoenix
Stayed most of the day on the bed. I iced my butt down which seems to help a bit. Had to buy a new camera, because the old one disappeared and calls to the hotel and to the bar in Wicksburg were in vain.
After the shopping I went for the first time ever in a red lobster and couldn't finish my plate. I am obviously still sick but I think the breading around the fish did it's job as well.
What a shame, that two days of pictures are gone.
Justin did a big ride today and I feared already that he had an accident when he did not come back until hours after night fell. Now he exchanged both tubes on my bike. He says there where big thorns in the tire and when he wanted to bring it to our rooms both tires were flat. I never had so many flats in my whole live and San Francisco's streets are full with glass shards and metal pieces, I don't get it. I hope that I will be better by tomorrow.
After the shopping I went for the first time ever in a red lobster and couldn't finish my plate. I am obviously still sick but I think the breading around the fish did it's job as well.
What a shame, that two days of pictures are gone.
Justin did a big ride today and I feared already that he had an accident when he did not come back until hours after night fell. Now he exchanged both tubes on my bike. He says there where big thorns in the tire and when he wanted to bring it to our rooms both tires were flat. I never had so many flats in my whole live and San Francisco's streets are full with glass shards and metal pieces, I don't get it. I hope that I will be better by tomorrow.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
October, 4th Wickenburg to Phoenix
Garmin Lies today as I started it only after several miles, nevertheless it says: 52.18 km - 1792 cal - 128m ascent (this must have been the 4 overpasses)
I did not feel really well this morning as my butt is meanwhile so infected that it gives me fever, and I was a little hungover as well. I tried to call Justin from out of town several times, but his phone was off and he didn't get the message, that there was an open Garage out of town, where he could have gotten my spoiler reattached to the car and some tools to reassemble the bike rack on the roof. The sky was very overcast and in several places the street looked like it had gotten a sprinkling.
Nieselregen ist mir sehr viel lieber als stechende Sonne mit Temperaturen oberhalb von 38 grad (100 fahrenheit). die Landschaft wechselte langsam von landwirtschaftlicher Haesslichkeit in scheusslichste amerikanische Vorstadt. Haeusersiedlungen mit genormten Gebaeuden und Grundstuecken, die alle vom gleichen Bauunternehmer zur gleichen Zeit erbaut werden und dann verkauft werden stehen hinter Mauern, die die Siedlungen von aehnlichen Siedlungen, die andere Bauunternehmen fast genauso gebaut haben, trennen. Dazwischen sind lauter Einkaufscentren, die nur Ketten beherbergen. Wirklich gruselig. Muessten die Einwohner dieser Siedlungen nicht permanent arbeiten um ihre Hypotheken abzuzahlen und deswegen die Haeuser nur uebernacht und am Wochenende benutzt werden, gaebe es sicher noch hoehere Selbstmordraten oder Schulschiessereien in den amerikanischen Vorstaedten.
No money in the world would me ever bring to live in Phoenix. It is the 5th biggest city in the US. But only with the invention of air conditioning people started to settle here. Before you had to survive the summers with months of over 100 degree heat. Like Las Vegas it is an environmental nightmare and it was after LV the fastest growing city in the US. Phoenix is one of the few places, where bicycling actually declined in the last years. If you look around you see many more young fat people than you would like to.
Anyhow I checked into a Motel6 and called Justin to come. He had not done anything about the damage at the car. I had by now a fulblown fever and wanted him to just get it done and let me sleep it off. He kept harressing me and was slow and not able to organize things, I could have killed him. By the end of the afternoon I had to get finally up and take things in my own feverish hands. Now there is a bike rack back on the car, I have new replacement tires (Justin bought them a bit wider because they were in a special, he says. In reality he was not able to ask somebody, if the tires were for a roadbike, because that would have made him look like a newbie. - I hope you read this, Justin!)
We went for dinner which I couldn't finish - how sick is that!
I did not feel really well this morning as my butt is meanwhile so infected that it gives me fever, and I was a little hungover as well. I tried to call Justin from out of town several times, but his phone was off and he didn't get the message, that there was an open Garage out of town, where he could have gotten my spoiler reattached to the car and some tools to reassemble the bike rack on the roof. The sky was very overcast and in several places the street looked like it had gotten a sprinkling.
Nieselregen ist mir sehr viel lieber als stechende Sonne mit Temperaturen oberhalb von 38 grad (100 fahrenheit). die Landschaft wechselte langsam von landwirtschaftlicher Haesslichkeit in scheusslichste amerikanische Vorstadt. Haeusersiedlungen mit genormten Gebaeuden und Grundstuecken, die alle vom gleichen Bauunternehmer zur gleichen Zeit erbaut werden und dann verkauft werden stehen hinter Mauern, die die Siedlungen von aehnlichen Siedlungen, die andere Bauunternehmen fast genauso gebaut haben, trennen. Dazwischen sind lauter Einkaufscentren, die nur Ketten beherbergen. Wirklich gruselig. Muessten die Einwohner dieser Siedlungen nicht permanent arbeiten um ihre Hypotheken abzuzahlen und deswegen die Haeuser nur uebernacht und am Wochenende benutzt werden, gaebe es sicher noch hoehere Selbstmordraten oder Schulschiessereien in den amerikanischen Vorstaedten.
No money in the world would me ever bring to live in Phoenix. It is the 5th biggest city in the US. But only with the invention of air conditioning people started to settle here. Before you had to survive the summers with months of over 100 degree heat. Like Las Vegas it is an environmental nightmare and it was after LV the fastest growing city in the US. Phoenix is one of the few places, where bicycling actually declined in the last years. If you look around you see many more young fat people than you would like to.
Anyhow I checked into a Motel6 and called Justin to come. He had not done anything about the damage at the car. I had by now a fulblown fever and wanted him to just get it done and let me sleep it off. He kept harressing me and was slow and not able to organize things, I could have killed him. By the end of the afternoon I had to get finally up and take things in my own feverish hands. Now there is a bike rack back on the car, I have new replacement tires (Justin bought them a bit wider because they were in a special, he says. In reality he was not able to ask somebody, if the tires were for a roadbike, because that would have made him look like a newbie. - I hope you read this, Justin!)
We went for dinner which I couldn't finish - how sick is that!
3rd of October - Blythe,CA to Wickenburg, AZ
Garmin says: 117.72km 4419 cal 1224m ascent (garmin lies often as I switch it off for lunch etc. and forget to restart it.)
My butt is getting definitely worse. The second day I developed some infection under my usual right cheek callous, which made it impossible to sit in my normal position so I am shifting around and getting more and more sores at places where I am not used to pressure.
The riding today was excellent, but everything they promised me about Justin came true. He was supposed to go to Salome, which is pronounced like salon with an ome, but here she still dances. Calling me from the first motel which wasn't to his liking he proceeded to the second called international inn, where he encountered the first awning of this trip. Remember his bike is in the roof rack and we were discussing relentlessly beforehand how people do crash their bikes by forgetting about it. Unfortunately in this case the bike didn't break, but the brand new rack and the spoiler was torn off. I was not very happy especially when I cycled later past it and saw how low it was. I would not even have gone without a rack under it.
Justin musste sich erst mal ausgiebig mit seiner Freundin beraten, bevor er mir dann endlich beichten konnte, was passiert war. Ich hab ihn dann angewiesen ein Hotelzimmer zu nehmen, wobei das International Inn wirklich sehr scheusslich war. Ich hab ihn zum anderen Motel geschickt, das uebrigens sehr nett aussah, aber als er die Zimmer inspizierte sah er eine Kuechenschabe. Mann, du kommst aus Florida und bist damit aufgewachsen! Justin ist einer von den Maedels, die sich vor allem kriechenden, schwimmenden und krabbelnden fuerchtet. Er kann nur im Pool schwimmen gehen. Also musste er bis zum naechsten Ort mit Unterkunft fahren - Wickenburg. Er ist dann zurueckgekommen um mich aufzulesen, den Wickenburg war eigentlich fuer die naechste Nacht vorgesehen und zwei Tagestouren auf einmal sind zuviel fuer meinen wunden Po. Ich war zwar schon ca. 40km weiter als geplant, aber hab trotzdem viel schwaenzen muessen. Richtig traurig war ich nicht, da die Strecke von Aguilla nach Wickenburg voellig flach, extrem haesslich, sehr vielbefahren und mit mit grauenhafter Strassenschulter war, so dass ich die meiste Zeit auf der Strasse fahren musste. Es fuehlt sich trotzdem sehr viel sicherer als in der Stadt an. Obwohl Justin da ganz anderer Meinung ist, aber er ist ja auch noch nicht viel gefahren.
Heute ist der Tag der Deutschen Einheit und wir sind zur Feier des Tages ins Restaurant Berlin gegangen. Dessen Koch und Besitzer ist ein knurriger Weddinger, der noch nie vom Tag der deutschen Einheit gehoert hat. Das Essen war grausam, aber nach langer Fahrt putzt man ja munter alles weg. Anschliessend haben wir uns in der Bar gegenueber nett betrunken. Der ganze Ort war zum Karaoke da und wir hatten Spass, obwohl alle Lieder Country waren und ich ausser meinem neuen Lieblingslied nichts kannte. Justin vertraegt nicht besonders viel und war voellig betrunken, was vielleicht bei seinem Einkommen auch besser ist. Irgendwann muss mir auch noch meine Kamera abhanden gekommen sein. Wir waren schon um 11 wieder im Hotel und als ich die Tagesdecke abnahm huschte eine Kuechenschabe unterm Kissen hervor und verschwand unterm Bett. -Oh du Ironie des Alltags!
My butt is getting definitely worse. The second day I developed some infection under my usual right cheek callous, which made it impossible to sit in my normal position so I am shifting around and getting more and more sores at places where I am not used to pressure.
The riding today was excellent, but everything they promised me about Justin came true. He was supposed to go to Salome, which is pronounced like salon with an ome, but here she still dances. Calling me from the first motel which wasn't to his liking he proceeded to the second called international inn, where he encountered the first awning of this trip. Remember his bike is in the roof rack and we were discussing relentlessly beforehand how people do crash their bikes by forgetting about it. Unfortunately in this case the bike didn't break, but the brand new rack and the spoiler was torn off. I was not very happy especially when I cycled later past it and saw how low it was. I would not even have gone without a rack under it.
Justin musste sich erst mal ausgiebig mit seiner Freundin beraten, bevor er mir dann endlich beichten konnte, was passiert war. Ich hab ihn dann angewiesen ein Hotelzimmer zu nehmen, wobei das International Inn wirklich sehr scheusslich war. Ich hab ihn zum anderen Motel geschickt, das uebrigens sehr nett aussah, aber als er die Zimmer inspizierte sah er eine Kuechenschabe. Mann, du kommst aus Florida und bist damit aufgewachsen! Justin ist einer von den Maedels, die sich vor allem kriechenden, schwimmenden und krabbelnden fuerchtet. Er kann nur im Pool schwimmen gehen. Also musste er bis zum naechsten Ort mit Unterkunft fahren - Wickenburg. Er ist dann zurueckgekommen um mich aufzulesen, den Wickenburg war eigentlich fuer die naechste Nacht vorgesehen und zwei Tagestouren auf einmal sind zuviel fuer meinen wunden Po. Ich war zwar schon ca. 40km weiter als geplant, aber hab trotzdem viel schwaenzen muessen. Richtig traurig war ich nicht, da die Strecke von Aguilla nach Wickenburg voellig flach, extrem haesslich, sehr vielbefahren und mit mit grauenhafter Strassenschulter war, so dass ich die meiste Zeit auf der Strasse fahren musste. Es fuehlt sich trotzdem sehr viel sicherer als in der Stadt an. Obwohl Justin da ganz anderer Meinung ist, aber er ist ja auch noch nicht viel gefahren.
Heute ist der Tag der Deutschen Einheit und wir sind zur Feier des Tages ins Restaurant Berlin gegangen. Dessen Koch und Besitzer ist ein knurriger Weddinger, der noch nie vom Tag der deutschen Einheit gehoert hat. Das Essen war grausam, aber nach langer Fahrt putzt man ja munter alles weg. Anschliessend haben wir uns in der Bar gegenueber nett betrunken. Der ganze Ort war zum Karaoke da und wir hatten Spass, obwohl alle Lieder Country waren und ich ausser meinem neuen Lieblingslied nichts kannte. Justin vertraegt nicht besonders viel und war voellig betrunken, was vielleicht bei seinem Einkommen auch besser ist. Irgendwann muss mir auch noch meine Kamera abhanden gekommen sein. Wir waren schon um 11 wieder im Hotel und als ich die Tagesdecke abnahm huschte eine Kuechenschabe unterm Kissen hervor und verschwand unterm Bett. -Oh du Ironie des Alltags!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
2nd of October - El Centro to Blythe
Garmin says: 98,47 Km 3528 cal 685m ascent
Forgot that it is supposed to be in German as well. Also heute auf Deutsch, leider bin ich jetzt schon etwas muede und muss bald schlafen. Ich hatte ein Loch im Reifen und deshalb zwei geplatzte Schlaeuche, daraufhin hab ich mich die letzten 20km mitnehmen lassen. Wenn ich Ehre besaesse haette ich sie jetzt verloren.
El Centro has an elevation under 0 and is one of the ugliest towns that you could imagine, so I was quite eager to leave it. Already some miles out off town I felt that my back tire didn't run round and I found that it had a hole which would sooner or later flatten it. As I suffered so much yesterday, I had asked Justin to leave El Centro at noon, take some water and check on me. Between the town of Brawley just behind El Centro and Blythe on the border to Arizona was only one place called Glamis and it was not clear whether the grocery store would be open. It turned out that Glamis was the station for people who used their recreational vehicles in the big Sanddune area and camp out there in the dessert. It had barely any groceries, but a huge collection of tshirts with sanddunes or this weird sandhopper vehicles (you know this little lawnmower tractors, which get ridden by predominantly white people over the age of 6 and transported on the back of a Dodge Ram pickup next to a cooler of budweiser sixpacks). The owner of the store tells me people who cross the country on their bicycle come by all the time, which makes sense as this is the only stop for many miles and so everybody following the southern route would stop there. I asked him if he saw the 3 young man in long sleeves and pants with suspenders and he told me that they passed yesterday. He was pretty smug about it:
"They want to do it in three weeks, that is impossible. It takes 8 weeks!" Like he would ever go on a bicycle and would know what is possible - 3 weeks is hard, but they are strong and young and should be able to do this. After having filled up all my water containers, I went on my way over the mountains. At least for a quarter mile and than my tube at the broken tire made such a loud pssssst, that I heard it through my music even before I felt the flat. I exchanged the tire and as it was only until about one a clock that Justin would pass me, I thought I'll take the risk. I had two new tires in the car and would need to have both of them exchanged.
Es war wunderschoenes Fahren dort. Die Strasse ging immer nett auf und ab, so dass man an jedem Huegel noch genug Schwung von der vorherigen Abfahrt hatte, die Temperatur war durch eine Brise in Kombination mit dem Fahrtwind superangenehm und die Wuestenlandschaft mit Sandduenen und dann dunklen Felsformationen zwischen denen verschiedene Kaktussorten wuchsen. Ich kam zu einem Borderpatrol Kontrollpunkt.
I begged them to please arrest me, that I could enjoy some shade. They directed me towards a big fan. The cutest one came over to chat a bit and I asked him what they do with the Mexicans they catch. He said they check first for crimes and the others they send just back, to catch them the next time and over and over... "until you don't catch them and they can mow our lawn or clean our banks." was how I completed this. God - there are not to many nice paying government jobs in this godforesaken area and being in the californian dessert beats the Irakian
dessert every day.
I left the Checkpoint and anjoyed riding with high speed along the rolling hill, when the second psssst hit. I pushed my bike for about a mile until I found a bush which was big enough to spent me some shade. It was past one by now and Justin was supposed to come every minute. My MP3 battery died and I started to get annoyed. About 6 Border Patrol trucks past towards the checkpoint and half an hour later the guys that I met there earlier came from their shift and asked me if I needed help. When the one I talked to stopped I was ready to hitch a ride, but in this moment justin pulled up and we went to Blythe for the night.
Forgot that it is supposed to be in German as well. Also heute auf Deutsch, leider bin ich jetzt schon etwas muede und muss bald schlafen. Ich hatte ein Loch im Reifen und deshalb zwei geplatzte Schlaeuche, daraufhin hab ich mich die letzten 20km mitnehmen lassen. Wenn ich Ehre besaesse haette ich sie jetzt verloren.
El Centro has an elevation under 0 and is one of the ugliest towns that you could imagine, so I was quite eager to leave it. Already some miles out off town I felt that my back tire didn't run round and I found that it had a hole which would sooner or later flatten it. As I suffered so much yesterday, I had asked Justin to leave El Centro at noon, take some water and check on me. Between the town of Brawley just behind El Centro and Blythe on the border to Arizona was only one place called Glamis and it was not clear whether the grocery store would be open. It turned out that Glamis was the station for people who used their recreational vehicles in the big Sanddune area and camp out there in the dessert. It had barely any groceries, but a huge collection of tshirts with sanddunes or this weird sandhopper vehicles (you know this little lawnmower tractors, which get ridden by predominantly white people over the age of 6 and transported on the back of a Dodge Ram pickup next to a cooler of budweiser sixpacks). The owner of the store tells me people who cross the country on their bicycle come by all the time, which makes sense as this is the only stop for many miles and so everybody following the southern route would stop there. I asked him if he saw the 3 young man in long sleeves and pants with suspenders and he told me that they passed yesterday. He was pretty smug about it:
"They want to do it in three weeks, that is impossible. It takes 8 weeks!" Like he would ever go on a bicycle and would know what is possible - 3 weeks is hard, but they are strong and young and should be able to do this. After having filled up all my water containers, I went on my way over the mountains. At least for a quarter mile and than my tube at the broken tire made such a loud pssssst, that I heard it through my music even before I felt the flat. I exchanged the tire and as it was only until about one a clock that Justin would pass me, I thought I'll take the risk. I had two new tires in the car and would need to have both of them exchanged.
Es war wunderschoenes Fahren dort. Die Strasse ging immer nett auf und ab, so dass man an jedem Huegel noch genug Schwung von der vorherigen Abfahrt hatte, die Temperatur war durch eine Brise in Kombination mit dem Fahrtwind superangenehm und die Wuestenlandschaft mit Sandduenen und dann dunklen Felsformationen zwischen denen verschiedene Kaktussorten wuchsen. Ich kam zu einem Borderpatrol Kontrollpunkt.
I begged them to please arrest me, that I could enjoy some shade. They directed me towards a big fan. The cutest one came over to chat a bit and I asked him what they do with the Mexicans they catch. He said they check first for crimes and the others they send just back, to catch them the next time and over and over... "until you don't catch them and they can mow our lawn or clean our banks." was how I completed this. God - there are not to many nice paying government jobs in this godforesaken area and being in the californian dessert beats the Irakian
dessert every day.
I left the Checkpoint and anjoyed riding with high speed along the rolling hill, when the second psssst hit. I pushed my bike for about a mile until I found a bush which was big enough to spent me some shade. It was past one by now and Justin was supposed to come every minute. My MP3 battery died and I started to get annoyed. About 6 Border Patrol trucks past towards the checkpoint and half an hour later the guys that I met there earlier came from their shift and asked me if I needed help. When the one I talked to stopped I was ready to hitch a ride, but in this moment justin pulled up and we went to Blythe for the night.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
1st of October: From the Mountains to the Imperial Valley
Garmin says: 112.64 km - 3742cal - 866m ascent
I tried this time really to leave early in the morning, but didn't leave until past 8 o'clock. Today I used my MP3 player for the first time on the bike. The first day on the bike passed through so boring landscape that I decided to try some music listening. It was so much fun. As nobody could hear me, I just sang out loud with all songs.
While still cycling in the mountains there was some more climbing to do but I looked so much forward to the exhilarating descent ahead of me and the time flew by with me hollering "I' a redneck woman" along with Gretchen Wilson. I have no idea how that got even on my computer, but it fits totally cycling through the countryside. I stopped for a breakfast consisting of a three eggs Denver omelet with home fries and some coffee in a place called Posta Inn which had four parking spaces in front, which were all reserved for veterans. And the two guys inside seemed to have been Navy veterans. They were somehow obsessed with the Indian Casinos around, but I didn't follow them into this. The only casino information, which was worthwhile, was that the top of the last big climb would be reached with the Casino standing there. I still had some climbing to do and the temperature was pretty high, but still tolerable, when I came around noon to the entry of hwy 8 at In-Ko-Pah Gorge. I flew down the hill and the sound of the wind did even drown out my MP3 player. The efforts of the federal goverment to limit illegal immigration from Mexico show off a lot. I got the whole day passed by border patrol vehicles. In the montains they had even a street controllpoint. Weirdly they did not even agnowledge me. If you want to come illegal take a bike, a blong wig and you are safe. but in the middle of the pass road down there where two border patrol truck parked. Talking to a young Mexican,who had a bit of a hustler air about him and a lawnchair and an umbrella setup between the rocks besides the freeway in the middle of nothing, about half a mile off the Mexican Border. This was the only time I saw the border patrol actually controlling someone who was obviously suspicious. I was unfortunately so occupied with breaking and going around the scene without being hit by one of the many trucks coming down as well, that I couldn't really see what was happening.
Arriving down in Ocotillo The deadly heat of at least 110 (45 cel.) degrees hit me. It was shortly past noon and not only that I could not stand this much heat, I was burning slowly as well. Sunscreen, even with a factor of 80 which gets reapplied often, goes only that far. So I decided to wait out some of the worst heat in a restaurant. The only one next to the gas station off the Hwy exit was closed and the woman cashier told me there would be a bar and a cafe in town (population 296), she recommended the bar because they had the better air condition. I went there could not refrain from buying one beer and some lays chips, that I wouldn't get drunk. I had taken Picture of this bar, when Andreas and I passed through last Thanksgiving, because the whole town looked so desperate and the name "Lazy Lizzard" was really fitting, The owner is called Lady Lizzard and she seems to be a crack at her own dart championships.
After I voiced my desire to stay until it would cool down a bit from the worst midday heat, she said, than you need to stay at least until 5, but it will not really cool down until night falls. So I took my bike and started out for the last 27 miles to El Centro, I was kind of hungry too and I thought that I could get something to eat in the next town Plaster City. They were like,:There is really not a lot there. Which was the biggest understatement ever, as Plaster City is only a huge Plasterfactory (or mine don't know really) which took up both sides of the road. After real long sufferings with nearly boiling soda and water nleft in my bottles I came to mobilehome which had no car in front but a tree to provide some shade, I sat down and tried to wave down a guy with my empty waterbootle who tried to enter the busy street from the Plaster City to town. As I nearly reached him he took off sarcastilly waving - what an asshole. This didn't go unnoticed: The door off the Trailler opened and an old fat woman in a polyester nightgown and with many open sores everywhere pushed her walker out. I asked her for some cold water, which she got out of her house in only 25 minutes. I paid with listening to her many illnesses and how her Husband is now in the hospital and her kid gets her to visit him. When I asked her whether she was feeling save alone this far out. She gave me a leery look and said: I got seven guns"" - another even meaner look at me, whom she seemed to have recognized for what I am - "and I got a permit to kill!" On that note she inched back into her house and I mounted my bike with wonderful fresh and cool water.
Finally I reached Seeley which was only about 4 miles from El Centro where I had booked two rooms with the Senior rebate and Justin was supposed to wait for me. I stopped at the store got a Mexican frozen fruitbar, another cold drink and tried to leave but after 100 meter I had a flat front tire. When I came to the motel I jumped first in the pool and than I told Justin that I would not be sure if I could survive more days with heat like that on really ugly and bad roads.
I tried this time really to leave early in the morning, but didn't leave until past 8 o'clock. Today I used my MP3 player for the first time on the bike. The first day on the bike passed through so boring landscape that I decided to try some music listening. It was so much fun. As nobody could hear me, I just sang out loud with all songs.
While still cycling in the mountains there was some more climbing to do but I looked so much forward to the exhilarating descent ahead of me and the time flew by with me hollering "I' a redneck woman" along with Gretchen Wilson. I have no idea how that got even on my computer, but it fits totally cycling through the countryside. I stopped for a breakfast consisting of a three eggs Denver omelet with home fries and some coffee in a place called Posta Inn which had four parking spaces in front, which were all reserved for veterans. And the two guys inside seemed to have been Navy veterans. They were somehow obsessed with the Indian Casinos around, but I didn't follow them into this. The only casino information, which was worthwhile, was that the top of the last big climb would be reached with the Casino standing there. I still had some climbing to do and the temperature was pretty high, but still tolerable, when I came around noon to the entry of hwy 8 at In-Ko-Pah Gorge. I flew down the hill and the sound of the wind did even drown out my MP3 player. The efforts of the federal goverment to limit illegal immigration from Mexico show off a lot. I got the whole day passed by border patrol vehicles. In the montains they had even a street controllpoint. Weirdly they did not even agnowledge me. If you want to come illegal take a bike, a blong wig and you are safe. but in the middle of the pass road down there where two border patrol truck parked. Talking to a young Mexican,who had a bit of a hustler air about him and a lawnchair and an umbrella setup between the rocks besides the freeway in the middle of nothing, about half a mile off the Mexican Border. This was the only time I saw the border patrol actually controlling someone who was obviously suspicious. I was unfortunately so occupied with breaking and going around the scene without being hit by one of the many trucks coming down as well, that I couldn't really see what was happening.
Arriving down in Ocotillo The deadly heat of at least 110 (45 cel.) degrees hit me. It was shortly past noon and not only that I could not stand this much heat, I was burning slowly as well. Sunscreen, even with a factor of 80 which gets reapplied often, goes only that far. So I decided to wait out some of the worst heat in a restaurant. The only one next to the gas station off the Hwy exit was closed and the woman cashier told me there would be a bar and a cafe in town (population 296), she recommended the bar because they had the better air condition. I went there could not refrain from buying one beer and some lays chips, that I wouldn't get drunk. I had taken Picture of this bar, when Andreas and I passed through last Thanksgiving, because the whole town looked so desperate and the name "Lazy Lizzard" was really fitting, The owner is called Lady Lizzard and she seems to be a crack at her own dart championships.
After I voiced my desire to stay until it would cool down a bit from the worst midday heat, she said, than you need to stay at least until 5, but it will not really cool down until night falls. So I took my bike and started out for the last 27 miles to El Centro, I was kind of hungry too and I thought that I could get something to eat in the next town Plaster City. They were like,:There is really not a lot there. Which was the biggest understatement ever, as Plaster City is only a huge Plasterfactory (or mine don't know really) which took up both sides of the road. After real long sufferings with nearly boiling soda and water nleft in my bottles I came to mobilehome which had no car in front but a tree to provide some shade, I sat down and tried to wave down a guy with my empty waterbootle who tried to enter the busy street from the Plaster City to town. As I nearly reached him he took off sarcastilly waving - what an asshole. This didn't go unnoticed: The door off the Trailler opened and an old fat woman in a polyester nightgown and with many open sores everywhere pushed her walker out. I asked her for some cold water, which she got out of her house in only 25 minutes. I paid with listening to her many illnesses and how her Husband is now in the hospital and her kid gets her to visit him. When I asked her whether she was feeling save alone this far out. She gave me a leery look and said: I got seven guns"" - another even meaner look at me, whom she seemed to have recognized for what I am - "and I got a permit to kill!" On that note she inched back into her house and I mounted my bike with wonderful fresh and cool water.
Finally I reached Seeley which was only about 4 miles from El Centro where I had booked two rooms with the Senior rebate and Justin was supposed to wait for me. I stopped at the store got a Mexican frozen fruitbar, another cold drink and tried to leave but after 100 meter I had a flat front tire. When I came to the motel I jumped first in the pool and than I told Justin that I would not be sure if I could survive more days with heat like that on really ugly and bad roads.
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