However before the world of pain the ride was beautiful. Rapidly the urban areas fell behind me and I was up in the orange groves running along side the Union Pacific railroad. I don't exaggerate when I say I lost count of how many cars the trains were pulling, it's an awesome sight up close.
Riding up in the Orange groves, with the hills and snow capped mountains in the background, with Harley Davidson riders and trains cruising past, it finally felt right. This is how it was meant to be, this was the plan and I was ticking off more than a few of the key points from the youtube clip that originally inspired me (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxcY2hvBQZs). Sure the hills were long and rolling, but it felt perfect.
That was until I hit the desert. On arriving at the entrance to the Morongo Sovereign Nation (an Native American reservation) border I was informed that the tribe do not let cyclist through, on health and safety grounds. It was then I realised why my GPS and Google were in disagreement...for 15 miles odd there are only intermittent sealed roads on the route Palm Springs that aren't freeways cyclists can't use.
Suddenly the day went from an easy 55 mile hike into surreal and serious hard work over unmarked roads through the desert. Firstly along the shingle side of the railroad for 5 miles and then later out into the desert scrub land in the gap between the Ten Thousand Foot ridge and the Fuller ridge where the wind off the Pacific roars through the gap in the mountains, into hundreds of wind turbines. What made it so surreal, aside from the hundreds of wind turbines, was as I struggled through gullies and small canyons, and along the railroad tracks I could still hear the freeway less than 2 miles away, and see a huge casino tower on the horizon. In fact in between the little bush efforts I went for a coffee at the Starbucks at the casino covered in dust and muck, so I could use their free Wi-Fi to re-check my route. The juxtaposition was very unsettling.
It was however well worth it, and the serious bruises I have on my hips and elbows (caused by an impressive combination of soft ground, clip in pedals and lack of experience in the desert), for the final push into Palm Springs. With the best tail wind I've ever ridden, I flew down track between the freeway and railroad and then on down the side of the 111 (narrowly avoiding the small sand dune across the bike path at one point). With the desert, mountains, and a clear blue sky for company, I was a seriously happy chappie arriving into Palm Springs, genuine lesson in planning and preparation well and truly learnt.
If you haven't been to Palm Springs is worth visiting, maybe a little touristy, but still cool and some of the architecture is awesome (oddly best are the banks). Following the efforts of today, I'm staying here for a day, whilst I work out my new route South and into more populated areas, and get my bike mended. With a pool and perfect sunshine outside the window, I can think of worse places to get stuck.
Route - Highland - Banning - Carazon - Palm Springs
Breakfast - Bacon and eggs - Taco Joe’s
Lunch - 4 Reeses cups, powerade at a Cheveron gas station off highway 10, and a cinnamon pretzel at Auntie Anne’s in the Casino
Dinner - Cobb burger and strawberry milkshake - Ruby’s Dinner
