120 miles through the Mojave? sure, why not.
We got up at 3:30, and left at the still very dark 4:45. Of course I had no headlight, so I couldn't see more than maybe 5 feet ahead, couldn't read the cue sheet, my computer, or even street signs. I was fortunate to be following a group with a light so that got us out of town with relative ease. We stopped at the first gas station we found to get Ice water because the water at the campsite sucked. We crossed the river and entered California when it was at least light enough to get a picture with the sign. I was very tired from waking up so early that I thought I was pretty close to falling asleep on the bike. Usually I get over this in the first 5 or so miles, but it wasn't happening today. Fortunately, we came across one more gas station and I chugged a Monster to get going again. that did the trick.
Since there was literally nothing between these two stops, every 20 or so miles Andrew set out water stops usually in plastic jug-bags on the side of the road for us to fill up if necessary. We got to first lunch and were surprised when Jake's parents surprised him. This was the closest they would be to their house, so they brought up Gatorade and M&Ms. It was too early to be hungry, so I ate my M&M's and took off. The sun was out at this point and it was getting pretty warm, we were also going into the wind and slightly uphill making it seem like this was going to be a very long day. We got the next water station, took a short break and took off again. Fortunately, things turned around from here. It started getting overcast and the winds turned and were pushing us at times. There was a point where we didn't even have to pedal because we were going downhill for 4 or 5 miles. The ride wasn't as bad as we thought, and Casey and I made it to the milage where second lunch was supposed to be. Of course we were ahead of the van, so we picked a nice spot atop a hill with a nice cooling wind and waited for the can to arrive. We waited probably 30-40 minutes before the van came and we could eat.
Of course Andrew had to jinx us and say the rest of the ride was downhill with a tailwind....As soon as we left lunch we were greeted with a downhill and miserable headwind. We were pedaling hard and still only going maybe 14mph. Eventually we turned and had the wind on our back again. We were able to cruise along easy going 20-25 mph. A Yale Bike Challenge (the original B&B) alum and friend of Kristen met us at mile 100 with more Gatorade and snacks. We were chatting with him, but realized there was a storm starting to roll in. We took off just as it began to rain. As we were riding off to one side we saw lighting and could hear thunder but I was never really under it. The last 10 mile were annoying just because we were basically in town, but still had a pretty decent chunk left to ride. Eventually we made it to the host. I don't remember the exact time, but it was surprisingly early, maybe 2 or 3. I settled in for a nap expecting to be waiting for a long time for everyone else, but they were all in well before I expected. Most people got stuck in the storm which resulted in flash flooding. Some people had to walk through knee deep water in the road to get through some flood rivers. We had to cook our own dinner tonight, which was fine, and then my chore group went and got ice cream so we could discuss grant applications we were given.
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