May 12, 2017. Ludlow CA

May 12, 2017.     Ludlow CA

After having breakfast at the hotel, we left Fontana and started climbing. Our goal today is to climb over Cajon Pass. We climbed for about 10 miles and stopped for a second breakfast at Mac D's. The weather was overcast with a temp in the 70's. We also had a tailwind that we didn't complain about! We were on a two lane road for the first part of the climb. Several times we crossed over or under Interstate 15. We knew that we had to get onto I - 15 somewhere but not sure where. At one crossing we had two choices, get on I-15 (which made the most sense since we had to get on I 15 eventually. But nooooo..... the road turned "sharply" upward and we climbed around, under, around, under, climbed some more. We could see I 15 above us and knew we had to get there eventually. I was hoping we didn't have to climb an on ramp and go way up where we could see the road. Thank goodness by the time we road onto I 15 the interstate was much closer! I 15 was very busy, lots of semis, cars etc. it was interesting that most of the time the professional drivers (semi drivers) moved over if they could. While other drivers stayed in the lane closest to us. But all in all with all the traffic it wasn't bad. It got steeper the last 5 miles. Not a bad climb though. We ended up with a 25 mile climb, 4000 feet of climbing in 70 degree overcast weather. We stopped once to walk around a stopped truck on the shoulder. We had to Walk around to the inside because there wasn't any space for us in the right hand lane. Lots of trafffic! We crested the top and cruised about 10 miles down to Victorville. We had an incredible tailwind! No pedaling necessary. Just over the top the sun came out. When we got to Victorville we looked back at the pass and could see the overcast just over the mountains. There was some snow on some peaks to the north of the pass. We stopped at the Outpost Cafe for lunch. The waitress said you can bring your bikes inside if you want. She had not seen our bus yet! We got quite a few looks as we wheeled in our bus! 

After lunch we stopped for some dinner supplies before leaving town. Traffic in Victorville was crazy. Since I don't need to watch in front of us, I have a good view of what's going on behind. I had a lot of "conversations" with the drivers behind us. No, I didn't SAY anything to them, no gesturing none of that. I just talk to myself and talk them around us. FYI. We were on a FOUR lane highway/road in town, which means there are TWO lanes for driving in. People would come up behind us and just stay there, no traffic in the left lane, no cars coming up, no little old ladies walking across the road, nuthin. Just drive your car! Hellloooooo.... Here's my conversation "Ok car, the other lane is clear, you can go now, go ahead its ok, no really go ahead, a whole lane it's all yours, yoo hooo its clear go ahead, good job you got it, see how easy that is, plenty of room for all of us, thank you for passing safely! Have a nice day!"

When we left town there was alot of traffic but it was fine. Everyone made it safely. We had about 20 miles to Silver Lake CA and a tailwind. Put up the sail. Wow, what a difference in a day, we are now in the desert on a two lane road, Route 66. We passed the famous bottle farm, not sure why that is famous but oh well. We arrived at the Inn at Silver Lakes and found a county club/golf course in the middle of the desert. It looked like a nice community. We cooked dinner in the room and had a great nights sleep.

We had breakfast in the room, and left in sunny 70 degree weather toward Newberry Springs. We road to Barstow and stopped at the grocery store. I bought enough food for three days because for the next several days we will be going across the Mojove Desert with not many services. We stopped and ate lunch at Mega Tom Burgers. We thought it looked like a good place since apparently all the tour buses stop there. I think that was the worst hamburger i have ever had. The only good thing about it was the avacado. Next time we are going to McD's! When we left Barstow we had to get on I-40 because we couldn't ride on the Marine base that was there. The temps started to go up. By the time we got to Newberry Springs RV park the gemp was 90 + degrees. Tony at the RV park was super friendly and gave us a nice spot for camping. The first thing we did after putting up the tent was get in the pool. Now we're talkin! We met Geri at the pool, who 
was 
also super friendly. And she had the cutest Yorki, Lulu. So we did get in our dog fix. The pool was chilly, but it felt really good on my back. 

Geri gave us some ice, which was really appreciated in the heat. I put some on my back and put the rest in our gin and tonics. We had a misfire on the gin and tonics. Because we are in the desert we are carrying 2-1 liter bottles of water (used Tonic bottles) as well as a Camel back bladder with 1.5 liters of water. Apparently when Hap made the G and T's he used one of the TONIC bottles. We both kept commenting how they didn't taste right. But it didn't occur to us until the next am that we actually had drank Gin and WATER (instead of tonic). Guess we need to mark the bottles better. 

We got packed up and went over to the gas station for breakfast. The "food" at the cafe didn't look so good so the best we could do was a turkey sandwich (not sure how old it was but Hap didn't mind!). We at the bananas, Twinkie and danish I had bought at the grocery the day before. I just hope all of the people who took my healthy eating class are not reading this post. Pretty sad! 

We were able to get on to I-40 at this exit for the ride to Ludlow, CA. We had two choices for the next couple of days. A short ride of 30 miles to Ludlow where we could stay at the Ludlow Motel. OR a 60 mile ride and camp behind a convenience store in Amboy. Followed by a 60 mile ride to Fenner and camp in another parking lot. I.e. No showers for two days in 90 degree heat. Hey don't judge us, we opted for the short day to Ludlow followed by a longer ride to Fenner and camp in the 
parking lot. Welcome to the Mohave Desert! We're havin fun now. Easy peasy ride today on I 40 with a tailwind. Really more of a day off. We ate lunch at the Ludlow Cafe. I had a much better hamburger than yesterday. We cooked dinner in the motel parking lot. Mac n cheese, asparagus and tuna wraps. Mmmm good. Tomorrow headed to Fenner to camp in the parking lot. I'm taking TWO showers tonight!