Day Four

I survived!

Los Angeles to Lake Havasu City, AZ. 302 miles.

Through the flipping 100 miles of barren 117 degree desert. My gas tank, and my morale, were both most definitely on E. But I did it. BAM.

I took this picture partly because of my ridiculous eyewear - my sunglasses basically dissolved today as I took them out to put them on, so I found these at a gas station. They are pretty much perfect for Vespa riding through the desert, they're small and super comfy inside my helmet. The downside is that I look even more like a man. *sigh*

I'm at a house tonight without wireless (but with the Feists, the amazing TSA pastors here), so I'll have to stop somewhere tomorrow morning to send out the photos from today. There are some great ones, and they should be posted early early before I start my drive.

The day was really long, but filled with a sense of accomplishment. I've been so anxious for the deserts of CA/AZ/NM, because every well-meaning person I talked to made me feel like I'd probably die in the desert somewhere. So today I got up and was riding by about 7.30, making my way out of LA and through the San Bernadino Mountains and down into the desert. I was still wearing multiple jackets til I got down from the gorgeous mountains (where I was at 7000 ft) and once I hit the bottom, it was like someone hit the heat switch. It spiked to 111 degrees and I took off all my layers on the side of the road. Then I set out, made my way through Joshua Tree Nat'l Park and into the desert. As I was leaving 29 Palms the sign read, "Next Service, 100 miles". So I took a deep breath, yelled something encouraging to myself (yes, I actually did that), opened up the throttle, and hoped to get through it in one piece.

I can't even tell you how hot it was. I felt like I was literally baking. I have never experienced anything like it. The sun was merciless. I spend the next 100 miles actually convincing myself to just keep going, don't think, you can do this. I was definitely scared, thinking about the fact that it was just me, and what if something happened? I had to stop once to look at a map and I thought I was going to throw up, I couldn't even breathe. So I kept going at about 65mph and then my gas light went on with 20 miles to go and I was wondering if I'd have to stop and empty out my small extra tank into my Vespa, hoping not because it was so hot I didn't think I could handle being on the side of the road (with no shoulder) for 20 mins while I un-bungeed and re-bungeed everything. I was trying to not panic, when out of the heat waves a gas station showed up! There wasn't supposed to be one for 20 more miles, but there it was. It was amazing. I walked in and just stood there, in the air-con. I was exhausted and way overheated (Booker, I thought of you and how much you would have hated this part!). I felt super sick, and I walked into the bathroom, took off my t-shirt (I have a undershirt on underneath) and dunked it in the water (which was hot), waved it around to cool it off, and put it on. I have never experienced anything so amazing. It cooled me down instantly. After about 20 minutes I was ready to get back on my bike and finish the 30 miles to where I was staying for the night. I felt like I had accomplished so much, and that felt great.

And when I saw Lake Havasu in the distance, I almost cried I was so happy. And the first thing I did? Found a Starbucks, and used the Covert's giftcard. I asked for the very largest iced vanilla latte I could get (which is Hannah's fault that I'm hooked), and sat in a chair and stretched out my legs and just sighed with joy. I ended up chatting with a guy next to me for a while, and I'll post his picture tomorrow.

Because these last few days have been so full with travel, I haven't spent a lot of time during the day hanging 0ut and chatting with people, which I really miss. So stopping tonight was fun, I got to talk to a bunch of random folks at the grocery store/Starbucks, and that was by far my favorite part of the day. I'm not really a phone person, but could tell that I have had too much alone time because I was SO pumped to talk to some friends on the phone today (thank you Beth and Uri!).

Alright, I will stop boring you. I'm sure all these details aren't super exciting to anyone else, but as I ride I seriously store up all the things that happen so I can tell someone about them, and this blog will be that 'person' some days. Today was one of the those days. Thanks for listening.

PS I have to say, LOVE LOVE LOVE the Camelbak. I can chug water pretty much constantly as I ride, and when I was in the desert with no shoulder on the road, I was beyond stoked to have been able to drink so much water as I went. It was invaluable. I love that thing and I'm pretty sure I owe it my life, not to be dramatic or anything.

PPS. Shout-out to Miss Betty my Vespa. She galloped me across the wasteland with nary a complaint. She was amazing, no trouble at all, and I wish she was a horse (I sometimes feel like she is) so I could pat her on the nose, and give her a carrot and maybe some sugar cubes. She's just that amazing.

PPPS. Can I just say, wild burros. Stay tuned....