Miles: 34.1
Time: 3:27:54
Elevation: 2814
Average Speed: 9.9
Max Speed: 41.0
I left home about 11:00 with the idea of going around to the north on Adobe to Valley Vista and then up Utah to JTNP Headquarters and perhaps up to the North Entrance. This ride was to be a test of my new Biologic Battery Pack which I can use on the road to recharge my smart phone which runs a bicycle app which records miles, time, elevation, etc. I also wanted to test a newly installed Android app which is to keep the phone CPU running while the screen is off which will allow continuous recording of GPS position data while conserving battery power.
I got about a mile from home and realized I had put the water bottles on the wrong bike so I turned back and got them and then just went straight to Utah and up to Park HQ.
I stopped there and drank about 2 bottles of water and did the best I could to explain to a Dutch lady who had poor English how to get to the gas station and then to I-40 and the Grand Canyon. It was a beautiful cool morning of about 85-90 and I felt good so I started out to go to El Dorado Mine Road, about 4 miles past the kiosk, or even Jumbo Rocks another 4 miles beyond. I had in the back of my mind the possibility of going all the way to Desert View which would have added another 25 miles (round trip) and 1400 feet of climbing beyond JR. I kicked myself a bit for not bringing another water bottle in my back pocket but I had had no thought of going so far when I started out.
The climb to the kiosk went well and to El Dorado even better. After taking a short break at the El Dorado junction I encountered head winds going up to JR. This is one of thee steeper sections of the route and the wind did not help. When I got to Jumbo Rocks Campground I pulled in and parked at a camp site and stood in the shade a few minuted and finished my water. I was on the lookout for a tourist I could beg some water from but saw none. I decided to go to the top of the climb a few tenths beyond Jumbo Rocks then go home and eat. I was doing this on last night's late dinner and was getting hungry.
As I started up I considered the possibility of going on down the other side to Joshua Tree, about 20 miles away, mostly downhill. I could easily have made it to the West Entrance about 13 miles down where there is water but decided the 20 mile ride home from JT on the highway with a bad shoulder and lots of traffic and 100 degree temps was not a good plan for the afternoon so I turned back. I could even have gone on to Desert View and begged water but, to be honest, got lazy.
On the way down at about 35 MPH and a mile before El Dorado Mine Road I got a glimpse of something black flashing by and felt it brushing my leg. I cold see nothing missing from the bike but turned and went back up and found one of the claws from my phone mount on the road. It had vibrated out the side of the slot it sits in. Not good! I moved all 4 claws in as far as I could and kept and eye on them the rest of the way home. I will put a spot of silicone in the slot next to each one to hold them in place while still allowing for the possibility of removal or repositioning (hopefully).
I stopped at Park HQ and drank a bottle of water or two then came home through town. All and all a satisfactory effort.
PS The Biologic unit and the new Android app both appeared to work very well. The main intent of the Biologic battery is to provide energy independence for touring by using it with the "Dyno (generator) Wheel" I have on order but that is another story.
Sadly I did a sloppy job of putting on sunscreen and got a pretty good burn on my shins.
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