20 October 1997 (hot; hazy; mileage = 98.8; Sheep's Head Pass [just north
of 29 Palms]) -- X - Last night, the wind started to blow south. Grr. My
bike wasn't set up for that and it blew over. When I got up, I packed and
said good-bye to the still sleeping Kiwis. Then to the gas station for R.R.
and to the store for chocodiles and milk for breakfast. When I got going,
the traffic was zero and the temp was nice. The first climb was early and
so light that I didn't notice getting to the top. I stopped to check the
map to see how much more I had and I was already done! The descent was long
and nice. I was at Kelso which was like a ghost town that was once a
railway/iron ore town. Now it just has the old, nice train station. Very
neat. On to climb #2. It did drag on a bit. It was hot and unpleasant by
this time. I saw a dead burro or donkey on the side of the road. I stopped
under THE shade tree for G-rade and snacks. I finally crested. There were
neat rock formations at the top. I had a nice descent to Interstate #40 and
some more incredibly long descending to Amboy. What a joke. The sign said
population 20. Ya. There was (for whatever reason) a school. Go figure.
There was also a cafe/gas station/motel combination. It was about 3:30 PM
and the cafe was closing and its operator was leaving. Oh well. I went
behind the micro post office and made a Knorr packet. I killed time with
V.M. and a call to my mom. It was cooling off, so I searched the school for
H2O (none) and took off. I rode by huge salt flat areas. It was dark when I
really started climbing and a bad head wind picked up through the pass. I
grinded away. I finally crested and found a decent site. I made 4 packs of
oatmeal and set up and got in the bivy. Now for some serious sleep. I'm
tired!
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