It’s strange to be so close to our final destination. Two months worth of pedaling our bikes and we are on the edge of the Western United States.
After a very deep sleep from both of us, we tore down camp quickly, trying to use up every drop of the cool desert morning. By cool, I mean 70 degrees… which rose to well over 100 by the afternoon.
The morning was the best part of our day. We were the freshest we would be, in nice weather and with gorgeous sights, sounds, smells, and a light breeze blowing. The morning brought the eeriest blue haze in the distance which contrasted sharply with a flat yellow landscape. How did this phenomenon occur? We spent several minutes coming up with theories. Our best being the Salton Sea creating a blue mist. Whatever it was, it was a sight to behold!
There are some huge canal systems out here and a lot of farm land in the Imperial Valley of California. We crossed the All American Canal today which is the largest irrigation canal in the WORLD and the Imperial Valley’s only water source. It irritates 630,000 acres and carries 26,000 cubic feet of water per second! What a canal. We took a picture on one of its branches which was home to many soaring squawking birds.
Before we suited up for the sun, while the UV index was low, we had our faces exposed and noticed a consistent stream of cobwebs hitting us. When we braked to put on our face coverings, we noticed tons of baby spiders crawling on us. They were using the cool morning to shoot out a web and catch the breeze, taking to the skies in search of a new home. What a fun way to spread your babies! They were more daring travelers than we, venturing into the unknown and literally going wherever the wind blows.
About twenty miles into the day, Ryan had a flat from running over an old screw on the road. We fixed it and enjoyed our first formal snack break of the day, refilled our water, and set off for another 50 miles to Ocotillo. We planned another water refill there before the final leg of our desert travels coming tomorrow.
It was fun to see San Diego appear on mileage signs, and to be so close! We are now less than 100 miles away. Our arrival is planned for the 1st of May. Before we get there though, we have another 100 degree day with many climbs and descents.
Ryan reminded me today that once we reach our last climb, it won’t just be the road that drops for a nice coast down, but the temperature as well!
Good thing we are nearly through this heat because we both became a bit delirious by the end of today. A salty meal with lots of water helped to perk us back up enough to find a campsite where we can rest our bodies all night.
Sweet dreams out there! We love you all ❤️
70 miles on the nose today! CT by y
Route info for interested readers:
We rode into Brawley on Highway 78. From there we turned left onto S Palm Ave, right on Malan, and left on Imperial Ave which turned into Dogwood Rd. That took us all the way through Calexico where it hit highway 98 and there we turned right for the rest of the day. We are camped tonight at the end of highway 98 just past Ocotillo
There and Back Again 