Riding from the town of Joshua Tree to Twentynine Palms in the dark and half light of pre-dawn was mostly downhill, watching for car lights and road hazards. Seeing the sky light up again is always a treat on a bicycle and I'm glad Peter captured good images. We had to make a slight detour on the route from Twentynine Palms to Amboy as Caltrans (California Department of Transportation) did not clear the sand off the roadway after recent flooding. The first part of Amboy Rd was patchy. Recent rains had washed away part of the sand shoulder and left one side of the road precariously high while sand sometimes encroached the other. A five mile solo climb challenged my stamina with its typical 5.0% to periodic 8.0% to occasional 10.0% slopes. Glad Janie found a place to stop with The Little Darkness just past the peak.
Janie and Jody, riding into the rising sun,
headed toward Amboy.
Photo by Peter Doran.
Temperature around 103 degrees at 9:30 am as a sign welcomed us to "The Heart of the Mojave Desert."
Jody in the Mojave Desert.
We were rewarded with an eleven mile downhill. Rode past three salt processing facilities along the dried out salt flats of Bristol Lake and the cinder cone of extinct volcano Amboy Crater. Our route joined Route 66 just west of Amboy, Ca and we ended the ride at 10:30 am at Roy's Diner, a combination gas station, cafe (without a kitchen - go figure) and now boarded up cabin style motel, which reminded us of the site of the 1946 Lana Turner movie, "The Postman Always Rings Twice."
In the Mojave Desert.
Salt works in the Mojave Desert.
We quenched our thirst with Route 66 Root Beer and enjoyed viewing the Route 66 souvenirs, motorcycle memorabilia and newspaper articles on Roy's.
Jody and Janie, getting on the bikes at Roy's Cafe and Abandoned Motel,
6:00 am Sunday morning.
Photo by Peter Doran.
We're not sure how hot it really was in the Mojave this last Saturday, Sunday and Monday. But we don't think we rode ad meah v'esrim.
Ad meah v'esrim.
~Hebrew, Until 120, a popular way to wish one a happy birthday
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