Hell week

Here I sit in Palmdale, CA, three days away from Santa Barbara (and about 60 some miles from LA right now...weird). INSANE. We just had our last build day today and did some roof repairs, weeding, and driveway work on a bunch of different properties. The one woman at our host site is so great. So kind and so impressed by what we're doing.

Anyway, yes, hell week has ended.

After leaving Prescott we headed for Salome. The beginning of the day started out amazing. There were a few climbs and then there were the most breathtaking descents we've had the whole trip. They were down around the mountains and it was seriously like a roller coaster. The first major mountain we went down was scary because it had traffic going both ways, so going around tight tight turns at 30mph not knowing if a car was coming the other way was pretty f-ing scary. But the second mountain had separate roads going down and up, so we were able to fly freely down the mountain. Like I said, breathtaking.

Then the day started to suck. The people of Prescott had warned us we were finally entering the desert and, pretty soon, we knew they weren't lying. While I was riding with Nathan I got a flat and the moment I stopped to change it I noticed how hot it was when not biking.

We biked on and it. got. so. hot. Picture 115 heat plus the heat coming off the black roads we're riding on. Add to that winds that feel more like hair dryers blowing you in the face and it makes for a miserable day. Some people got heat exhaustion. It was tough forcing yourself to drink HOT water, too, but you had to stay hydrated.

Finally, we got to the host site where it was still hot as balls. They had a nice dinner for us and we crashed pretty early.

The next morning we took off to go from Salome to ___. NOBODY wanted to get sick again, so most people booked it. The ride was about 60 miles and I got there in about 2.5 hours. Brandon, Ben, and I snuck into Best Western and enjoyed their continental breakfast before heading to the campsite. It was already getting warm at only 10 in the morning.

The campsite was cool. It was right on the Colorado River and on the other side was California. We hung out a bar on the water all day and swam a bit. Me, Larry, and Cali started talking to this guy on our way back from the bar and he ended up letting us take his jet ski out for a spin. That was awesome.

We all wanted a good amount of sleep that night because we had our 120 mile to Twentynine Palms, CA, the next day and were waking up at 2:30 to beat the sun.

The problem? It was about 95 degrees.... at night. We didn't even put up tents. No one could sleep cause it was so hot. I maybe got less than two hours of non-consecutive sleep.

Aaron and I volunteered to be sweep for the 120 day. It was gonna be challenge. I knew that from the moment we were packing up our camping gear in the darkness.

Going to first lunch wasn't bad. I got tired at one point and took a five hour energy and that helped. People had already gotten in the van by first lunch.

First lunch to second lunch started getting difficult. There was a gradual climb that seemed to go on forever. And, seriously, there was NOTHING around. There were mountain tops that seemed like they were from a video game. There was some haze around them and you couldn't see anything past them.

Second lunch to third lunch went relatively okay. We did a lot of riding with Tati and had a few descents.

Then third lunch to host site was rough. Winds picked up and we were starting to realize we had been on our saddles for almost eight hours. The heat was never as bad as it was two days prior, thankfully.

Finally, we got in. We went to a pool at one of the churchgoers houses. They had the three cutest kids, too, and I enjoyed giving them airplane rides. The town had a great potluck for us that night and then we all broke up and went to different peoples houses to sleep at. Me and Larry slept at this woman, Cynthia's, house and she showed us where the military base was and told us a lot about Twentynine Palms. I slept great on the couch, too.

Unfortunately, we got to the church a little late the next morning and had only a few scraps of food for breakfast. It was a 90 mile day and it didn't take long for everyone to realize we were all on the struggle bus. Especially when the winds picked up and made us miserable. Luckily, it was cool wind. But at one point me, Matt, and Aaron got so tired we tried to nap behind a big rock with a little shade. A trucker pulled over to ask what we were doing and he ended up donating ten bucks to us.

After a long day we got into this house in Victorville that the Lutheran church let us stay in. All of us were beaming that the next day's ride was only 54 miles.

I rode with Larry and we really took our time. Had a nice Starbucks in the morning, went to Barnes and Noble later and then got some McDonalds. We had some good conversations and the day turned out really well, overall. Palmdale, CA, feels a lot like the California I know. After our host provided dinner we went to BJs Brewery and had a few drinks to celebrate the week from hell being over. Definitely tasted good.

So yeah, back to square one. Only a few days left... sad. But it's been a great journey.

Ok, we're getting free Chipotle in a bit. Can't wait!

Until next time.. the wheel keeps on spinning.