Day 4 - Tuesday, May 15th - Indio to Blythe, CA

Distance: 97.2 miles

Elevation Gain: +2449 ft. or 25.2 ft./mile

Net elevation change: +293 ft.

Today is the first of two days that we will spend crossing the southern portion of the Mojave Desert, the driest desert in the US that covers nearly 48,000 square miles, primarily in California and Nevada.  It is also the smallest of the deserts in North America with boundaries that are generally marked by the presence of the Joshua Tree, which isn't a tree, but a very large yucca plant. The Mojave has sparse vegetation and is a transition desert of sorts between the hot Sonoran Desert to the south and the cooler and higher Great Basin Dessert to the north. The Great Basin covers 190,000 square miles across most of Nevada and Utah and extends into Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado.  The Sonoran is the hottest desert and covers about 100,000 square miles in southeastern California south of the Mojave, southwestern Arizona, most of Baja California and the western portion of the state of Sonora, Mexico.  Here is a pic of the desert at the beginning of the ride.....

and a picture somewhere between 65 and 75 miles later...

Not much difference. If you look closely you can see there is fencing in both pictures. Who are you trying to keep out of a desert with a fence? 

Navigation over the past two days averaged over 30 turns each day to wind our way through the thicket of people and cars. Today the navigational complexity was a blessedly simple 7 turns. Pretty much three turns out of the hotel to get on I-10 and head east for 88 miles (with three rest stops along the way), exit I-10 at Mesa Verde (pop 1,000), make a left then a right to get on Hobsonway in Blythe and proceed to the hotel. 

Well there is the nearly 100 miles to contend with and, despite the elevation change between Indio and Blythe being only about 300 feet, we started at -14 feet in Indio. At the two-mile mark we started climbing over the next twelve miles to the peak elevation of the day of roughly 1700 feet where we pass through Cactus City which is more like a rest stop. Not killer by any stretch but certainly outside the norm for this confirmed flatlander.

Over the next 15 miles we pass along the southern border of the Joshua Tree National Park that is mainly flat. The last 60 miles is pretty much a gradual descent into Blythe with only three places to stop: Chiriaco Summit, Desert Center and Wiley’s Well. We stop to refuel at each. Joshua Tree National Park covers nearly 791,000 acres (a little bigger than the state of Rhode Island) and roughly 430,000 acres is designated wilderness area. It straddles the border between Riverside and San Bernadino counties and includes parts of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts.  Not wanting to add miles or time to an already hard day I settled for this pic of the Joshua Tree National Park sign.

 Chiriaco Summit, Desert Center and Wiley’s Well at this point are just rest stops along I-10 but of course there is some history about how they came into existence. Before that I just want to say that these type of signs take on a whole new meaning when you are on a bike...in the Mojave Desert.

Chirico Summit (originally Shaver Summit) was purchased by Joe Chiriaco, after he traveled from Alabama to the 1925 Rose Bowl. He decided to stay and went to work for the Los Angeles Bureau of Water and Power where he heard of plans to pave the road near Shaver Summit as part of the construction of US 60. He bought the land and opened a service station and general store.  In 1942, General George S. Patton came to town. The southeast corner of California and part of Arizona was chosen as the place for Patton to train a million men to fight in the Sahara in northern Africa. Joe Chiriaco’s general store was a frequent stop for soldiers during the time the base was in operation. After Patton died in a freak automobile accident in Germany in 1945, Joe established a memorial to him at the Summit. The Bureau of Land Management and Patton’s Estate established the General Patton Memorial Museum nearby in 1989. The rest stop is still operated by Joe’s son and daughter. I think the pics that follow a self-explanatory.

Dessert Center is at the intersection of I-10 and CA 177 just about halfway between Phoenix and LA. With a population of about 200 it is a bit more then a rest stop. The town was founded in 1921 by Stephen Ragsdale (aka Desert Steve).  He was an itinerant preacher and cotton farmer from Arkansas whose car broke down nearby on the mostly dirt road. A local prospector gave him and his wife food and shelter until the car could be repaired.  On their return trip they bought out the prospector and built a small shack that served as a repair garage, a Model T truck was used as a tow truck and gas was pumped from 55-gallon drums. Despite being 50 miles from anything in any direction they prospered and moved Desert Center five miles to a large modern facility when US-60 was constructed. I am guessing that these aren't pics of that "modern facility".😨

Wiley’s Well is nothing but a highway rest stop close to…Wiley’s Well, which was named for AP Wiley who in 1907 deepened a well that had been dug by a stagecoach company in 1876. He did this in hopes of attracting business to his desert store. A new, deeper well was dug by the Bureau of Land Management in 1985 to support the new Wiley’s Well Campground (why would you camp in the desert?). The well water is so hot at 90F (and loaded with minerals) it is pumped into a cistern to cool it enough for drinking. Apparently, the area is popular for rock hunters as it has rich geode beds that contain quartz crystals and other rocks desirable to “rockhounds”. I guess this is why you would camp out here.

I approached this day with a lot of apprehension. Riding in a desert on the shoulder of an interstate was not exactly appealing by itself. The shoulder of the interstate was largely a non issue. Wide, decent pavement and relatively clean of debris as these pics show

Truckers were also cool. Many would move to the left lane when passing and we even got a friendly horn-toot or two.  Unfortunately the pavement didn't stay that way and at mile 63 the pavement went to crap with heat fissures and cracks running across the pavement at no more then 30 feet apart. No choice but to slow down for the next 22 miles. Here are examples of the best and worst portions of this pavement.

As for me, I completed the last 12.7 miles in the van. Heat and dehydration finally got the best of me, despite my efforts to hydrate and eat along the way. Cramping and nausea ensued. I am disappointed to say the least but coming into this I knew that I don't handle temps of 90 or above very well.  This just confirms that and has me wondering about the balance of the rides this week (I can't think further out then that). It is certain that I won't complete all of tomorrow's 116 miles in the desert. My minimum goal right now is to ride out the first five miles to the Arizona border. Beyond that....well we are just going to have to wait. 

Sneak peek at tomorrow

After back to back days of 90+ miles, we are going to break the century mark and go 116 miles (the longest day of the tour). We will leave California and enter Arizona about five miles into the ride to Wickenburg, Arizona. From what I can see of the tour route, Wickenburg with a population of 6400,  probably qualifies as the first stop on a tour of small town USA.  Located about 55 miles northwest of Phoenix, portions of the city are in Maricopa and Yavapai counties. The city is named for a German immigrant named Henry Wickenburg, one of the first prospectors in the area who struck it rich with the discovery of the Vulture Mine, the most productive gold mine in Arizona history. Today the mine and ghost-town are a tourist attraction where according to the city website “Horses, Hats, History and Hospitality” are the foundation of Wickenburg. If you google “dude ranch capital of the world”, Wickenburg is the first result.

As for weather....it will be hot and sunny (what a surprise) and winds look to be ok speed wise but variable, so we will get a mix of it tomorrow.