| Cross-Country Ramble 7: Sun,
Hills and Wind Sent: 04/09/96
Pedaling across the high desert for just three days provided
ample opportunity to focus on and contemplate the meaning of a few
things that had become quite important in my life: Sun, Wind and
Hills.
Sun. At 3000 feet and no clouds, it's bright.
With no shade, there's no escaping it. Moving or stopped, it's
there. It doesn't "beat down," as I've heard some say. I'd say it's
more like an intense unceasing glare from your mother. I could see
my exposed skin shriveling as I watched. When we took a day off
biking Sunday, I don't think it was any accident that we stayed
indoors almost all day with the lights down low and the blinds
pulled. Before we left, Carol got us some Australian Headliner
helmet covers which have bills on the front and foreign legion-like
curtains in the back. I thought they looked pretty dorky. I still
do, but they are wonderful for keeping the sun off our heads--front,
sides and back. We're both wearing long sleeved shirts. Carol is
also wearing biking gloves and leggings and a bandanna around her
neck to prevent recurrence of sun poisoning. Even with all this
clothing, getting hot has not been a problem--once we get wet from
sweat, we get cool, sort of.
Hills and Wind. Hills and wind can both help you
and hurt you, but there the similarity ends.
Hills are like Justice. Hills are fair. You can count on hills.
You work your way up, you get to coast down. You get a ride down,
you know you'll pay later. You live in confidence that, sooner or
later, anything you invest in your "elevation bank," you'll get
back.
But Wind isn't that way. Wind is fickle. You can pedal against
a headwind all day long and the next day, you can do it again. And
the energy you spend is simply dissipated. On the other hand,
sometimes you get a wonderful tailwind. You didn't earn it--you
couldn't! It just happens and you are thankful for the free
gift that it is--while it lasts. Tailwinds feel to me like Grace
or Mercy. Sometimes I like Hills better. Sometimes Wind. But it
doesn't make any difference. I get both.
Today, we spent 2500 of the 3000 feet we had invested in our
elevation bank. We spent it like drunken sailors, screaming down
from Yucca Valley in the high desert to Palm Springs, at the edge of
the (low) Mojave Desert. We still have 500 feet left, but we'll
spend all that and more over the next couple of days, as we head
toward the Salton Sea, which is 200 feet below sea level. We sure
enjoyed the ride--coasting at exhilarating/frightening speeds of up
to 40 mph for miles and miles. Now our bank is almost empty....but
it was fun while it lasted.
Itinerary
- Day 5: Pearblossom, CA.
- Day 6: Victorville, CA.
- Day 7: Lucerne Valley, CA
- Days 8 and 9 (Easter Sunday): Yucca Valley, CA
- Day 10: Palm Springs, CA
Ken
PS: While biking through Lucerne Valley, we were spotted by
a local newspaper reporter, who wrote us up in the Lucerne Valley
Leader.
Click the article to enlarge it.
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