Bakersfield, CA - Phoenix, AZ (2)

And here comes the second report of my US tour.

After a day off in Bakersfield I recovered well from the first four stages, And it was important as a truly tough section began. It covered a total of 650 km with another 4,500 meters of elevation gain. I had to overcome the first mountain range with 1,700 m climb on the first day ending in Rosamond. After the top a wild decend begun and the landscape changed from green trees to grey prairie.

One thing became obvious on this second section: you can plan distances and elevation gain well on a computer. Temperatures are also somehow (in certain limits) predictable, but the unknown is the wind, or better the storm. And it came into play big time. There were sections where I had to pedal hard to even move, despite I was on a 4% decent. I couldn.t believe it. Imagine how hard the uphill was, at least I was protected by the mountain in front of me. But of course I had also a lot of tailwind. The problem are the gusts. You cannot just speed. You have to be prepared for the unexpected every single second. Consequently I somehow cramped my hands and that led to significant pain over time. I have never experienced such a constant heavy wind over many days.

Day one to Rosamond 127 km

First break for lunch. Amazing place with amazing people. I got chatting to several people inside, all of whom wanted to know what my tour was about. An older couple was absolutely thrilled. And believe it or not, when I went to go and pay I was told the bill had already been paid by the couple when they left, they didn't even tell me. - I was blown away.

wild decent with 50 km/h

Another long day with wind in hilly areas

Ended in Victorville. I intended to go to a camp ground. My GPS led me through a private Ranch with lots of locked gates. I had to overcome those barriers somehow.. But at the end I arrived.

Due to the strong wind, I initially set up my tent at the edge of the forest, but a ranger came at night and asked me to move to the allocated spot. I had to move in the dark, tried to negotiate to stay but wasn't successful, he left twice and came back with his supervisor a third time.. Ridiculous, but I survived it

After about 70 km I had lunch in Bartow, the entrance to the Mojave desert.

It is a 250 km transition of the desert from west to east. On the first half the Interstate 40 is close to historical route 66. That changes. on the second half. But therefor absolutely no traffic on my way.

Both highways share the gas stop in Ludlow.

Where I was so happy to find this hotel with vacancy. I had planned to put my tent under a bridge to escape from the storm but was hoping for 50 km before arriving I find an alternative.

Next morning I covered the first 46 km to Amboy in 1,5 hours. But there where 130 more km on that day to go.

All of a sudden this - oh no. The detour was via the interstate 40 with a lot of traffic. So I decided to ignore the sign and just continue, after all my bike is a gravel bike. No risk no fun. But if something would happen nobody would find me. The next 55 km there was absolutely nobody. And no mobile signal neither. But this is what this trip is about.

I was never so lonely in my life before. there were multiple sand storms in the area.

And then it became clear why the road was closed. In many sections, it had been undermined and washed away. I had to evade into the sand and cross the riverbeds.

It was an endless day and I started to get exhausted. 175 km in total.

But it had a happy end. When I arrived in Needles, the frontier to Arizona. This was the most exciting bike day of my life. I can see that when I count the number of photos and videos I took during that day. They all look the same but I was totally overwhelmed.

My original plan was to go on the California side from Needles to Parker (110 km). But I realised I would miss the great landscape around the Colorado river, which represents the border between the two states. So I changed the plan and went to Lake Havasu City instead. It seemed an easy 80 km, but was absolutely not.

The landscape is so exciting here. BUT. The wind had changed and I had it straight from the front. That pulled my last reserves out of me. Also the road conditions were terrible. It felt as if I was sitting on sandpaper. After riding 175 km the day before. It was not possible to continue the remaining 50 km to Parker. And even less so the 184 km to Wickenburg the day after. Completely impossible. I could hardly walk. Finally I chose to sleep a night and decide the day after what to do.

But first I enjoyed a very mild evening with 25 degree in Lake Havasu City

They have no Greyhound service and no train station. The only thing is an international airport. So I can rent a car to get back to schedule. But I definitely need recovery days, otherwise I won't be able to do the whole tour. And I also wanted to include running and swimming sessions. All of that is completely unthinkable right now. So I have to rethink everything substantially, otherwise the tour will end somewhere in Texas. If I only drove to Phoenix, the risk of ending up in the same situation would be high. So I decided to drive to Texas. But I'll cycle to some of the important highlights along the way. For example, Big Bend National Park and the Rio Grande. I wouldn't have been able to fit that in on the pure bike route. And then from Dallas I'll have 12 days of buffer time. This allows me to split the particularly long sections over two days and still not get stressed. And it allows to regain energy when exhausted. So now I'll be doing a week by car/bike, before continuing just by bike. But I think that makes the most sense under the given circumstances.

The road to Wickenburg was extremely boring anyway. 184 km slowly uphill all the time. Wickenburg itsself is an old western city, with a rich history. But they seem to live still in the past.

The area between Wickenburg and Phoenix

Where I currently stay and plan my next week.