Day 33/17-California
Written by Jon on 15 April 2010
I ate breakfast at the same café as the night before while Samuel skipped and pedaled ahead. I had delicious blueberry pancakes made with blueberry pie filling. Just the carb load I needed for the long day ahead. A truck pulling a boat passed me on the road and later I passed it. The wheel on the trailer had fallen off the trailer and damaged the axle. I wished the driver well and hoped he was able to find a replacement as I pedaled along. In the next town a spotted a coffee shop with Samuel’s bike sitting out front. I walked in to him chatting with the locals, sat down, and joined the conversation. I stayed and loaded up on a little caffeine while he left to get a head start. I told him I would catch him up the road. A few hours later I saw his bike lying on the shoulder with him repairing a flat tire. I stopped to help him and a few minutes later two women pulled up. They were professional road bicycle frame builders coming from an expo in San Diego. Very kindly they gave us three tubes knowing there were no bike shops anywhere in sight. I was happy as I had used my last two the night before. Samuel got his problem fixed and we pedaled on in hopes of making California before dark. In the middle of the desert we found a small café, had lunch, and chatted with a local man for a while. After he left the cashier told us he had kindly bought our lunch. The heat had increased so we stayed for another hour to let it cool down before continuing on. We crossed the Colorado River and California state line right at dark and were happy to have made it to our last state. We stopped in Blythe for dinner and coffee. I was on pace to make it to San Diego by my goal of 20 days this leg of the trip so decided to stop for the night. The caffeine buzz and excitement had Samuel wanting to do his first night ride of the trip. He continued on and I told him I would catch him tomorrow or in San Diego. I went to bed praying for his safety from the desert nights.