Day 56 - Day 57

Don't wish to repeat myself but just waiting here at this service point, under shade, until say 18:00 when I hope it will be cooler. Then strike out for Barstow which is 50miles up the road. I can do that!!


The 'SoCal Nomads' returning from a burn up in the desert. 18:20 Ready to leave Ludlow now. I know the traffic will be heavy but if the hard shoulder is clean then I'll be fine. Lovely evening ... catch you all in Barstow in the morning. Oh! This is not fun ... the interstate is far too busy for me and is demanding too much concentration, especially as the hard shoulder is full of debris like torn pieces of lorry tyres and bits of fenders. I stop, then climb over a 5 strand barb wire fence and get the bike onto a frontage road which is labelled as Route 66. Gee! This is no better ... the road is empty but the surface is terrible ... potholes and cracks and broken sections ... my poor bike is getting a pounding and ... Oh! dear, another ****** puncture! This must be the 5th or 6th one in the last few days. The culprit is a fine piece of steel tyre wire that I've picked up on the interstate and battered through into the inside tube. There's just enough daylight for me to replace the tube and continue.


I'm not enjoying this ... the road surface is horrible and I walk for a couple of miles in the dark ... where has the Moon gone?... 'tis crazy, surely I can do better! After about 20 miles I come to an exit point that allows me to get back onto the I40 ... let's try again. I'm just about to enter the slip road when a police car with lights flashing pulls up alongside but the officers want to chat. They had noticed me way back in Ludlow and understood my problem ... they were great, giving me their blessing to get onto the interstate ... "Be Careful!" was their parting call. I think my luck is changing now. 01:00 Called in at this rest area for a bit of a sleep ... I was the only one there and managed to catch an hour's catnap. Feeling better and can see the inviting lights of Barstow in the distance ... looks like downhill too?


There's nothin' out there!


Magic! I eventually got into the outskirts of Barstow in the early hours of the morning ... not much point in pushing on at this stage ... better to find a nice spot to sleep under the stars and wait for daybreak. That's what I did ... too tired to study the stars but I'm so overjoyed and delighted and content with life that I've only now woken from a deep sleep. I've been living outside with Mother Nature for so long now that I'm going to have difficulty living under a roof ... think I've become a bit of a hobo! The plan for the remainder of today is to get to the outskirts of LA at say, Victorville and check into a motel. I need to get a good cleanup. Tomorrow morning should be my final long day across metropolitan LA towards Torrance and the Hermosa Beach. I'll talk to you all then. Hmmm! .... shouldn't count your chickens before they are hatched. I struggled today cycling from Barstow to Victorville. The road was broken up in places and slowed me down to a crawl as did the vey high temperature during the middle of the day (Paul says it was 107F) and I had to take refuge in an old barn for several hours ... it was very unpleasant. At present I'm in a motel in Victorville ... had a great bath and am like a shiny new pin. However, I'm about 20 miles behind schedule and now doubt if I can reach Torrance and Hermosa Beach by tomorrow. I'll try and make for Alexandra's place at Brea, LA and finish off the trip on Wednesday. Even here I detect I'm in a city environment and it feels 'hostile' so I have to take a bit of time negotiating through this huge metropolis ... I want to be cautious and not have any mishaps. Sorry for the delay folks ... forgot to see what the odometer is logging ... Will tell you to tomorrow. For me it's bedtime. Goodnight.

Location:Ludlow, California