SCT Days 9 and 10

Unfortunately, I sat out both of these days. Friday because my replacement wheel arrived too late and Saturday partly because the weather was bad (a freak snow storm hit the Sierras all the way south to Sequoia and Kings Canyon NP).
John rode both days, of course, and experienced heavy snow in Sequoia and rain a day later on his way from Squaw Valley to Fish Camp.
Marketa and I toured the national parks by car, among hundreds of other Americans who used the Memorial Day weekend to get here.
But I succeeded in putting the bike in a functional state for a Sunday ride through the Yosemite.

SCT Day 8

Update Friday 5/25: I am stuck at Three Rivers waiting for replacement wheel that Marketa secured and shipped at a ridiculous cost but FedEx is late delivering.
John continues on route so from now on, the Spot tracking is him only. If all goes well, I may be able to join him at some point over the weekend.

Update Friday 6pm: while the weather here was as pictured, John rode through sleet and snow and reached Squaw Valley safely.

SCT Day 7

Today was probably the most scenic day so far. Starting with a gentle climb along the rapids of Kern river to Kernville and above, eventually finishing at 7000 feet among big trees in the Sequoia national forest. Then came a long winding descent back to foothills at 1500 ft, and finally 30 miles surrounded by grassy hills and cows. The golden hour caught us still with 20 miles to go so we arrived at Three Rivers way after dark.
The stressful part of today's ride was my rear wheel failure, with one spoke pulled out of the rim and many other cracks. John came up with an engineering solution that saved the day: he rode my bike standing and leaning on the handlebars for over fifty miles and I piloted his famous GDR rig loaded with some stuff from my panniers. What a guy!
We reached area with cell coverage too late to have anything shipped overnight, so Marketa came to my rescue and got me a new wheel at REI and Fedexed it at the last minute. What a girl!
So if the cycling gods are so inclined, we may be able to continue our journey tomorrow.
Today's distance: 127 miles and some ungodly elevation, hard to keep track of that, this trip is all about climbing the mountains and descending to valleys.

 

SCT Day 6

UPS delivered the new tire, much nicer than the old model, the same size, 35mm being about twice as big as the old one, thank you Vittoria for consistency. The tire just barely cleared the frame but all installed and off we went at noon.
On the downhill along highway 58, we could see the amazing Tehachapi railroad loop, where long Pacific railroad trains loop around themselves.
We left the busy roads in Caliente for hours of climbing and descending through canyons and bucolic valleys where time must have stopped hundred years ago.
We arrived to Lake Isabella by 5:30 after 55 miles and over 5K climbing, feeling fresh and rested. This town seems to be another ran down sprawl, why did I expect a nice lakeside resort town in pine woods?

Official NWS wind data indicated over 70 mph at Mojave today and supposedly today was calmer than yesterday. We could see the lenticularis above Tehachapi Pass behind us all day today.

SCT: A Windy Rest Day 5

Out of Palmdale and into the wind to cross the valley towards Tehachapi. It blows and we do 6 mph on a flat road. Then we turned north and with the side wind our speed increased to 13mph! But soon we started climbing towards the ridge covered in wind turbines and found out why they built them here. The wind velocity exceeds 50 miles per hour and it seems lethal to swerve on the narrow road shoulder while being passed by eighteen wheelers.
I got too scared and decided to walk the bike up to the pass for 6 miles. At one point, I had to put the bike on the ground flat and push down on it with all my body weight and strength to prevent it from being blown down the hill.
After couple of hours of hike a bike in a hurricane, I made the summit. We descended in saddle to Tehachapi, riding at a safe speed of 15 mph down a steep hill without using brakes. These 50 or so miles took us too long to continue onto Lake Isabella so we camped at a nice hotel where I also await delivery of a new tire to replace the shredded one.

SCT Day 4

A very tough day: 115 miles with 12.6K vertical. Brutally hot weather, only getting cooler above 6000 ft. Some fantastic long descents. No civilization for 82 miles of wilderness which meant carrying 5 liters of drinks.
Near death experience in a tunnel. One flat as a result of hitting glass in that tunnel. Staying in Palmdale, a town full of beggars and drug addicts. Pizza hut never tasted this delicious.

SCT Day 3

Today started with a long climb out of Yucaipa on a highway leading up to Big Bear Lake. We climbed for 35 miles to 8400 feet at Onyx Summit, then descended to the busy resort of Big Bear. There was more climbing out of the lake to the Rim of the World Highway. The descent on this road had amazing views of the sprawling valley below (San Bernardino?) but lack of attention was dangerous. I flatted the rear tire on a rock here.
After dropping to about 4000 ft came the cherry on the cake: a steep climb to the town of Crestline where we are staying tonight.
Short day in mileage (82) but very tall in climbing: over 9000 ft.