I love it when I have an alarm set for 4:30 only to wake up at 3:15 and be unable to go back to sleep. Eventually just bit the bullet and got up just before my alarm went off.
Instead of getting all dressed for a ride and rolling to breakfast, I walked to Penny’s Diner next door instead. I pulled up to the counter and no surprise I was the only customer there. I ordered what I’ve always ordered this trip a french toast combo. The cook was dang quick and I had my food in no time. It was a dang good breakfast to start the day.
I finally got rolling around 5:30 just as the sun was rising. The sky was beautiful. Easily one of the best sunrises of the trip. I know many of them were obscured by the gray marine layer, but still this was very pretty.
The ride along Yermo Road was awesome. The road surface wasn’t the best that’s for sure, but you can’t beat 15 uninterrupted miles of asphalt with a slight decline and a tailwind to boot. I was flying but doing no work. I would guess before I got onto the interstate my average was 20 MPH or more. I did stop to take a couple pictures in Yermo proper and a few more just before I got on the freeway.
Once I was on the 15 I was entirely focused on riding. I took a picture of my first mileage sign showing Las Vegas and for the Zzyzx exit and that’s it. I had to pay attention to all the debris that was on the shoulder. Thankfully only had to run over one tire tread, but it wasn’t an issue.
I was making such good time I decided to ride out to Zzyzx. I had mapped it out the night before and it should have only added an hour to my ride. The road out was in good shape, but towards the end I did come into a slight headwind. I snapped a couple pictures and then turned around to head on to Baker.
Back on the freeway I had a brief climb before the descent into Baker. When I exited onto Baker Boulevard I started looking for a place to haunt for the day. Unfortunately the only Starbucks closed years back and there wasn’t anything really like it. I came up to the first Shell station and they had a sitting area up front. I pulled up and claimed a table for the rest of the day while waiting for my Airbnb check-in.
One new thing today was I had my Camelback. I’ve had it since leaving my in-laws’ house, but I had been strapping it to my rear bag the past two days. Today I filled it to the brim with ice and water before leaving the hotel and I’m glad I did. I was able to take long pulls from it and never worried about running short. Was it a pain to lug around, yeah kinda, but riding without having to worry about water was nice. It was cold the entire day to boot!
While reading my book at the Shell got a phone call from Mark Hyken. He was asking what my plans for Saturday were because he was wanting to come ride with me. I told him I’d be leaving Primm between 6:00-6:30 and planning to stop at the Starbucks in Jean for a brief break before continuing on home. If you’re interested in riding out to Jean to ride me in you’re welcome to come!
That about wraps up today. Another early day planned for tomorrow. Lots of climbing right out of Baker. I hope I get a better night’s sleep than last night.
New bike fund: $22.16 (+$0.02)
61.21 new miles — From Wandrer.earth
Partly sunny-Sunny, 78°F-111°F, Feels like 74°F-110°F, Humidity 29%-4%, Wind WSW 13mph-SSE 6mph – by Klimat.app
— myWindsock Report —
Weather Impact: -27.9%
Headwind: 16% @ 7.4-31.1mph
Longest Headwind: 26m 16s
Air Speed: 15.2mph
Temp: 78.9-93.2°F
Precip: 0% @ 0 Inch/hr
— END —
Max elevation: 1966 ft
Min elevation: 920 ft
Total climbing: 1501 ft
Total descent: -2466 ft
Total time: 12:10:23
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