What's For Desert

On March 16, 2010, Doug wrote:

 

Kindly recall yesterday's blog where I wrote of seeing enough hay to feed every cow in the USA.  Today we found where all that hay goes.  A few miles east of Brawley we rode past a factory beef-fattening farm of humongous proportions.  Cows were packed in right next to one another in an area that was at least a half mile by a mile!!! Cheryl says she's seen similar operations in Colorado or Nebraska but this was several times larger.  Unbelieveable.  So was driving past roadside markets selling BAGS of acovados for $3.00!

 

We knew we were facing 90 miles in the desert today and that it would be a hard day.  To say our expectations were realized is a bit of an understatement!  We got full doses of three out of the four 'H's of bicycling.  Hills (mountains by Michigan standards), headwind, heat, but no humidity.  Believe me, the other three were enough--especially the headwind.  Not much to slow it down in the desert either.  The heat was pretty oppressive too, though the locals said it was 'only' 85 degrees.  90 miles took over six and a half hours of time in the saddle. 

 

Turned out we only had a 40 mile section without any stores.  Good thing, too.  I drank 75 ounces of water in the nearly three hours that section took, and I'm at nearly two gallons of liquid for the day counting a beer for dinner and coffee at breakfast.  To get through the day, I ate a bowl of cereal, a yogurt, a bagel, a huge muffin, orange juice, V-8 juice, several fig newtons, a banana, a small bag of peanuts, a cheese samdwich, potato salad, two cokes, and several handfuls of Fritos--all before dinner. 

 

Our route took us through Glamis--pop. 13--which apparently is the ORV/dirt motorcycle/dune buggy capital of the world.  The guy at the concession there said that over a hundred thousand sand-crazed lunatics are there during the peak season--before Xmas--and over a million show up annually.  Believe me, there's plenty of room for all of them. We saw enough sand today to make a hundred Sleeping Bears!  We also saw a hole one mile deep and five miles around (used to be e gold mine)  which the City of Los Angeles is setting up to hold garbage!  Who knew the desert had so many uses??!!

 

We finally, and I do mean finally, got to Blythe about 4:15,.  Our motel has a pool!!  I dove right in, and how the heck the water could be in the high 60's with that sun beating down on it is certainly mysterious!  But it felt great and so did the lounge chairs close by.  Dinner was some excellent Mexican fare.  I'll be sound asleep by 9:00 at the latest.