| Distance | 66.27 kms | 41.01 miles |
|---|---|---|
| Climbed | 78 meters | 256 feet |
| Ride time (hours) | 4.42 | - |
| Avg speed | 9.3 kph | - |
| Avg climb | 1% | - |
| Max grade | 5% | - |
| Distance | 24,208.99 kms | 15,042.77 miles |
|---|---|---|
| Climbed | 256,183 meters | 840,495 feet |
| Ride time (hours) | 1,725.88 | - |
Thursday, March 27th, 2014
41.18 66.27
I’m up right at dawn to get out of my stealth spot before anyone might come along. The wind is working against me and it will stay that way for the rest of the day, albeit with speeds not even close to approaching yesterday’s. 3 miles gets me into Calipatria where I stop at a Circle K for water and coffee. An employee greets me in Spanish, we rap for a minute. The other customers are speaking Spanish and so is the cashier. Down the street I get a breakfast burrito (again in Spanish) before heading on out towards the Salton Sea. As I leave I’m wondering if there are any English speakers in this town.
The ride is flat and windy desert, with nothing to report other than a flat tire somewhere along the way. A thorn embedded itself into the back tire. I follow the train tracks until I come to campground right on the beach, it’s 10 bucks a night for a beach spot with porta-potties and cold showers. It looks like a really nice place to stop so I set up camp in spite of it only being 1:30. I take a badly needed shower (when are they not badly needed on a bicycle tour?) and have a nap in the tent. It was about 80 degrees out but the cold shower was still painful, I think my threshold for not minding cold water is about 90 degrees (32 degrees for you metric Nazis). I collect wood for a fire, check out the tons of birds on the shore, and do a few chores like re-tape the handlebars. I cook pasta for dinner then enjoy a beautiful evening watching the stars next to a fire keeping me warm from the cool wind.
