Cross-Country Ramble 5: First Pass, First Desert

Sent: 04/04/96

The past two days of biking presented us with some interesting contrasts.

 

Yesterday, we biked northeastward up the Soledad Canyon to Palmdale in the high desert. Getting to Palmdale requires getting over the Soledad Pass at about 3300 feet. This is not a high pass as passes go, but it is 2000 feet higher than where we started the day and this is more than we've ever climbed. Our legs notice and their protestations interfere somewhat with our appreciation of the beauty of the canyon. Mountains rise up sharply on either side of us this day. The quarter- to half-mile-wide flat bottom of the valley is filled with trees--willows, sycamores and others I don't recognize. The river is still running clear with water from the winter rains. We notice several campgrounds along the way, mostly occupied by folks who have taken up residence there in their (formerly) mobile homes.

 

The day is that great combination of intense sun, low humidity and cool breezes that we've come to take for granted here in Southern California. The net effect on us, sweating our way up the canyon, is that we never know from moment to moment what temperature we'll be. Grinding up in the sun at just about the speed of the breeze (5 mph), we get pretty warm. But when we stop, or the wind changes a bit so we feel it, we are refreshed (even chilled) as the sweat rapidly evaporates. Sometimes, just lifting our backs off our seats gives us a thrill as the wet cloth of our shirts meets the air and the water flashes into vapor, taking with it all those BTU's.

 

Toward the end of the day, we finally crest the pass and cruise happily down into Palmdale, coasting at 35 mph. Our average speed for the 33 miles of this day is about 7 mph, compared with our usual 10. We know our legs will hurt tomorrow.

Someone else's picture of Joshua Trees. Someone else's picture of Joshua Trees.

 

This morning, we start east across the high desert. It's flat, flat, flat and better still, there's a strong wind at our back. We easily crank along at 15 mph and our flags are still hanging down! We're skirting the San Gabriel Mountains on our right. They're still snow-capped and make an impressive sight. The land around us is made up of all the silt and gravel that has come down from the surrounding mountains over the eons.

 

Now, we're seeing Joshua trees, which are an unmistakable sight. A Joshua tree looks like a cactus trying to be a tree and doing it badly. 

Someone else's photo of a Raven. Someone else's photo of a Raven.

We notice two of them that have big black crows (but see below) perched in them, looking at us like we're potential road kill.

 

What a joy to bike like this, especially as we're planning to go only 18 miles (to give our legs a chance to rest up from the day before). But we're going so fast and feeling so good, that we're past the turnoff to our destination by five miles before I realize that we've missed it! So we ended up exceeding our quota of 20 miles a day again by the time we work our way back to Pearblossom.

 

Our little detour did have one redeeming feature: we happened on a movie-making crew trying to film a scene involving the road, some busses and a bunch of actors. I tell Carol I'm sure that it was director Spike Lee himself that impatiently waved us through. (It was!  See below.)

 

This evening, as I have almost every evening, I get on-line and retrieve your messages. Many of you (well, a few of you), express a wish to know our exact itinerary. I decide I'll make it a point to include city names in future ramblings. Here's where we've stayed so far:

  • Start: Ventura, CA
  • Day 1: Fillmore, CA
  • Day 2: Castaic Junction (junction of CA-126 and I-5).
  • Day 3: Canyonland, CA
  • Day 4: Palmdale, CA
  • Day 5: Pearblossom, CA.

Some of you suggest that these writings should be made into a book. I love the complement, but decide that this is something I'll think about later. Right now, what I'm enjoying about electronically publishing in serial form is the interaction with audience that this medium makes possible. Your thoughts have already enriched the content.

 

Speaking of content enrichment, one of you even suggests two titles for the envisioned book: "Bent There, Done That," and "Recumbent, Wesawbent, Weconkedout." I think both of these show promise--of something, but of what I'm not sure.

 

Ken

 

PS:  Later, a correspondent tells these are really ravens, the crow's larger cousin.

 

PPS:  As it turned out, it indeed was Spike Lee, who included our accidental pass through his set in his film Get on the Bus.  Here's proof--two frames from about 29 minutes into the movie.

Carol's two seconds of fame in "Get on the Bus." Carol's two seconds of fame in "Get on the Bus."
Ken's two seconds of fame in "Get on the Bus." Ken's two seconds of fame in "Get on the Bus."

Or click the image below to see our whole 7 seconds of fame!

From

Ramble 6: Drivers.