To the Florida coast we go!
Finally! After three days of painful uphill and every local for 70 miles telling us that El Centro, CA is "only two more hills and 60 miles away" we arrived already sun burnt and wind kissed. Arriving at the top of the final hill of the San Bernadino Mountains was glorious. Even more divine though, was the 10+ miles of downhill at 6% grade! First time in my life that I've stayed above the legal vehicle speed limit on my bike for almost half an hour: the posted speed was 35 mph and we sustained 36-40 mph for all except the last mile of the downhill. Hands down this was the most blissful ten miles of bike riding in my life to date, and I've now pedaled almost 4,300 miles on my Long Haul Trucker. Though Iz hasn't spun that many miles, he echoes the same about the grandeur of the downhill.
A fire captain who was returning from a fire call spotted us on the road and had the engineer pull up behind us. He is dreaming of pedaling the southern tier in a few years once he retires. He allowed us to stay in the Imperial County fire hall overnight which was a blessing. After so much uphill pedaling it was very nice to have a warm place to sleep and a hot shower. Thank you captain Celis. The fire crew also escorted us over to the naval air facility where the Blue Angels are trained and housed to get food. For $5.50 each we had a big double cheeseburger, fries and a drink. Still no lizards or cacti in the diet.
Got a package from the parents that was loaded with food; what a blessing to have wonderful parents! Also in the package was my waterproof Kindle case which will be wonderful for the hot springs where Iz and I will take a day off for relaxing & camping tomorrow. Apparently there are great natural hot springs just east of El Centro on our route...why wouldn't we stop for a day!?
We posted a load of new pictures on my facebook account for anybody who'd like to see :-)
Now we're off to find a bicycle shop and our warmshowers host. Until next time, all it takes is one revolution. May God bring peace to your hearts.
The ten-mile biking downhill must have been fun! the wind in your hair, and the sun on your faces. doing a car speed limit on a bike and not getting pulled over. thank god for the fire cheif and his staff for letting your all stay the night in the station. Good got some good food, and not lizards and cacti. Pretty sure the photos of the natural hot spring is beautiful. There's hardly any left since global warming, they're residing and drying out. The scenery surrounding the spring had to be beautiful and pure. well, hope to see you all when you enter Florida's Eastside high School
ReplyDeleteGlad you finally made it over those mountains. Good to hear that you are happy and fed. Enjoy the hot springs and rest up for the next leg. Talk to you soon.
ReplyDeleteLizards and Cacti does not sound tasty!
ReplyDeleteGod Bless your parents for the extra food...
:)
Auntriel I aqree with you I probably would have just went hungry!!! Althouqh the biq double cheesburger and drink sounded tasty , sounds like your adventure is qoinq well!! :), and i know you qet tired workinq your leq musceles pedalinq up hills and mountains, (I probably Wouldn't Do)..Lol..But qlad to see Your enjoyinq yourself.
ReplyDeleteAsh just "hooked" me up to your blog.....so good to read about your trip. Wouldn't lizards need slow cooking....I'm sure you didn't pack a crock pot! Have fun and stay safe!
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