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Day 21: Woke up with the sun around 5:30am, packed up, grabbed breakfast at Denny’s, cleaned up in their bathroom, on the road by 7:30am. All freeway again today. Slow, steady climb for the morning; 2-4%. It looks flat but it’s enough to slow you down. You think you should be going faster or that something is wrong with your bike or legs but it’s just the grade. We’ve just been spoiled with a lot of flat & downhill lately that anything over 0% grade seems hard 🙂 We inflated our tubes a bit which seemed to help. There were nice shade trees every once in a while to stop for breaks. This stretch wasn’t too bad for traffic either since the right lane was reserved for slow vehicles only (which were all semis that couldn’t go fast uphill). Regular vehicles usually zip right by us but this morning was only slow trucks; a nice change of pace. The breeze they create when they pass us is nice too 🙂 There weren’t many options for water refill today so we stopped along the freeway to ask a busy garbage picker if he had any extra water to spare. He was happy to help & let us fill up our bottles. Thank you!

We had lunch under an overpass before enjoying 7 glorious free miles downhill to a gas station. We filled our water, got some snacks, rested a bit to avoid the heat & I blogged. They had a nice picnic area that was perfect for relaxing. The place was swarming with ravens! Those birds were bold! Funny too. They hopped around like the flying monkeys from Wizard of Oz. It was pretty comical to watch.

While we were chilling, a guy asked us for money. I never give people cash but I’ll buy them what they need (a meal, a pair of shoes, water) so I filled his RV tank with $30 of gas. He was in a wheelchair, can walk a little with a cane & his wife also has several health issues. He fell off a ladder last year & hasn’t been able to work since. He finally found a job in Vegas so they’re headed that way but were out of money & the RV kept breaking down. Maybe his story was made up. Maybe he has a gambling addiction & needs a fix in Vegas, but I’m willing to risk it for $30 that he was honest & needed the help he claimed. It’s not my job to judge him. I’d rather help someone who doesn’t need it than not help someone who does. No matter what, he needed help & I was happy to lend a hand. Plenty of people have helped me in my life (especially on this trip) & it’s only fair to pay it forward & help others in need. I’m so appreciative when others do the same for me.

Ben’s butt was really sore so to motivate him to keep going (especially since we had a harder climb ahead of us) I said we could stay in a motel tonight. That perked him up! He loves his luxuries 🙂 I never thought I would like to rough it more than Mr.Eagle Scout! But then again, I kind of like that; challenging gender roles! Eagle Scouts don’t always have to be outdoorsy & women don’t always have to like the luxurious life. Back on the road for the final stretch to Primm,NV. We left just in time, too. Not even 10 seconds after we left, a huge dust tornado came barreling through, encompassing the whole building & everyone outside. That would’ve been nasty to get caught in! We finished the climb & had all downhill to Primm. Wahoo! As we turned the corner to head north, you could see Primm off in the distance, but the most noticeable part of the landscape was a massive field of mirrors (acres & acres) for some energy production system. It’s called the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility. The mirrors on the ground reflect up to a giant mirror on a tower, which creates steam that runs a turbine. So cool! It looked like a giant alien contraption 🙂 There were also fields & fields of regular photovoltaic solar panels, which I love to see. Go renewable energy! Riding into Primm looked like Emerald City (what’s with my Wizard of Oz reflections today?). It was so bright & shiny amongst the stark, bare desert; big glimmering mirror field & resorts galore in the middle of nowhere.

We rolled into Primm (officially state #2!), checked into our hotel, unloaded our gear, tried to go swimming (they had a huge, nice pool & hot tub, waiting for swimmers) but it’s “closed for the season” & requires a lifeguard. Ugh 🙁 The open season is in a few days…plus, I was a lifeguard, doesn’t that count for something? Ben made a curry dinner while I blogged. Early to bed.

Reflections:

1. So many beer bottles on the side of the freeway recently, & in clumps. Scattered would make sense but grouped together confuses me. For me, there are 2 possible explanations. 1) people pull over for car trouble or construction & have a few – not good if they’re driving! OR 2) people come out at night & have parties along the side of the freeway, which is kind of funny to picture.

2. Biking past memorials of car accidents where people have died is a little unsettling. Will we be next? If that happens, please don’t make a roadside memorial for me. I don’t want to come back to the place I was killed to visit my friends & family leaving flowers & notes. Make one for me in the Porkies! At least there we can remember the good times too, not just a horrible accident.

3. Biking uphill for extended periods of time, we go so slow that flies can keep up with us 🙂

4. New favorite snack on the road: avocado, mashed up in its skin cup with garlic powder & pepper, served with seasoned crackers. It’s like guac! Yum!

5. My vest serves as a sail & slows me down when I open it a bit while heading down a steep hill. It’s like a parachute when we bomb hills & I love it so I don’t go too fast 🙂

6. I can be a little OCD sometimes & I love systems to keep things organized or consistent, which has been handy in staying hydrated. Essentially, I take a sip of something every 5 minutes, alternating between water & electrolytes. I call it the 5s & 0s: water on the 5s, electrolytes on the 0s. You need water to stay alive = “staying alive on the 5s”. Electrolytes…electros = “electros on the 0s”. We’ve been using Nuun for electrolytes & I would definitely recommend them. It’s a flavored tablet you add to water to make your own Gatorade. They’ve really kept us hydrated & replenished our nutrients. Plus, it’s tasty, healthier than other over-sugared sports drinks, & cheaper. Thanks for the hookup, Erik!

7. People get nervous when they hear we’ve been riding on the freeway but we take several steps to be as cautious as possible & everything helps: neon helmet, neon vests, headlight & taillight, ear plug so we don’t get startled, & constant checking our rearview mirror for rogue drivers.

8. Distance is so warped in the desert, when there are long, straight stretches. Something looks like it’s right there, maybe a mile or 2 away, but in reality is still 15 miles away! What?

9. The landscape here is actually very pretty. The mountains are lovely . The heat & no water still suck but at least it was enjoyable to look at 🙂

10. Clouds exist? The past few days have been nothing but blazing heat & straight sunshine; not a cloud in sight. Today, a cloud blocked the sun for a minute & I actually ducked because I thought something was falling from the sky. Then I realized it was a cloud & I hadn’t seen one for so long! Silly perspective.

11. Speaking of perspective…on a big uphill day, like today (28 total uphill miles), any small grade feels downhill. There was a stretch I could’ve sworn was downhill but it was actually still up, it just looked down in comparison to the steeper uphill we had coming. It felt like this crooked house in South Dakota, called the Cosmos Mystery area (Mariah!). There are all sorts of weird angles & what looks up is down & vice versa. A ball will look like it’s rolling uphill based on its surroundings, but in reality it’s going downhill. Crazy. That’s how that hill felt to me today.

Well, the salad bar us calling us so I better dinner roll on outta here. Until next time!

Whitney

Warning: dark reflections ahead, but that was 3 weeks ago & we’ve worked through them. I think it’s important to be honest & show that life isn’t always sunshine & rainbows.

Day 19: Up early, had cereal with a banana (yay!), packed up, swung by local donut shop across the street, on the road by 8am. It was a cooler day (in the 60s), very windy, but at our backs thankfully. We took the freeway again. Ben was nervous today about being on Hwy 58. Not about our safety but about getting in trouble. He was worried a state trooper would stop us & make us go way out of our way. I was just tryin’ to chill on the ride & take it easy but he was pedaling his brains out. I couldn’t keep up with him! I wasn’t worried at all. This was a total role reversal for us. I usually overthink & worry & Ben is chill. Not this morning. I told him to not think about it until or if it happens; we’ll deal with it then. There’s no use freaking out the whole time if nothing even happens.

We had a decent speed going today: 22mph. It was pretty much flat or slightly downhill. At the rate we were going we’d be to our destination (Barstow) by noon! The shoulder was like an obstacle course, having to dip & dive to dodge all the semi tire debris. There are tiny staples or wire in the tire shrapnel so we have to avoid it so we don’t get our own flats. We stopped in Kramer for lunch on a gas station curb. Further down the road we stopped at a rest stop for water & chatted a while with a guy & his 2 golden-doodles. They were so cute. I miss our pets & will take any animal interaction/snuggles I can get. They were adorable, sweet & fluffy. During this stretch we also rode past Twenty Mule Team Rd which leads to a borax mine. I use that stuff in my homemade dishwasher detergent, laundry detergent, & some cleaning sprays…& the brand is Twenty Mule Team!

The second half of our ride seemed SO LONG compared to our quick morning start. It was the same distance but everything looked the same & it felt like we weren’t getting anywhere. With very few exits or overpasses & my diminishing motivation to keep pedaling, we stopped to play Yahtzee on the side of the freeway. Not the safest place but we were careful & I was desperate for a break. I had to roll before we could keep rolling. I can’t say with certainty but I’m pretty sure no one’s ever done that before!

With a little brain boost from playing a game, we rode the last several miles & finally made it to Barstow. It was immediately apparent this wasn’t my favorite place to be. Cars didn’t seem to like us at all & neither did the people. A guy biking on the wrong side of the road, & therefore coming straight at us, yelled about our lights as we passesd “what, are you trying to blind me? Shut those fucking things off!”. Sorry, buddy, they’re just doing their job: making us visible. I’m glad they work. If he’d been on the correct side of the road, it wouldn’t have been an issue. Welcome to Barstow!

We quick grabbed food, checked into another motel, went swimming (that felt great), watched movies, fought A LOT about the trip & what we want out of it, got groceries, had popcorn, & went to bed.

Day 20: Cereal with fruit again, wiped down & relubed our chains, on the road by 9am. We had a frontage road for about 20 miles, then back on the freeway. The frontage road got super bumpy & really hard to bike on: tons of pot holes – not good for the bikes. After 20 miles, it ended in the middle of nowhere with no road to the freeway so we had to walk our bikes down the bank & through sand to get to the freeway. Not an easy task.

We stopped at a rest stop for lunch. Several people came up to talk to us. A big group of construction workers asked us lots of questions. One guy noticed I filled up water in the bathroom & said he had colder water in his truck & to fill up there, so I did. That was nice of him. Back on the road, we saw lots of white lizards. Funky & cool! We had some nice downhill for a while. No pedalling = free miles 🙂 We took another break under an overpass (CA calls them overcrossings). We took a nap & had a snack. This spot had great shade. It was 95 degrees on the road, but only 87 in the shade. It feels different & better than back at home, due to low humidity. It’s not sticky, which is nice.

We biked a while further to a gas station to fill up on water again & rest in the shade a tich. It was so hot today! Most of the remaining miles to Baker were downhill with a little headwind so it wasn’t too bad. Biking creates its own breeze too, which helps. Pulling into town we had to stop at the largest thermometer in the world. 97 degrees! We stopped at a motel & I asked if we could jump in their pool, to which they said sure. SWEET! Ah, it felt so good & worked like a charm: cooled us down & served as our shower 🙂

We biked over to Jack in the Box for fries but mostly to charge things & blog. Around 6:30, we found a park, made dinner & waited until 9pm to set up our tent in a corner. In hindsight, it wasn’t the best place for stealth camping. There were a ton of lights & it was apparently a hangout place after dark. It’s too hot during the day to do much so people wait til sunset to be active outside. 6 guys showed up to play soccer on the basketball court. It was harmless fun & actually exciting to watch but not great for going to bed early. People had warned us about rattlesnakes again & I swear I heard something when we leaned our bikes against a tree so I was all freaked out. At 3am, sprinklers turned on right by the tent, which scared the crap out of me. They barely grazed the tent but not enough to move. Needless to say, this was my worst night of sleep on the trip thus far 🙁 Despite that, I was still happy to have gone rogue & not stay in a motel 🙂

Reflections:

1. Perspective was funny. On hilly days, flat feels downhill. On downhill days, flat feels uphill.

2. This stretch of the desert reminds me of several things. A) car commercials where they drive super fast for miles in the middle of nowhere & you see them off in the distance, a cloud of dust behind them. B) where drag racing must happen, on such long, flat, quiet roads. C) the show, Breaking Bad, where drug deals went down or dead bodies were buried. D) the movie, Seven, where Brad Pitt’s character finds his wife’s head in a box. Despite a lot of beauty found in the desert I only seemed to recall dark things as we rode through. I wonder if it’s my survivalist brain associating its lack of water & other amenities with other bad things I can recall from desert scenes?

3. Question: if a vulture is roadkill, who eats a vulture? Another vulture?

4. Motel life makes things easy but we’re missing out on the human experience. There’s nothing wrong with a mostly motel bike trip; it’s just not the type of trip I want.

5. These last few days were a little bumpy (literally & emotionally). Ben & I disagree a lot in terms of routes & how to spend our time. A) Ben likes easy, safe & convenient. I like a challenge; a chance to be creative & figure things out when they get tough. In my opinion, it makes you stronger, resilient, & gives you a sense of accomplishment. B) I want to take local recommendations & back roads with more scenery, not just the quickest way there. C) I’m not afraid of hills or a hard route; Ben seems to avoid them like the plague. D) I’m OK taking a little extra time & making our trip longer but Ben seems to be in a rush & not willing to extend our trip a little. E) It seems when Ben runs into a problem once he tries to avoid it forever instead of trying to overcome it, where I can’t stop until I’ve worked it out. F) We’ve been rushing to Vegas & I don’t want to do that again. It compromises routes & my overall goal of this trip: to see the country, meet people & have unique experiences. There’s nothing unique or interesting right now.

6. We have clashing goals for this trip & I’m not sure what the solution is. This has been my dream since I was a kid & I don’t want to compromise. I know it sounds selfish but I don’t want to look back & think “hmmm, that wasn’t the trip I’d been planning or the trip I wanted”. We’ve done a lot of things for Ben (pottery art shows, photography shows, flipping houses-all of which I’ve enjoyed) & now I want this trip to be my thing. I want to be in the driver seat with Ben as my passenger like I’ve been for his projects. I’ve loved helping him & was happy to do it & look forward to more in the future, but now I want my turn.

7. This past week has just been a string of motels, TV, boring freeway desert & fighting. Not my favorite & definitely a low point in the trip so far. I wouldn’t do it again if we were to do it over. I would take the longer, hillier, more scenic route.

8. Loaded touring bikes are a talking piece. So many people have questions & what to hear all about your journey. It’s been a great & easy way to meet new people. I’ve loved it!

9. Throughout this stretch of desert I’ve noticed CA gives a name to a every ditch that has a little bridge over it & coming into Baker there was one called Mobi Ditch. How clever 😉

MILEAGE:

1. Glacier Pt/Wawona 43

2. Oakhurst 25

3. Lake Millerton (via Bass Lake) 46

4. Kingsburg 55

5. Wasco 71

6. Edison 35

7. Mojave 55

8. Barstow 72

9. Baker 63

We’re taking a brake today so hopefully this day off will be productive & allow me to catch up. There’s so much to fill you in on: Vegas, Zion, Bryce, family visits! Until next time…

Whitney

Day 18: Up early, off by 8am. Ben also had a flat so we stopped to fix that quick. The road out of Bakersfield was loaded with garbage! It seemed to be a dumping ground in the middle of nowhere. Despite that, it was a nice change of scenery otherwise. We had hills again 🙂 Pretty, golden, rolling ones. It was a quiet road as we started climbing again. Today we had a 4,000 ft ascent over 30 miles. Call me crazy but I kind of missed big climbs! We had a quiet frontage road for the beginning but then we had to get on the freeway for 15 miles. Gulp… I was nervous at first but it was actually quite nice. There’s a huge shoulder, we wear an ear plug in our left ear to minimize getting startled every time something roared by, there was an awesome tailwind, & the semis can’t physically go that fast uphill so it was only slow vehicles that were next to us.

We stopped in Tehachapi,CA for sunscreen & protein bars at Walgreens, lunch at Del Taco, coffee & WiFi at Starbucks. We chatted with several people about our travels & theirs: one who used to cycle tour, a few locals who gave us tips on things to see in the area, & one currently hiking the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail – a 2,700 mile hike from Mexico to Canada). Tehachapi is along that trail so there were a lot of people in town on the same journey. After running errands, catching up on some things & avoiding the hottest part of the day, we hit the road for Mojave.

The ride there included 10 miles through a huge wind farm, which was so much fun! There were thousands of wind mills (technically wind turbines as Ben so graciously needed to point out, but you catch my drift). It was a 9-ish mile climb to the top of Tehachapi & then a glorious 10 miles downhill. We didn’t have to pedal the whole way down! It wasn’t super steep but enough to keep constant momentum going. I only had to pedal when I stopped to take pictures. It was a nice ride, very pretty, & quiet too. Traffic was almost obsolete; it was wonderful. We pulled into town, checked into a Motel 6, quick shower, picked up Subway for dinner, a few snacks at a gas station, then back to the room to eat, watch TV, do laundry, a little blogging, & finally bed.

Reflections:

1. When climbing out of Bakersfield, we went so slow going uphill you could hear all the lizards scurrying into the brush along the side of the road as we rolled by 🙂 Something I would never have noticed in a car.

2. THERE WERE SO MANY PEE BOTTLES ON THE SIDE OF THE FREEWAY!!! In just 15 miles we saw over 50. I’ve heard of people not wanting to stop to go to the bathroom so they just pee in a bottle but I assumed they held onto it until their next stop to throw in a garbage. At first I thought there was no way they were all pee since they were so dark, like iced tea. I had to know for sure so I stopped & opened one to get a quick whiff. Yes, you read that correctly. I willingly opened a bottle of pee to make sure what it was & yep, it’s urine alright! It smelled like a port-a-potty. Ben couldn’t believe I did it. We both had a good laugh. Well, now I’ll never wonder; I definitely know! Sidenote: damn, there are some dehydrated drivers out there! Yowza!

Well, we’ve got some stargazing to do with my mom & stepdad who are visiting us in Bryce National Park so I better roll! Until next time.

Whitney

Currently avoiding the hottest part of the day by sitting behind a gas station in Glendale,NV, catching some shade, while Ben naps & battles the flies…but more on that later!

Day 16: Oatmeal, then on the road. Late start today – slept in. Had to hang some damp laundry on our packs to air dry during our ride. I find this kind of fun & resourceful. There were lots of farm fields today (wheat, almonds, pistachios, nectarines or peaches, & corn). I found & snatched up a clean washcloth from an almond field that we needed for a grease rag. Sweet find! There were also long stretches of cattle yards, which made me sad. They’re all couped up in small stalls, standing room only, no room to move in any direction. There were thousands of them 🙁 Unfortunately, we biked through this for a while & it was the only shady spot to stop for lunch. Their constant calling made me sad.

Today was mostly about putting in lots of miles. Nothing too exciting today. A warm day but not too bad. I went to the bathroom in a stranger’s house. The woman didn’t speak English, I regretfully don’t speak Spanish, but I knew enough to say “baño?”, she giggled & graciously let me inside. That was kind of her. Thank you stranger! We stopped a while later in a tree patch along the highway to avoid the hottest part of the day. There were long stretches of nothing but sun for miles so we stopped when we could. Ben plotted the next few days, I journaled. At multiple points on our ride we got chased by dogs, which isn’t fun. They either get in front of your wheels & make you swerve or run alongside you nipping at your ankles. Neither is preferable so the best bet is to book it & outrun them, which works like a charm (assuming you’re not heading up a hill). In that case, throw food so they’ll get distracted?

Our destination for the day was Wasco,CA. We rolled in before sunset, checked into a motel, showered, did laundry, got things charging, had dinner at Denny’s, picked up snacks & morning food at a gas station, watched TV & went to bed. Not an exciting day, just a day.

Day 17: Cereal & fruit for breakfast, packed up, ready to leave & noticed I had a flat 🙁 Quick fix, then biked to Bakersfield. Ran some errands (Dick’s-to replace the spork I broke that morning & more propane, Target-for a washcloth & sunglasses). We had lunch outside of Dick’s on the sidewalk, got ice cream next door & went to a movie! We saw Life of the Party, the one with Melissa McCarthy, about a mom & daughter in college together. Pretty funny. Good way to beat the heat. I’m not a fan of all these dinner/restaurant style theaters with servers & lounge seats. I just want the basic theater: movie, popcorn, pop & candy. Why so fancy?

After the movie, we biked a short distance to another motel…Ben is in charge for our route to Vegas, is worried about water & likes the reassurance with motels instead of having to look for everything (food, water, shelter) once we roll in. It’s not my favorite but obviously some things are nice. It’s his trip too & I need to compromise (despite my strong stubbornness not to). I didn’t care much about anything between Yosemite & Vegas (at least not before Bob gave us other options) so I told Ben he could do whatever makes him feel better. Once we unloaded at the motel, we went swimming in the pool. Ahhh, it felt so good. We played toss with some kids, which was fun. One of them started doing some gymnastics tricks into the water so I decided to join her & she was impressed. She said adults don’t do that 🙂 Haha, maybe not all adults but definitely some! It wasn’t very complicated stuff; just cartwheels, roundoffs, mid-air toe touches, & flips. It was a fun time. Back to the room for a shower, TV, laundry & dinner. Ben made a tasty rice dish. Off to bed early.

Reflections:

1. I forgot to mention, Fresno was very fragrant with lots of beautiful blooming bushes.

2. A lot of people we meet don’t always agree with our routes or have a strong negative opinion of the cities we pass through, but we haven’t had any negative experiences. Could we have taken a more scenic route to Vegas? Sure, but I’m still enjoying our ride (for the most part). It’s good to see where our food is grown & other parts of the country you’d never go.

3. One farm we passed was part of Land O’ Lakes (from MN) but there are no lakes around here. I miss the lakes. All the water around here is in canals & dirty (for irrigation I assume?).

4. Biking for pleasure vs necessity are very different & I am reminded of it every time I see someone who looks like they’re struggling in life & probably traveling by bike because they have no other option. We’re biking for fun but that doesn’t mean its fun for everyone who rides a bike.

5. Perspective is so funny. It’s almost like it has its own identity or character on this trip. Things I would never have noticed in the past I now do or things feel different than they used to based on our current experiences. Now, I see a pile logs & think “oooh, shade!” where I wouldn’t have even noticed them before. After biking up a 16% grade hill, a 2% feels downhill! Before, lots of places in the middle of nowhere were not important to me but now if they have even one building (like a grain elevator) it’s exciting! They probably have water, hallelujah! Every day, perspective does something funny to make me see things in a different way than I normally would.

Well, I’m finishing this up in Zion & have more to explore so I have to brake for now. Until next time!

Whitney

Currently enjoying some rest & relaxation with family in Las Vegas & I get to type on a computer so hopefully I can catch up quicker! Wahoo! Here goes.

Day 14: Martha made us oatmeal, we made coffee & Bob gave us more tips on routes to our next destination: Friant, CA. He warned us about gangs in the area & a cyclist who got attacked a few weeks ago (sorry Mom, I know you don’t want to hear that). He said it’s nothing to be paranoid about, just to be aware of; be hesitant of cars pulled over on the side of the road. Thanks again, Bob & Martha, for all your help. We appreciated it immensely! We packed up, said our goodbyes & biked into town to mail unneeded gear home & extra gear we can use later to Denver (where we’ll be staying with family). In total, we purged 10 lbs! Thanks for the inspiration, Bob 🙂 Stuff we sent home included some clothing, extra bike parts we haven’t & won’t ever use, as well as things we have used but can live without – like our extra solar charger, collapsible “bucket/wash basin”, my homemade deodorant & hair conditioner (I can use lotion if I’m really desperate), & other things I’m forgetting. The things we mailed to Denver were extra soap & olive oil – stuff we’ll need but have too much of at the moment. We stopped at a pizza buffet for lunch. Yum! To have a salad again, hallelujah! Then we spent a good part of the afternoon at a coffee shop to catch up on communication & blogging.

We had thought about taking a day off, but with the push for Las Vegas we wanted to at least get some miles under our belt, so we waited to start biking until late afternoon – a quasi-break. Per Bob & chatty Larry’s recommendations, we biked along the south shore of Bass Lake. It was so nice biking along this route; I’m glad we went that way. It was very pretty, quiet & peaceful. It was a healthy climb getting up there, though. We hit a personal record with grade coming around one corner at 17%! This time, no walking 🙂 One guy stopped along the side of the road to chat. Remembering Bob’s warning I was hesitant to stop but read the situation and it seemed fine. He lived up the road & wanted to know all about our trip. He was fun to talk to. I’m glad we stopped. Beyond Bass Lake we had some nice downhills & great shoulders in some spots. Even the littlest things make a big difference 🙂

Our sunset ride to Lake Millerton (our resting point for the day, outside of Friant) was nice – pretty scenery, sunny hillsides & cooler weather. It was a very peaceful ride. We made it to the lake just in time after the sun went down. In no time at all, we pitched the tent, made dinner, changed our clothes & went straight to bed. We woke up in the middle of the night to coyotes yelping. Not the howl I normally think of but more of a dog barking. There were a couple of them & they were very close. I wasn’t sure what their calls were communicating to each other so I was a little nervous & couldn’t sleep for a while. Surprise surprise.

Day 15: Up early, made oatmeal, packed up, shared a quick campground pay shower (ya know…to…save water & money! 😉 Leaving the park I had a little problem with my chain but not enough to stop us. I tried fixing it but no luck. Our first destination for the day was Fresno. On the way we stopped at a winery, did a little tasting, then shared a bottle down by the river as we ate our lunch.

Once we made it to Fresno we ran some errands: bike shop to fix my chain (The Bike Shop at Woodward-they were awesome!), REI for bike shorts, snacks at a Mexican restaurant, & 2 post offices. 2 post offices? Yes, 2. Long story short, my mom made us business cards to hand out about our trip (I’ll explain later) & only certain post offices do general delivery. We didn’t know that so the post office we sent them to passed them on to another Fresno post office where they had yet to arrive. Given our push for Vegas we didn’t want to wait & decided to have them sent back 🙁 The business cards are for all the people we meet along this trip. They always want to know how to follow our journey & it’s sometimes awkward to bring up the fundraising first thing so sometimes it never comes up. We wanted a way to spread the word without bombarding people with info every time we meet them. Before leaving town we stopped at the Tioga Sequoia Brewery for a drink, food & to play cards. We had tried their beer in Yosemite, liked it & decided to stop by on the way through. A short rest here, then back on the road.

We biked until just after sundown to Kingsburg, CA, where we stayed at King’s Inn Motel. On the way there another car pulled over on the side of the road (gulp) but he was just letting us know if we needed a place to stay we were welcome to stay with him. Unfortunately, he was a bit off our course & would add some extra miles we didn’t want, given our rush. That was nice of him, though! He also complimented us on our visibility (vests & great lights!). Once we rolled in to the motel we jumped in the pool, did some laundry, got some food from a food truck, watched TV & passed out.

Reflections:

1. There are so many terms for sneaky camping that we’ve heard from people along this trip & I love them all: free, pirate, bandit, boondock, stealth & wild! I’m sure there are more & I can’t wait to hear them. Anyone out there have others?

2. I think I mentioned this in the last post, but it stuck with me so I’ll say it again. It was a little shocking coming out of Yosemite & being reintroduced to busy city life. It went from so quiet, peaceful & beautiful to loud, busy, hectic & in your face. The same thing happens to me every year when we leave the Porkies & I don’t like it 🙁

3. I had a sense of disappointment when we left Yosemite that I didn’t do it justice; that I should’ve seen more. I often feel like that when I leave a place (like the Porkies) & have to remind myself of one of my favorite sayings: don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened. That’s what future trips are for!

Well, a delicious dinner we didn’t have to cook is almost ready! What a treat! I’ll have to brake for food & then hopefully get back at catching up 🙂 Until next time.

Whitney

Day 13: I woke up early with the sun & read a little until Ben was up. Oatmeal as usual. Chris & Kim joined us at the picnic table with their food. We chatted more. I really like them; they’re easy to talk to. We got a quick picture of the 4 of us & they were on their way. We set our things in the sun to dry for a bit, charged our lights & were on the road by 9:45. A little uphill to start, but not too bad. Most of the ride was downhill. Nice winding country roads, slope not too steep, kind cars & little traffic. We stopped in Fish Camp for lunch: pb&j bagels & some snacks from the only store there, all enjoyed under the shade of a picnic table umbrella. It was back uphill a little, but again, mostly downhill.

Once we rolled into Oakhurst (our destination for the day) we had to stop by another roadside fruit stand for produce. Always stop! The food is so tasty & you never know when you’ll find the next one. We got stuck talking to another biker for a bit. He was very chatty, a little condescending about people our age & Ben’s work as a handyman/realtor & his assumptions about everything. He gave us tips about local routes to Fresno, which was nice.

We got into town early & needed to kill time before showing up at our next Warm Showers (Bob & Martha) so we swung by a brewery on the way – South Gate Brewing. We played some cards, chatted with a few staff – they were cool – & another patron & I helped a woman get her flat tire changed. We didn’t change it ourselves but this other patron thought I worked there so he told me a car in the parking lot had a flat tire & to alert the driver. I passed his message on to the staff & the tire was fixed within 10 minutes! Speedy AAA service! Good catch, guy. While we were killing time, Bob texted to say he saw us riding through town & to come early. He even stopped by the brewery to introduce himself as we were loading up to head to his house 🙂

The ride to their house was a little tight (barely a shoulder & fast cars who don’t care to move over for bikers) but nothing we can’t handle. The stark difference between quiet country mountain roads & busy city was a little jarring. I kept thinking to myself “were not in Kansas anymore”. Once we arrived at Bob & Martha’s it was much better. They live in the country, on the outskirts of town, on some beautiful land. We showered, did laundry (in a machine!), & had lots of cuddles with their beagle, Trumpet. He’s such lover & so sweet. Bob made tasty chicken tacos…and yes…I ate them…! Bob, if you’re reading, I’m a vegetarian & just didn’t have the heart to tell you since you went to all the trouble in making them already & for all your generosity with everything while we were there (food, shower, bed, laundry, route advice). I knew that day would come sometime on this trip; I was prepared. And for real, they were SO GOOD!

After dinner they took us for a walk around their property. Quite the place! Nice gardens, big trees. Bob is in the process of building a back patio with a fire place & outdoor kitchen. Pretty cool. He’s very handy – makes & builds everything! Bob is very smart, a problem solver, & has lead an interesting life. He used to be a big climber & had lots of different types of jobs, therefore, many skills. He took a solo cross-country bike trip last year & hadn’t been on a bike in about 50 years!!! That’s what I call an inspiration! He, of course, made a lot of his gear for the trip. Cool. Martha was very helpful, generous, kind, down to earth, handy & knowledgeable too. We talked a lot about Bob’s trip last year (San Diego to Boston). Trained to be an ultra light packer with climbing, his bike trip included very minimal gear, which inspired us to go through our things & send stuff home.

When we settled in for the night, Ben was feeling overwhelmed with our upcoming trek through the desert to Las Vegas. He was concerned about climbing more mountains, the heat, no shade or water, being in the middle of nowhere & needing help, getting trapped. He told me he had a little PTSD from Glacier Pt. I tried to reassure him to take it 1 day at a time. There is almost always someone or something along any route that can help us out. He was feeling rushed to make it to Las Vegas in 1 week so we could meet up with Ben’s aunt & uncle & wasn’t looking forward to higher mileage. We did lots of research on routes, places to stop, lodging & made a rough plan for the next week. He felt a little better so we called it a night & hit the hay.

My brain is two-tired to continue at the moment. Until next time!

Whitney

Day 11: We cooked up a sweet potato with the eggs Donna & Walter gave us for breakfast. Yum! Then we packed up, checked the visitor center about backcountry camping along Hwy 41 within the park boundaries but no luck. We were hoping there would be so we could use the backpackers campground for our last night in Yosemite. John & Nicole said we could follow them to their new campsite if we wanted. That was nice. While we were at the visitor center we checked out the museum & watched a video on the history of Yosemite. Pretty interesting. We biked to John & Nicole’s new site & set up.

After lunch we biked to the trailhead for Mirror Lake & hiked a while. It was nice & quiet; very few people. The dogwood trees were in bloom & very pretty. It was a little rainy & chilly today but not enough to stop us from anything. Back to camp, we gathered a few things, biked to the shower house to clean up, picked up food for the next few days, made a curry dinner, played cards, scoped out our route for the next 2 days, & went to bed early. We purposely had a low-key day to rest our legs before tomorrow’s climb out of Yosemite.

Day 12: Up early, quick oatmeal, packed, stopped by El Capitan & hiked to the base a short distance to marvel at the massive beauty that is home to so many climbers & then we hit the road going south on 41.

It was about a 10ish mile steep climb to a T in the road that splits off to Glacier Point or downhill to Wawona. We felt stronger, but still took plenty of breaks (longer duration between than before; we’re getting better!). It was nice & sunny, not too hot. The Tunnel View turnout on the way up had a beautiful view. Biking through the tunnel was a little scary & so loud!

We made it to the T, had lunch, & ditched our gear behind a retaining wall so we could bike to Glacier Pt with a lighter load. This turned out to be a poor choice. For whatever reason we thought the 16 mile trek to Glacier Pt was going to be a lot easier than we expected. We knew it was still uphill but thought it was flatter than it was. The road was also fairly rough for half of it (bumpy, pot holes) which didn’t help. After climbing the 10 earlier our legs weren’t super excited about 16 more miles of climbing (plus the 16 back & then down to Wawona), but we made it. We were pretty exhausted though.

2/3rds of the way there the weather turned & brought a storm with it. A huge clap of thunder cracked super close to us (seriously huge, loudest of my life) that scared the crap out of me. Well, not literally, but I can only speak for myself… Once we were almost there we had to bike down about a mile & a half of steep turns. Gulp…We have to bike back up that? Plus 30 more miles? In a storm? With tired legs? Uh oh 🙁 The views were undoubtedly beautiful but we didn’t get to enjoy them long since the wind picked up something fierce, it got pretty cold & started to rain & hail. Ben started getting very nervous about the ride back & not being able to make it. He was worried we’d get stuck there, in shitty conditions, without all our gear & kinda freaked out. He felt helpless. I wasn’t too worried since there were a ton of people there if we needed help. I reassured him we’d be fine & laid out our options: 1. Walk the bikes up the steep 1.5 mile turns & then bike from there, 2. Hitchhike with our bikes all the way back to the T where our gear was (this would require a truck), 3. Walk the bikes uphill, bike what we could & hitchhike the rest, 4. If no one was able to fit our bikes in their vehicle, lock them up at Glacier Pt, hitchhike back to our gear, stealth camp for the night there, hitchhike back to our bikes in the morning & bike from there. If we’d had our gear we could’ve stealth camped there & been fine. Lesson learned: don’t ditch the gear.

We thought about our options & went with #2: hitchhike with bikes back to our gear. It was a little tricky at first since most people had cars & the few trucks we did ask said they couldn’t help, but alas, we were in luck! One truck was up to the task. Hooray! Jim & Ken graciously agreed to haul us back. Thank you!!! Jim owns an almond orchard in Manteca, CA & Ken works for Yosemite (at Curry Village, now Half Dome). We stopped by a marshy area on the way back where Ken had recently come to hear a symphony of frogs but no luck today. Also on the way back a tree had fallen in the road during the storm so we stopped & all got out to push it back. Go teamwork!

By the time we got back to the T, the storm had cleared & hadn’t even touched down where our gear was. Sweet! It was dry & not stolen. Win! We thanked them for their generosity, gave Jim a little pocket change & they were on their way. We quick regrouped, changed into dry clothes, ate & zoomed down the hill to Wawona.

The ride down felt like a completely different day – beautiful & sunny. 12 miles all downhill. Awesome! It wasn’t steep like Briceburg but steep enough to not pedal. We gained decent speed, not scary speed. It felt like a movie with the quiet,windy roads, in the trees, sun shining through, warm, perfect. What a turn of events. Jim had offered taking us to Wawona but I’m glad we didn’t. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss that amazing ride down.

We made it to the Wawona campground by 7pm. We thought about continuing on to Oakhurst where we had a Warm Showers host ready whenever we were but it was another 2 hours, some uphill, sun would set during our ride & our lights were dead. A bed, shower, dinner & laundry were tempting but we decided we should make 1 smart choice today & stay. We didn’t want to push our luck. The campground was full but we found another RV to share a site with: Kim & Chris. Yay!

We set up camp, made another curry dinner, chatted with them about their trip, life back home in Washington & our trip. They were nice 🙂 I warmed up a pot of water & took it to the bathroom for a “shower”. It was the most creative shower I’ve ever had but I needed it. I couldn’t stand my own stank & I was cold. I “showered” in a bathroom stall, in the dark, & got the floor a bit wet but wiped it up & actually made it cleaner in the end. It was an interesting experience but when I was done I felt much better! We sat around the fire for a bit & then straight to bed. Early too – 9:30!

I’m not two-tired now but we definitely were after that day! Until next time.

Whitney

Sitting under an overpass outside of Baker,CA at the moment, enjoying the shade, but more on that later.

Day 9: I actually slept pretty well in the tent for a change. That was nice. We made oatmeal, did dishes using river water, packed up & moved to Donna & Walter’s spot to set up there. We packed a lunch & biked over to some trails for hiking. We took the Mist Trail all the way up to Nevada Falls which also passes by Vernal Falls (where all the mist comes from). It was a beautiful day, steep hiking, gorgeous views. We got soaked along the misty part which was kind of fun. Took a break at the top of Vernal Falls to soak up some sun after getting wet. The squirrels are way too tame. A guy was literally petting one! They’re pretty cute but damn! We hiked to the top of Nevada Falls, which was even steeper. Lots of people, crowded trails, hard for going your own pace. You often have to pull over & wait to let others through or go slow behind people. We pulled off at the top & walked up river to a quiet spot for lunch. Ahhh, just how I like it: rushing river, sitting on the rocks, hidden in the trees, just us, sunny day. Doesn’t get much better than that. Back to the top of the falls, the view was great, the water powerful. So much of it! We hiked back down in no time, passing people constantly. I needed to go faster for several reasons. A) it’s more fun, B) gotta keep the momentum going, C) it made my legs shake to hold back. It reminded me of the Porkies again (in MI, on Lake Superior). I like to run the trails a bit-it makes me feel wild, free, liberated & slightly like I’m doing parkour when we’re jumping, hopping & dodging all the rocks & tree roots. It certainly got us down the mountain quickly.

Back at the campsite, we grabbed clean clothes & hit the showers in Half Dome Village. Quick nap then off to The Loft cafe for Wi-Fi & blogging. We were able to have our fancy dinner at the Majestic Yosemite Hotel. It was fancy alright. So many different kinds of silverware! 3 of everything: knives, spoons & forks. I’ve never understood that. One should do the trick. We both couldn’t figure out what one of the knives was for (1 for butter, 1 for meat, 1 for…?) until they took our salad away, with the extra knife. Ooohhhh, a salad knife! Yeah, those other knives just wouldn’t have cut it… 🙂 As for fancy, even Ben was nervous about my camping neck buff (like a scarf but more like a big head band) & asked if I was going to wear it in there. Ah hahaha, if they want to kick me out for wearing a buff around my neck in Yosemite (where that is the typical wardrobe) I don’t need to eat there. Food was pricey, mostly tasty, it was a neat experience but not something I’d need to repeat. We just wanted to celebrate making it to our 1st major destination. Back to The Loft for blogging, then straight to the campsite for bed.

Day 10: Slept well again, yay! Ear plugs & chiller weather help. Oatmeal as per usual. Donna made us coffee & dishwater, that was nice. We chatted about their summer travel plans & her son’s restaurant with noteworthy gourmet burgers. They gave us some extra eggs & water, took a quick picture of all 4 of us & off they went.

I scouted out another family with an RV to let us pitch our tent on their site. This couple, John & Nicole, live in Switzerland & have been traveling the world with their 2 kids for the last year! They’ve been to 12 different countries, with the US & Canada last & then back home in a few weeks. The mom does their schooling with them on the road. They’re really nice & easy to talk to.

After setting up our new site (we only had to drag the already setup tent over about 30 yards) we went back to the same hiking spot as yesterday, in search of Sierra Point, where you can see 5 waterfalls. Andrea, Dawn & Marty had all suggested it. The problem was that it used to be a trail but rockfall ruined it & is no longer open. They had given us tips on how to find it & we tried our best but in the end failed. We did find it but lost it & couldn’t find a good way to the top. Oh well, maybe another time. It was fun wandering off path & making our own trail but in the end I was bummed we didn’t find it. It took lunch & laundry for me to get over it. Ben napped, I read.

Later, we biked down to Yosemite Falls & wandered around for a while. A group asked us about our bikes so we chatted about our trip. They had just run a half marathon that morning & still wanted to go hiking around Yosemite. Hat’s off to them! Back to camp for curry dinner. Yum. Blogging at Visitor Center, then straight to bed.

Reflections:

1. Everyone assumes this trip is Ben’s idea & I’m just tagging along but it’s definitely the other way around. It seems most people assume this type of adventure is a guy thing. Hmmmm… 🙁 I was amused when a guy at one of the turnouts climbing to Yosemite entrance gave me props for being ahead of Ben. He said he always sees the wife way behind & wishes it was more balanced so he was happy to see me in the lead & kickin’ that hills butt.

2. I had the song lyrics “Rocky loves Emily” stuck in my head all day (I think from seeing all these rocks around here) & for the life of me couldn’t figure out what movie it was from. Anybody know without Googling it? Someone help me!

3. I miss our computer back home. It’s so much faster to get things done on a computer than a phone.

MILEAGE:

1. San Fran to Fremont 55

2. Livermore 22

3. Ripon 43

4. Fox Grove Park 25

5. Lake McSwain 36

6. Mariposa 32

7. El Portal 29

8. Yosemite Valley 15

Well, gotta roll! Til next time.

Whitney

Here’s my “quick” attempt to catch up on the past week.

Day 8: I still didn’t get great sleep (irrationally afraid of the mountain lion). Ben made coffee & cheesy eggs for breakfast in Andrea & Edward’s kitchen. Yum yum. We said our goodbyes, had a quick hug & were on the road by 8:30. Only 14 miles to Yosemite Valley. Big climb to start but once in the park it wasn’t too bad. We made it to our 1st major destination! Yahoo! The ride in was beautiful: lots of waterfalls & rushing river. We stopped for lunch in a meadow looking up at Yosemite Falls, under a shade tree. It was perfect 🙂 Gorgeous weather, beautiful view, sense of accomplishment. There was a lot of traffic. The valley floor is quite modern. It’s basically a small town: shops, restaurants, cafes, grocery stores, hotel, etc. Biking around Yosemite is tricky: paths are for pedestrians & bikers & are pretty busy. Our bells came in handy but not everyone knows what to do when you’re coming through.

We set up camp at the backpackers campground (reserved for people doing backcountry camping on their 1st & last night as well as for bikers & pedestrians, just the 1st night). With camp set up we rinsed in the river – WOOOO, coldest yet! Refreshing but dang! Laundry, nap, biked to Camp 4 to inquire about open spots for tomorrow & how early we should line up – 5am, opens 3 hours later…ugh 🙁 We stopped to watch 4 deer munchin on some grass very close to the path on the way over. Using Zack from Livermore’s advice we biked to Lower Pines campground & looked for RV campers to share a site with (this was key since they don’t use lawn space for tent & don’t need bear lockers since food is fine in their RV). Asked a couple, Donna & Walter, & they said yes. Hooray! Now we don’t have to wake up early & wait in line for a campground we weren’t jazzed about anyway (crowded, loud, free-for-all). We chatted a bit about our trip, a little of where they came from & Walter gave us some tips on things to do & see in Yosemite (also about secret showers in Curry Village, now Half Dome Village-thanks!).

We did a little grocery shopping before dinner-wow, so many options, decent prices, good quality. Biked to the Majestic Yosemite Hotel for a fancy dinner to celebrate our 1st major destination. On the way over we came across a coyote on the path that was very tame & not skiddish. We stopped, it walked within touching distance very nonchalantly & continued on it’s way. Don’t see that everyday! At the hotel we put our name on the list & while we waited I helped escort a squirrel that snuck into the hotel back outside. Silly squirrel. We waited quite a bit but it was too long so we went to The Loft cafe near the Visitor Center for a quick bite. On the ride back in the dark some people walking on the path warned us of bears up ahead in the meadow…gulp 🙂 They’re just black bears, mostly harmless, but I was still a little on edge. Back to camp & straight to bed. A little chilly tonight – felt good.

Well, that was only one day’s update & not so quick but we gotta roll! Til next time.

Whitney

Day 7: Ben had picked up a single serving size of milk at the market across the street so we could have cereal for breakfast. We needed a break from oatmeal, especially since we knew we’d be having it every morning in Yosemite. Cereal – so basic but still so good. Today’s destination: El Portal,CA. The ride started out with a 5-6ish mile steep climb (6-10% grade). Again, lots of breaks. But once we reached the Midpines summit we had an 8.3 mile bomb downhill to Briceburg. Wowza! Ben enjoyed it. He likes downhills & kicks my butt. I was thankful for no pedalling but also scared. You can gain some major speed when it’s that steep & that long. My brakes got a good workout! At least we covered a lot of distance in no time. That was fun! We stopped partway down for a look into the valley below which was cool. We also stopped at the bottom in Briceburg at a visitor center. There was another biker heading the opposite direction (back up that huge hill we bombed!) so we both shared tips about the roads ahead. Good luck! A local who works in Yosemite, Marty, chatted with us & said we could pitch a tent on his porch in El Portal if we wanted (perfect!) & that there would be a taco truck in town tomorrow night that we should stay for. He was so nice. We took down his address & phone number & were back on the road.

The ride to El Portal felt flat compared to the climbing we’d been doing but it was a very gradual uphill (1-2% grade). Along the way we took a pit stop for lunch on the side of the road under a shade tree, rinsed in the cold Merced River & filled up water at a lodge. When we got to El Portal our phones didn’t have service so we couldn’t find Marty’s address or give him a call. I suppose we could’ve asked someone but we just settled on camping in the campground down the road. We stopped at the market for food & another local woman there, Andrea, asked if we needed a place to stay. Sure! Her husband, Edward, works for the park & she works for Yosemite Conservancy. Everyone in El Portal has to work for Yosemite in order to live there. She let us put our food in her truck, then we followed her on our bikes up the road & into the hill a bit to their house. Wow, the land there is beautiful! The rushing Merced River is right below (you can always hear & see it), it’s covered in rocks & trees, & is right on Crane Creek. Their house was cool too. Edward was home shortly & showed us down to the creek so we could take a dip. I can’t even tell you how good that felt. For those who know me, I felt like I was up at the Porkies (in MI), my favorite place to be. I was so happy. Ahh, just 100% at peace. We rinsed our clothes & headed back to the house. They showed us around the house, said we could use the bathroom & kitchen & told us to store our food inside. They warned us about a mountain lion in the area, it’s the beginning of rattlesnake season & of course, bears. Gulp… lions & snakes & bears, oh my 😉 We set up our tent on their deck & Ben took a nap while I started charging things (phones, Garmin, head & tail lights). I had a nice chat with Andrea about her & Edward’s bike touring days (US, China, South America). It was fun to hear her stories & experiences. She’s very kind, knowledgeable & welcoming. I felt like we already knew each other.

While we waited for their teenage daughter, Dawn, to come home from school we helped Andrea make dinner. She did most of the work but she actually let us help & I loved that! Most of the time people refuse to let us help & I feel like a big mooch. It was nice to feel useful & pitch in. I need to remember that when the roles are reversed. I tend to want to do it all to be nice & take a load off others but when they want to help I should listen. Once Dawn arrived we sat out on the deck & had veggie burgers, roasted potatoes & salad. We all got to know each other & I just love their family; they’re good people.

After dinner, Ben & I helped with dishes. Andrea & Dawn then showed us the path to a waterfall up the hill so we hiked the short distance & sat up there a while just enjoying the peace & rushing river. Once it started getting dark we went back to the house, & on the way noticed the name of the street Marty lived on… We mentioned Marty to Andrea & he’s one of their neighbors! There was a gathering next door so we shared the bottle of wine we bought in town with Andrea & went over. That was nice meeting other locals & getting their advice on Yosemite. They were all lovely. On the way back the 2 of us stopped at Marty’s & chatted a while. What a small & special world to run into him again.

Back at Andrea & Edward’s for the night we watched a Netflix documentary about climbing (Valley Uprising) that was really interesting. While we watched I helped fix the straps on Dawn’s prom dress that she needed in 3 days. I was so thrilled to help! She wanted the adjusters off & to shorten & stitch the straps. Easy peasy. It was fun! After that, bed time under the stars – no rain fly. Great day.