I'm in California.
I love how this guy is posing with his baby in front of the sign. His wife is off the frame taking a picture.
The only road in this part of California is I-15. So I rode the shoulder of I-15 all day for 50 miles. As you can see at the start, the shoulder is really, really narrow.
It did get better in a couple miles. TGIF.
There were only two hills today. Two climbs, and two descents. You can see the start of the first hill above. It's a 2000 foot climb, over that mountain, at about 6% on the average, for 9 miles. It took me nearly two hours.
There was payback to finish the day.
My AirBnB is at the bottom of the hill. I didn't actually have to pedal again if I didn't want to.
And here is the other descent, and climb. The next ridge is 12.5 miles away, which was 25% of the day's ride.
Lunch was gas station chicken at "The Bird House", which also sells lots of jerky made from every animal they could find. Jerky seems to be the big thing here in the desert. It's probably really easy to make. Set meat out in the sun. Done.
The Chicken Box was yummy.
It's amazing how far you can see out here. This is a picture of Primm, looking back from 9 miles away.
And here's a picture from halfway down the big payback, with Baker at the bottom of the hill 8 miles away.
Does anyone remember way back when we used to play Sim City on the computer? And they had this super advanced Concentrated Solar Array power plant where a bunch of mirrors concentrated sunlight on some sort of magic box that turned it into electricity?
Today, I came across them in real life. They actually exist!
So I am now here in Baker, relaxing in my very expensive ($180) AirBnB, which is a single room in a double-wide trailer, which has another room which another guest could show up and occupy at any time. And I am glad to be here because this is the only lodging in the 115 miles between Primm and Barstow. The alternative is stealth camping somehow next to the Interstate.
But when you go inside, it's amazing. Mercedes, the host, has jazzed up her double-wide trailer AirBnb with the best of them, following all the lastest trends from home decor magazines....
...while leaving the paneling and shag carpet from the 1970s in place. I love this so much.
I walked over to the Fatburger in the travel plaza a half mile away to get dinner.
Because it is the closest beer.
I believe this technically qualifies as more gas station chicken.
Everything is going great. I feel good, the weather is awesome, and I love riding through the desert. I did have two flats today, and I discovered the glue in my patch kit has dried out. So I have two more spare tubes to get me to the next bike shop, which is 69 miles away in Barstow. Cross fingers.
Here is the Strava track:
https://www.strava.com/activities/17713097325
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