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A day in the desert
When I get too close to use-it-or-lose-it on vacation time, nothing's better than a day on the bike. I planned out a ride that was about half interstate and half isolated two-lane roads, and arranged to meet Carole and Mandy for dinner in Palm Desert.
It was still cold when I left at 8:30am. As soon as I left the 210 for the 15, some nasty crosswinds started up that slowed me down considerably — and for the record, I do not like 40+ mph crosswinds. Just before Barstow I noticed that it was really cold — cold enough to pull off and put on the Widder's. I was way behind schedule when I pulled into Baker, but knew I could beat Streets & Trips speed estimates on the upcoming two-lane sections.
Kelbaker Rd. was fast, and began with good pavement, but after ten miles or so it degraded noticeably. At the Kelso train depot I turned northeast onto Kelso-Cima Rd for fifteen miles, then due east on Cedar Canyon Rd. The planned route called for 6 miles on Cedar Canyon followed by Black Canyon Rd. south to I-40, but after a couple of miles Cedar Canyon turns into a dirt road, and a fairly poor dirt road at that. I retraced back to Kelso-Cima and down to the Kelso depot, and turned south again on Kelbaker Rd.
There was a particularly nice section of Kelbaker Rd. just north of National Trails. Good pavement, smooth, no extreme dips or rises, perfectly straight, visibility for miles, and not a single car in site. I opened it up, WFO-style, and set a new personal land speed record - 148 indicated. Based on previous calibrations against my GPS, I think it's pretty accurate. I ran for a couple of miles with the throttle wide open, which was very fun.
Amboy is an old stop on Route 66 that's been semi-abandoned for years, except for the occasional film shoot. Amboy Rd. into Twentynine Palms is nothing special. When I stopped for gas in Twentynine Palms there was a LEO sitting in the parking lot of the station with his Ka radar on - the V1 screamed at me mercilessly.
I paid my $5 at the Joshua Tree NP entrance, and enjoyed a leisurely cruise through the park marred only by the low sun. The joshua's are not at their prettiest this time of year, but the view is still striking.
I made good time on I-10 until the SR-111 cutoff in Indio. I got stopped at literally every light along SR-111 throughout that fine city, which is such a pain. I got to the Ruth's Chris in Palm Desert at 4:20pm for our 5:00pm reservation. When I called Carole, I was not surprised to find out they were running late, but the restaurant did not appear busy so I hunkered down with my book to pass the time.
Dinner was very nice, although I think I would have preferred a steak over the swordfish I ordered. The sweet potato casserole is to die for.
We left the restaurant around 7:35pm, and the girls left while I suited up with full Widders in the parking lot. I made good time on the way home, but even though I knew better I followed a pack buddy onto SR-60. Carole beat me by about 15 minutes, so I think our driving time was about equal after you account for the suit-up time.
I pulled in just before 9:30pm, tired but happy.
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