We Did It! San Diego, California May 13, 2011

The blog site was down two days ago so I couldn't update. Probably, that was good so no one would worry about us for the last day. Thursday, we knew would be very difficult, but no idea of how treacherous. We set out for the mountain early. Winds were calm and the temps warm but we would climb before it got too hot. We started out strong and well rested. Hard, but not impossible. The climb was steep and long,26 miles before there was enough of a plateau for a break for a water break. By then it was already 90 degrees and 10:00 in the morning. Ron's tire went flat! Thank goodness it didn't happen on the climb.
We grabbed a snack and started up again. We had another very difficult several miles before getting a break with a quick downhill. We were descending at 35 mph when one of our front panniers broke off at the bottom and then flipped onto the road. The front pedal struck it and almost flipped the tandem. Bob caught control and we came to a stop without falling. I ran back and retrieved the panniers off the road before another car came along. We secured it and again continued upward. The ride was breathtaking with canyons dropping deep on the right just feet away. At some points I couldn't look. One mistake and there wouldn't be a second chance.
Then the unbelievable!!! The chain came off our bike! Climbing a mountain and NO control! Bob turned the front wheel over to the left to avoid the drop off the road but that meant we had to swerve into the traffic lane. We had just come around a curve. As we pulled into the lane I could hear a car coming toward us. I just kept saying over and over "a car is coming, a car is coming"! The bike tipped over and we both rolled. The car was able to stop right behind us. The woman didn't even ask if we were okay. Ron was nearby and he was expecting the worse.
The mountain ended for the day at Pine Valley. It was a beautiful little town. Everyone told us that the last peak was hard but then it was all downhill from there.

We took off expecting a rather easy day. Bob and I didn't even put on our heart rate monitors because we expected resting heart rates with so much downhill to the ocean. Obviously, no one had ever gone all the way. All day long we climbed more mountains. Each time we thought it had to be the last, we'd look ahead to see another mountain to climb. The climbs continued until two miles from the ocean. But we made it!

Arriving at the ocean was an experience that no words can describe. Tears just rolled down my cheeks uncontrollably. Unless you've done it, you can't believe the feeling!

We are now on Coronado island just relaxing. We spent all the morning making preparations for shipping home the bikes and all the equipment. What a job! Then we headed by bus to the downtown area for lunch and some looking around. While we were eating, sitting right in the window of the restaurant, we saw all the commotion! People began to gather and instantly police cars surrounded the area. We went outside to learn that a man just shot a woman! Police immediately wrapped crime scene tape around the entire block. We heard on the news later that an 80 year old man shot a 40 year old woman in the head. She is dead.

We are leaving the island tomorrow and going to stay in old town just to experience more of San Diego before heading out on Tuesday. The weather is cool, only in the sixties. It hasn't been this cool for us since leaving the snow in Michigan in March. It will be nice to return to another spring and start of summer.

The trip holds so many memories. Those of us who rode together will remain more than friends forever. We came together as strangers, being so careful about what was said or done to respect each person's privacy and space. After two months of spending every minute together, nothing was private. There were no secrets, no topic off limits. It amazes us all that we got along so well in the worse conditions possible. We worked together to survive and accomplish what we all set out to do. We rode from ocean to ocean! Mission accomplished!

Thanks to all who cheered us on, for the encouraging words and staying with us in spirit. We love you all and will be home soon now.

THE Mountain!

Our toughest mountain is right in front of us! We are getting up at 5:30 to beat the heat and winds. The last and biggest climb starts immediately. The mountain is 10 miles straight up! Everyone laughs and says, "get someone to drive you over"! Or " you are nuts" ! But we came this far and we will do it. It's all downhill after that.

Check back tomorrow to see how we did.

Holtville, California

Breakfast of oatmeal and coffee and we hit the road at 6:30. Had hopes of beating the winds, but no such luck today. The high winds continued throughout the night. Once again our bodies baked in the raging sun and got sand blasted at the same time. Shortly after crossing the the California border there were signs that no fruit could be brought across th line and we would have to pass through a search station. Dean and Ron began eating bananas like mad men. I had an orange packed away and couldn't consume that as easily and didn't want to through it away like the piles of lemons and oranges that lined the road. I knew I would need that orange for nourishment in the desert. It didn't cause any trouble since they just waved us through. Good thing they didn't have any of those fruit sniffing dogs, Vickie!
We hit the desert immediately with huge sand dunes, blowing and drifting sand. We went to the border patrol station and asked if we could travel on I 8 but he told us it was not permitted. We had to be on a road that was so full of holes and cracks that no cars even used it. After about five miles of that we decided to risk a $100 ticket and go on the expressway. Bob and I were hitting the winds pretty strong and just wanted to finish as fast as possible. We got the tandem up to 15mph and pushed and pushed. Had several sand drifts to get through and I thought for sure that we would go down. Not a fun game on an expressway.
Ron's knees were hurting and he begged for us to reconsider our plans to ride over sixty miles. We stopped in Holtville for something to eat. We hadn't eaten since 6:00 and I don't know when I have ever been as hungry. The orange and two dates didn't take care of the desert energy burned. The only vegetarian item on the menu at Nana's Cafe was tuna fish sandwich. I literally inhaled it!
Ron and Dean didn't arrive until we had finished eating. He said in no uncertain terms that he was going no further. Motels? Campgrounds? Of course not! So our old game of call the town manager and see if there was a public site where we could set up tents. She sent the Sherrie over to Nana's to get us. Everybody in the little place thought we were under arrest. So to make a long story brief, we are set up outside the fire station. They put up a red tarp on the fence so the town people can't see us too easily. We're right on the street.

We got to shower in the firehouse and are ready to walk to town again to get some supper. Not many choices. Off tomorrow to Octillo! Can't believe we are in California!

Gila Bend, Actna and Yuma, Arizona

Saturday and Sunday were challenging days because of the high headwinds. We rode over 60 miles on Saturday to Gila Bend. Blowing sand constantly. We stocked up on water and food to carry through the longest part of the desert on Sunday. We knew others have reported that it is impossible to ride the whole thing. We started out at 5:30 in the morning hoping to beat the heat and sand storms. We've come to acquaint ourselves with a few border patrolmen along the way. One of them told us about Dateland which was a little out of the way but a source of more water. Dateland was a little town that grows dates, all kinds of different variety of dates. We stopped there and Dean even tried one of their "worl famous" (so they say) date shakes. It was so rich he couldn't finish it. They had free dates to sample and I bought a pound of honey dates to nourish us on the road. Later I looked up the nutritional value of dates and was quite amazed about all the power that those little things deliver. I will continue to include those mighty fruits in my diet long after this ride ends.

Dateland was 53 miles into the desert. We left the decision up to Ron if he wanted to continue or set up camp in Dateland. He really wanted the challenge of surviving the night deep in the desert so we moved on. After 12 miles the climbs, heavier winds and extreme heat got the best of us. We looked for a safe place to spend the night. Signs everywhere warned of poisonous snakes. Other truckers warned about the wild boars said they were pinned inside their truck for over an hour. The heat was unbelievable. The water we had was near boiling point, not a bit satisfying for thirst. As we sat on the ground I couldn't help but think about Black Widow spiders, boar, snakes, Gila Monsters and scorpions. It was also boring just sitting there just waiting 6 hours or so for night to come. Then Bob threw in that if we opened cans of food it might draw animals in closer. We had had a wolf run right in front of us on the road that morning. He looked at me and said that we could try and make it by ourselves. Dean didn't want to just sit there either. So Ron took a couple more Aleve for his aching knee and we set out for 26 more miles of desert! Bob and I pushed on faster than the other two. We battled head winds that continued to soar. The sun was like an oven and we began to feel like we were human BBQ. We decided to put our jackets back on just to protect our skin which was already frying. It was then that the wind caught our jackets like a sail and started to push us into the road. Bob tipped the bike and we rolled! Neither of us was hurt at all, not even skinned up. We made it to Actna feeling like a truck had run over us. We rode right into the only gas station and began drinking like crazy. I couldn't stop shaking, definitely dehydrated. Actna is a town of a couple hundred people who live in trailers and sand. All we could say was, "why would they stay here.".

Today the winds continued to challenge but the temps only went into the 80s. We climbed some of the most beautiful and steepest mountains. It was difficult but fun! We only had to ride about 50 miles. We are about ONE MILE from California!

Tucson and Casa Grande, Arizona

Rode into Tucson on Thursday. 67 miles first on tray littered roads. Dean got a piec of that wire from the steel belted radial tires that blow and leave fragments everywhere. It just can't even be seen. When we stopped along the route a man told us of a bike path that would take us all the way to Tucson. And "yes, it definitely is paved all the way". WRONG! It started out great. It was picturesque and quiet. We began to see the first signs of Arizona wildlife. Little Prairie Dogs, giant horned toads and lizards. The trail ran along the banks of the Santa Cruz river. But the river was absolutely dry! What had existed was deep and wide. We rode the path down under an overpass. It was dark under there and took a steep hill out of it. So we were riding very fast in order to make the hill. All of a sudden Bob yelled "hold in your feet". There was a bum sleeping under there with his feet extended across the path. We mad it passed him without even waking him. If he would've been startled by us he probably would've jumped up right in from of a fast moving bike. After 15 or so miles we came to. Sign that read "path ends" . It sort of did but we could see that it picked up a little ways over on the other side of a stony area. Off the bikes and we walked to the path. No problem, so we thought. After a few more miles we were really in trouble. The path once again could be seen in the distance but we were now at the steep banks of the dried up river. The only thing to do was get all the bikes down and up the sandy banks. The guys all helped each other one bike at a time trying to keep as much sand as possible from getting into the gears.
When the bike trail finally came to a road where we could exit we had passed the city of Tuscon by several miles. We had no interest in going back. We were originally planning to take today off to spend time in the city. I think we all have become addicted to the high of riding and decided we didn't want to just roam around the city in this heat and hit the road again as soon as the sun broke the darkness.

We are now in Casa Grande, Arizona. Had a ride of 68 miles in scorching heat. The air is 102 degrees but again was 111 on the road. The ride was wonderful with winds behind us until the mid afternoon. We sailed at 20 mph. Little lizards ran through the desert sands around us. They're the pet shop type we see in Michigan. Trains shattered the quiet with loads of orange juice, and military vehicles. The railroad tracks here have been rebuilt with concrete ties rather than the wood. Each train carries unbelievable loads.

We are in record breaking heat again in Arizona. Hope we do okay when we get into the most remote part of the desert in two more days. This experience is one of the best ever. I love every day.

Benson, Arizona

What a beautiful ride today! The mountains and desert were picturesque and breathtaking. Some parts of the mountains today were huge rocks. Because we were climbing you just couldn't stop to take pictures often enough. Some of the huge rock formations looked like they could break loose with the wind. One was balanced on two edges with a clearing underneath. It had to weigh tons. Valleys too were filled with boulders. Again no sign of wildlife but once today we scared up a buzzard who began circling us like we were the only possibility of the next meal. He actually acted like he might swoop down and start chomping.

The climbing wasn't difficult because again the wind, although light, was at our backs. The decent was over eight miles. We rode with light pressure on the breaks because of junk on the side of the road. At one point the traffic lightened up and Bob prepared me to "hold on and tuck your head in". He pulled out onto the road and let go of the breaks. We soared five miles at 45 mph. It was awesome! We rolled right into Benson, the only town left before Tucson. The day seemed too short and too easy but going all the way to Tucson would make our day over 80 miles. Ron has bad knees and really doesn't like when we do over 50, which is often enough. So we found a place for lunch and cheap rest for the night.

Tomorrow we will climb the mountains out of here and end in Tucson. I've just contacted a Warm Showers host home so will wait to see if that is a possibility.

We have some loose spokes that need adjustment so Bob is tending to that.
The nights continue to be cool and the days hot. No rain, ever! I think if they get it in this area the schools would have a rain day just so the kids could play in it.

Wilcox, Arizona

Easiest 75 miles I ever rode! The wind was strong again! Blowing sand like crazy! But the wind was from the EAST! That was heaven for us! We sailed through it all today, easily reaching 30 mph on the flats. Could climb at 15 mph. We crossed the Arizona State line and stopped for some picture taking. The mountains continue to be breath taking and awesome! We dodge tumbleweed as that in your spokes could cause an accident.

As we entered Arizona we lost an hour again since this state does not have daylight savings time. Therefore, when we enter California we will jump ahead two hours. I still have my watch set on Michigan time, my phone automatically changes to Mountain Time, and now neither one is correct. Oh well.

Our ride is too quickly coming to an end. We are exploring how we will return. Bob and Dean are calling bike shops in San Deigo to find out about shipping bikes home. It's so expensive to fly with them and not all Amtrak trains allow them. Bob, Ron and I are also exploring renting a car to Las Vegas and then getting home from there by plane or train. Lots to work out yet.

There's nothing different to see along the way. Sand and mountains! Shorter day tomorrow.