Today started out crisp and cool. Heading out from DeAnza Springs at 7 a.m.
after sitting in the
Spa (with no clothes on for a nice change) and a good
night’s sleep, we felt really good. Only
about 55 miles to Brawley, the first part a long downhill, then mainly flat
roads after that.
Now, for those of
you who may be a day or so behind us on this route, here are some NOTES:
The downhill after the last ascent out of Jacumba is fast
on the freeway. There was road
construction with one lane blocked, which we were still able to use except for
a few spots. We had to use our drum
brake frequently, even so we got up to 49 mph.
The wind gusts were something else; good thing we had our own lane
because even the tandem was getting pushed around. Rick’s glad he wasn’t on a single with those
gusts. I’m glad we had the extra brake! But, the downhill was a nice break from the
past two days of climbing and boosted our average mph for the day.
Next note: The
road between Ocotillo and almost Seeley (the Evan Hewes Highway) is a bumpy
piece of shit. One of those roads that
the State of California probably wants to let go back to dirt. Several miles before Seeley, not long after
the turn off for the State Prison, there is a DETOUR. A bridge is washed out (due to earthquake or
something). This turns you left off good
ole Evan Hewes onto Westmoreland….which is WORSE than Evan
Hewes. Not knowing where this detour
went, we consulted our Garmin Nuvi GPS which nicely gave us directions to
Brawley, which we followed instead of heeding the detour signs. NOT A GOOD IDEA!!!! We ended up on notorious Huff Road which took
us 12 miles through a BOMBING RANGE, and that road made Evan Hewes seem smooth. Also, absolutely no services along that route
until Brawley. I was started to get delusional,
thinking I smelled turkey gravy and stuffing, and Rick’s back and shoulders
were killing him from the road conditions.
Not to mention the HEAT!!!! Just
102 degrees today….
 |
| The Imperial Desert, Huff Road to Brawley |
We finally rolled into Brawley at 12:30 p.m. and checked into
the Desert Inn. Had Pizza Hut and a
six-pack in the air-conditioned motel room (first floor thankfully). The manager here is very accommodating; I
asked about the nearest Laundromat and he said it was the other end of town but
offered to run a load for us in his machine.
Very reasonable rates too, nothing fancy, but the AC works well and the
beds are comfortable. We’re too beat to
want to do anything else.
Tomorrow we are going to try to make it to Palo Verde County Park. We have to go through some nasty "rollers" with a lot of trucks on the route and no shoulders. We are considering starting very early in the dark to beat the trucks. 67 miles to Palo Verde Park and tomorrow's forecast is 106 degrees.
Total miles today:
57
Time: 3:55
Avg: 14.55 mph
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