Hello from Brawley, California! We had a tough 90 mile ride today through the Imperial Valley, but everyone made it in to our host site. The early morning was cloudy and nice as we rode through fields on flat land, but the sun came out soon after we hit the desert and the day began to heat up. The desert itself is pretty, with lots of rocks, some steep hills, and funny looking plants that looked more like sea coral than something found on land. We also saw lots of Border Patrol vehicles and went through a checkpoint, which struck me as a little bit eerie. I didn't think we were very close to the Mexican border, but regardless I can't imagine walking through this desert or riding in the back of a truck in this kind of heat. At point we hit several miles of sand dunes where, I heard later on, the desert scenes for the Star Wars movies were filmed in the seventies. By the time we arrived in Brawley around 1:30pm, the thermometer on Anita's bike was reading 113 degrees off the pavement. Fortunately, we're staying at a nice rec center in Brawley where we've been enjoying the pool and showers and trying to rehydrate for tomorrow. Our last big ride tomorrow may turn out to be the most challenging of the trip--110 miles with weather like today's and a several thousand foot climb. We're all pretty psyched for the challenge, though, and we'll be taking extra precautions to make sure everyone stays hydrated and no-one rides alone. I probably won't be able to post again until San Diego since we'll be camping tomorrow night, but thanks to everyone for the encouragement! We're almost there!
Bike odometer: 3325 miles
**NEW! Pictures:**
Early morning, fields.
"No Cross Country Travel" (Mary Olive and me)
Sand dunes (think Tatooine)
Aw, we look like a happy family! (Andrew, me, Anita, Mary Olive, Chris C, Jochem in the back)
Tony talking on his phone
Anita's clever idea to leave chalk messages for today's sweeps, Liz and Ryan (Anita and Jochem)
1 comment:
And now all the way to California !!! Wow!
Post a Comment