Well, I guess it pays to ask if someone wants to go on a trip. Manuel de la Torre joined me last weekend for a 3 day trip from Pasadena to Amboy. We had great weather, no mechanical problems on the road and a very good time.
We followed Route 66 from Pasadena through the San Gabriel Valley to San Bernardino. Stopping at the CHP office to inquire about the route up the Cajon Pass, we decided to stop for the evening at a local motel. We were fortunate to find the Motel 8 near CSUSB which was in a far nicer neighborhood than we had just traversed. :) The ride along Foothill was uneventful, though there was a lot of traffic and no shoulder in a few places.
Saturday morning, we decided that fun was more important than logging miles, so we caught a ride to Victorville with my brother, who was joining us for the ride that day. From Victorville to Barstow along Route 66 takes you through some true desert.
Manuel was happy. He hadn't managed to get out of LA since arriving here from Spain 2 months previous. All day Friday he kept asking when the city would end. "When we go over the mountains" was my response. Now, he believed it. We had sunshine, mild temperatures and a slight headwind.
We stopped for lunch in Barstow and then headed towards Newberry Springs. Before we went very far, Manuel's knee started acting up. We decided that the gearing on his bike need to be modified, so we found a bike shop and brought his ancient Peugeot inside.
If you ever need a bike shop in Barstow, you'd be hard pressed to find people nicer than Jay and Brian. Jay is the owner, and while he worked on the bike we had time to talk about his interests in river rafting, fishing, life in Barstow, etc.
He'd never been to Goldstone, so I told him about the Open House in April. Brian was Jay's assistant. He was forthright, skilled and a big help. After first discovering that Manuel's rear axle was ready to disintegrate, it was repaired. Then the chain was replaced after Brian said "I wouldn't ride around the block on that chain!" Next the derailleur was fixed, (having lost several teeth off each wheel). Finally after trying to find a replacement chainring without success (it had a Stronglight crank) we switched tactics and went for a new cassette. Oops, the derailleur couldn't handle it. Back to the original, since the derailleur couldn't be replaced with a Shimano. Argggg. Hmm, now what. We decided on a cheap steel crank with a smaller inner chainring. 3.5 hours since lunch, we finally left Barstow and headed for Newberry Springs and the famous Bagdad Cafe. (Needless to say, we weren't impressed with the person who had sold Manuel his bike!)
The ride to Newberry Springs was relaxing. Only 2 dogs decided that we were worth chasing. The sunset was beautiful and the road was traffic-free. We made good time and reached Newberry Springs just at dusk. However, finding our way around was a different matter. The town is spread out over several main streets. On a bike in the dark, it's challenging. We were meeting friends with a car, but the vehicle had gotten stuck and was in the process of being freed. We found the Post Office, but no phone. We finally crossed paths (alphanumeric pagers are GREAT) and drove to dinner.
If you haven't been to the Bagdad Cafe, well, you haven't experienced Newberry Springs. The Boss Lady (Andre) was terrific. The food was good. But the homemade pies were killer! We talked for quite a while, drinking water and waiting to have more pie. (One of the joys of bike touring is that you don't feel guilty eating pie for breakfast, lunch and dinner!) We spent some time reading through the comments in their guest book. Good thing Manuel is tri-lingual, a lot of the comments were in french or german. This is a popular destination for Europeans.
Andre let us camp in her parking lot that evening. Since the cafe opened at 6 a.m., we accepted. Breakfast wouldn't be far away. (I really need that cup of coffee in the morning.) The comet was lovely and we fell asleep to the sound of passing trains.
Our last day on the road started out relaxed. We woke up at 7:30 and had breakfast. On the road by 9 a.m. (so much for early starts), we headed into the wind again, towards Ludlow. The road was really torn up - 1-2" upheavals of tarmac from the extreme changes in the temperature. We often rode on the "wrong" side of the road to avoid the worst bumps. Very few cars passed us on this road. The freeway was almost always in sight, so we could see and hear traffic, but we were in a world all our own. The wind kept up all morning. It was a gradual downhill to Ludlow, but you had to keep pedaling.
Ludlow is less charming than Newberry Springs. The people weren't as friendly, probably because they get more freeway traffic. We had lunch and debated continuing to ride into the wind. We decided to drive to Amboy and then if the road was ok, I'd ride back to Ludlow. The road was even worse than what we had seen! (Definitely bring a mountain bike next time.) But due to an armpad blowing off my aerobars on the way to Amboy, I decided to ride back to Ludlow anyway. The tailwind now pushed me along at a nice pace. It was wonderful riding through the desert with no cars and just the wind pushing the bushes around. I haven't been this happy for a long time. I loved it - the sand, the lava flows, the heat and the isolation.
I never did find the armpad but the memory of that last ride will
get me through a lot of long days at work. We returned to our home
in the desert (Bagdad Cafe) and ate our Easter dinner. Andre had
her whole family there, along with the staff's families. There's
something about small towns that allow outsiders to be "part of the
family". When we finally left, it was a bit sad. I'll get back
there soon to continue my ride east. But sometimes you find a time
and place that can never be recreated. I think this was one of them.
Back to Route 66 page
Route 66, Part 2 Arizona (September, 1997)
Route 66, Part 3 Bits and Pieces (September, 1998)