Day 3 - Tehachapi thru Mojave Desert

We started the ride to Needles, Calif., and Kingman, Ariz., in Tehachapi, Calif., at about 4:00 a.m. It started off really well down the mountain. Truck traffic was light. By the time the sun rose, we had already entered the Mojave desert.










Luna got his first flat early in the morning--around 5:00 a.m., maybe 5:30. I thought something was up when he took longer than usual to meet me at our agreed upon 5 mile mark. (We've been "leap-frogging" our way across the highway, where I'll go ahead by 5 or 10 miles and he'll either pass me by, or stop and grab a bottle of water, a bite to eat or relieve himself on the side of the road.)







Unfortunately, I was unable to turn around on the highway, so I had to wait for him to switch out the inner tube in the dark and cycle over to the car. I was waiting in the desert and had the opportunity to enjoy the sunrise.

Day 2 - Night Rider...

We're still in California, and we've been checking out of our hotel at 3/4:00 a.m., so far. It's the best way to get mostly traffic-free cycling into the day. Of course, there are folks who drive all through the night, like truckers.

Trucks are a bit of a challenge for Luna, because as they pass, they create this pocket of wind that has him swerving around in the shoulder. I understand that this is a bit of a strain for him, and he's been riding with his regular cross-trainer sneakers, rather than his riding cleats. (Cleats lock the cyclist on to his bike, so if he's about to fall, he'll go down with his bike, feet trapped in the pedals. (I'm not really sure why these cleats are popular.))

So here'a video clip of Luna cycling by night, and me following closely behind. At first, this was the way for us to handle it because there were frequent turns and Luna has a way of keeping his eyes on the road, rather than looking out for street signs for critical, directional turns.

I referred to this way of cycling/driving as a sort of screen saver, because it has a hypnotic feel to it. Here's the long-awaited "Night Rider" video...



The following clip is of Luna dedicating this trip to all his friends on Maui. We recorded this before recording the other video clip above. He woke up feeling great after a looooong first day (sleepless, if you recall) on the road, so we were ready to "tear it up" while pacing ourselves. The trip on Day 2 was from Dinuba to Bakersfield.



Driving conditions from Bakersfield to Tehachapi turned out to be too dangerous--particularly as we approached most of the mountain climb. Trucks whizzing by at 70-plus mph speeds and a gravelly shoulder hugging a cliff!! (I insisted in driving him up to Tehachapi. Luna was not happy with me, but I'd prefer a LIVE Luna over road kill anyday!)