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Published: October 3rd 2006
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Fields of Sprinklers
This was a field of dirt filled with thousands of sprinklers! Riding past, we felt the humidity rise drastically. Shawne says...
Miles Today: 35.6
Total Miles: 209.0
Flats Today: 0
Total Flats: 4
We tried...but yet again we could not get up early. I woke around 5:30 am and hollered at Jo to get up...then promptly went back to sleep. the snooze alarm kept going off in my head, and I would wake up every 15 minutes or so. When 6:30 rolled around, I got up and started the morning routine. The three S's. I made a good breakfast of steak and eggs, microwaved fried chicken, and crackers with PB&J. We bought some instant coffee, so I made a couple of cups, and it was NASTY. I tried to gulp it down. After we cleaned up the kitchen, I updated my journal, which took way too long. With all the events of yesterday, I filled six pages! By the time we packed all our gear and locked the place up, it was 9:00....much later than our intended departure time.
We hit the road with a brisk pace and put our first five miles in with ease. I've been having problems with my hands and feet falling asleep-I'm not sure why. I try not to think about it and just
Contaminated Area
Read this sign! We couldn't leave the roadway! We could hear explosions in the distance! keep pushing on. We passed through a lot of farm country. The humidity skyrocketed due to the irrigation of all the crops. We passed over the Highline Canal, and the landscape changed drastically. It went from green fields to barren desert in 20 feet! The shoulder got very narrow, and shade became non-existent.
We were approaching Glamis and the heat was getting to us. Again, we had enough water, but it was all HOT water. We neared the Ranger Station and had to stop because once again my chain came off the front sprockets. A Sheriff's Deputy pulled up to us and asked if we were okay. I asked him if the Ranger Station had water. He wasn't sure, and kindly reached in the back seat of the SUV and pulled out a large bottle of Aquafina. He handed it to me through the window. We thanked him as he pulled away and we immediately chugged the cool water down.
We reached the Ranger Station and walked inside to air-conditioned comfort. We filled our water bottles with ice cold water from the cooler in the back room and enjoyed the break from the heat. Munching on saltine crackers, we talked
to the two Rangers for a while. They explained that it was a slow time now, but on majoy holiday weekends, there will be 200,000 people in Glamis. A couple of EMT's had just returned from a call in this really cool sand rail that was all decked out with lights and graphics that showed "EMT" on the sides. After about half an hour, we decided to brave the elements and take off.
We had a three mile uphill and a three mile downhill to reach Glamis. It was a beautiful ride with all the sand dunes and sand bowls surrounding us. The rangers had informed us that if we rode just a few miles past the town of Glamis, we could camp for free.
By the time we reached the town, which is actually just a general store, we were in need of water. We entered the store to find that 75% of the floorspace was taken up by T-Shirts for sale. There was hardly any food in the place. We walked to the cooler to find the price of a gallon of water was $3.75!!! We had to do it. There was no potable water in sight. So,
we purchased 2 gallons of water for almost 8 bucks and filled our water bottles.
We had to ride 5 miles out of town to get out of the "No Camping" zone. By the time we found a suitable area to set up camp, the heat was really getting to us, and all our ice cold water we just purchased was now hot. We hung a tarp for shade and set up camp. The food at the store was too overpriced for our taste so we dined on two of our emergency dehydrated meals for dinner. They were actually pretty good! We did some maintenance to the bikes and are now lying in our tent sweating to death, listening to the vibrating power pole across the way. I guess we have been spoiled the past few nights sleeping with the A.C. cranked up. Hopefully we will get up early tomorrow and climb this 1000 foot hill while it is still cooler out.
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Debbie Arteno
non-member comment
Love reading about your adventures daily, keep it up.............the weather here is now cool, rain no snow. Take Care.