Miles: 55.0
Time: 5:01:34
Elevation: 4,122
Average Speed: 10.9
Max Speed: 42.2
Doug came to 29 Palms Saturday evening after he finished his "Men's Retreat" near Idyllwild. He came to my place and after some bike talk and chain cleaning we went to dinner at a local Mexican Food place. He left here to go camp at Jumbo Rocks in JTNP and I went to bed and tried my best to sleep because I knew this ride was going to be rough.
Sunday morning Doug arrived by bike at my home at about 9:00 and we got on the the road shortly thereafter. We stopped at park headquarters 3 miles out and drank some extra water and used the restroom. We took short breaks at the parking lot on the flat spot just above the park entrance kiosk and at the El Dorado Mine Road junction before stopping for snacks and fluids at Doug's campsite at the 15 mile mark. After our break we started out for Desert View and arrived there about 1 1/2 hours later.
At the top we rested awhile and had a pleasant conversation with a French couple who had just come from Las Vegas where the husband had placed second in his age group (50-54) in the Iron Man Triathalon World Championship.
We stopped at Doug's truck on the way down for a break. There was a young guy next door named Phil who had come on a loaded touring bike from Oakland, CA, via San Diego and the Low Desert. We compared bikes and talked. Since the plan was for Doug to ride back to my home and have me return him and his bike to his truck we offered to bring Phil a burrito and a beer.
The ride to my place, mostly coasting, was uneventful. We loaded Doug's bike into my car and went to the Mexican place and got 3 carne asada burritos, stopped at a mini-mart for the beer then drove back to the Jumbo Rocks Campground.
When we arrived it looked like Phil might have left but he had only moved to a shadier campsite in the rocks across the road. Doug was in a hurry to get home so he loaded up and left while I took the stuff, including a gallon of water I brought from my home stash, to Phil.
Phil and I talked a bit. He was planning to return to Oakland via Highway 395 and across the Sierras. I did my best to explain to him a route he could take to bypass the town of Yucca Valley which would avoid some steep climbs. We also discussed his options for crossing the Sierra.I expressed the opinion that Tioga Pass might be the easiest in the long run. Even though it is steep it is short and sweet and then it is basically downhill to Oakland from the top. The passes farther north are either very steep and bicycle unfriendly and/or require a lot more climbing to get to.
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