Indio to Brawley

 

Our original route had to change because of road construction. That kept us off I-10 (good news) but bought us about 45 miles of road surface that felt like a cheese grater.  And not the kind  they use on a nice Parmesan wedge.  The kind that vibrates your hands and feet into submission and makes you worry what will fall off your bike.

The Salton Sea was interesting.  I guess it used to be a big vacation spot but judging from the building ruins that must have been some time ago.  New biking buddy Odie used the area to practice bombing runs in his F-14.

Standing on what used to be the shoreline
Water waaaaaayyyy off in the distance

I wore my classic Posties jerseys.  True story.  It had extra vials of EPO sewn into the pockets. 

This place looked very tempting after 45 miles in the heat.

Pro Tip  if you leave the video camera running in your jersey pocket you get an hour of ghostly images and a dead battery  I think that’s Professor Mark and the Georgia Boys who ride fast and get to every SAG first. I stayed with them the first two days.  Today I got smart  

Todays Most Valuable Gear   

It was so hot that my Camelbak was voted today's most valuable gear item. And looking at the weather for Wednesdays 116 mile desert crossing, it maybe a repeat winner.

I’m writing this in a van load of cyclists who rode for 5-6 hours in the heat and jumped aboard in their riding kit to get shuttled to our original destination of Blythe.  As my new friend Judd said… I don’t like our chance of getting our security deposit back.

——

And finally.  Thanks for everyone who texted, emailed, left comments on yesterday’s post.  I got many of them mid ride and they really lifted my spirits.  One last photo of my family when my brothers and I were little…I miss these guys