Hiding from the wind in the Yucca Vally library, and about to enter Joshua Tree National Park. Since leaving the coast near San Luis Obispo we have experienced heavy winds in the afternoons. It was sad to leave the Pacific Ocean after only a week and knowing that we shall not see it for about 3 weeks or so. But it's better than passing thru L.A. and San Diego. The climb thru the costal range along HWY 166 was not as steep as expected. The hamburgers at the Burger Barn in Cuyama were awesome (first meat in more than a week)! The next day we had a few more hills before stopping in a small town. After a break the steep rollers were insane!! California has no concept of a gradual grade!! The scenery has been beautiful, but not great for photography as things are on such a large scale. A small photo would not do things justice. We took our first rest day outside of Lancaster at Saddleback Mountain State Park. Cooked up some burgers for lunch and a great soup with beer for dinner. Reading a whole lot, finished my 4th book of the trip. The next day we headed out and after a very tiring ride got our first free meal at the Burger Depot in very friendly Lucerne Valley. They also let us camp right next to the restaurant. It rained again that night; for the third night in a row. The long nights give one plenty of time for reading and self-reflection. Today we again experienced the wind and a bit of rain. Trying to teach Mark how to paceline and pace himself to conserve his energy.
Yet the fact that we are about to explore beautiful Joshua Tree will hopefully raise our spirits. Hopefully the wind will abait and the sunny skies return.
Till next time, Andrew
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