Silver Penguin
Silver Penguin
The forecast promised us that the weather in Octotillo Wells OHV park would be just perfect this weekend. Warm dry days, cool nights and a gentle breeze of 5-7mph. I was gullible enough to believe it, so we headed down there after work Friday night. To all who have read recent posts, telling how wonderful it is to live and ride in California, be heartened by the fact that we drove a substantial portion of the 170 miles at less than 10mph due to traffic.
The riding on Saturday morning was perfect. Although it was hot, we had hydration packs and no deadlines to meet so we took our ride easy with plenty of stops to catch our breath.
This is some of the terrain we were riding in. The firm packed sand is easy to ride on but often contrasted with the soft, loose stuff which scares the bejeebers out of me.
See this pristine, clean path? It didn't look quite as pretty as I'd gone through it with my back wheel sideways and both feet flailing. At no point do I pretend to be good at this. I'm an enthusiastic rookie, with a lot to learn. Fortunately, I didn't have to learn the gravity lesson again this trip.
Andy has stronger skills than I do, but he's a beginner too, so we are learning this new thing together. Neither of us rode in the dirt as kids so it's all new to us. The MSF dirt class gave us enough knowledge to be dangerous and now we're trying it out. This trip, we attempted to ride up some mountains and down some mountains. These were white knuckle excursions, with no guarantee that we would make it. Fortunately, there were no 8yr olds passing by, on their little bikes, to breeze up and down with ease, showing up how easy these little hills are to ride.
After one hill, approximately the same height as mount Everest, my legs were shaking with the effort of standing on the footpegs for hours on end (or perhaps five minutes). Right after the hill we found a series of hoop-de-hoos. No place to stop, no way to sit down, legs not going to support me for much longer. And then Andy stopped on the top of one of the larger hoops, and his back wheel went sideways. He'd buried the front wheel. We were both glad that he got free pretty quick because as usual, I was following too fast and too close. (Didn't I learn that lesson just a couple of weeks ago?)
Here's a picture of our humble abode. Not bad for someone who didn't camp at all just a few months back. Motel 6 was my idea of roughing it and now, we're out in the middle of nowhere, with a new store to help manage our disposable income. REI does a great job on that front!
After 2 1/2 hours in the saddle, or rather hovering above the saddle, we were both tired and sore. Previously, our rides have rarely been longer than an hour. To ease my weary, aching muscles I decided to go for a hike and see what was on the other side of the far, mountain range. Sometimes I have really smart ideas, and other times, my ideas aren't so great. This was probably one of the latter.
That being said, it was a beautiful hike, up a narrow mountain trail that got steeper and rougher as I got to the top. I've no idea how high I climbed but I do know that I did 2.40 miles and my heart rate averaged 121 and maxed at 147 (thank you Garmin). It was a pretty good work out.
Andy enjoyed my narration of the workout, via walkie talkie. He found a smarter way to relax between rides. This was the best part of the day, with the warm sun and light winds. We both enjoyed sitting and doing very little.
Later in the afternoon, we tried another ride but it wasn't nearly as good as the first one. We were both much more tired, mentally and physically than we had realized. When skill level is not high to begin with, there is a steep drop-off with fatigue. This ride lasted less than an hour, with a very conservative path back to base camp. It was with relief that we got home safe and injury free. By now, the wind was kicking up a bit. It got wilder as the afternoon went on.
We made a cup of coffee (because Bailey's Irish Cream just isn't the same drunk on its own). I was amazed to see white-caps running across my cup. The wind was actually blowing my coffee out of the cup. I had to drink it down fast, so as not to waste the Bailey's. The wind got so strong, that I resorted to sitting inside the tent to read my book. Even inside a three-season tent, I had to wear sunglasses to keep the swirling sand out of my eyes. All exposed skin was now thoroughly exfoliated.
In the hope that the wind would die down when the sun went down, we waited it out patiently. Our crazy schedules rarely allow an afternoon nap so that was a very pleasant interlude, except that the wind was whipping at the tent, trying to tear it away from the multiple points where is was secured. Andy had even added the ties used for the bikes on the trailer, from the tent to the roof rack on the Jeep. The wind got stronger and stronger. When it took Andy's sunglasses off, we agreed to bale out and go home. Neither of us was going to get any sleep during the night, if we stayed.
The packing up was exciting. Both of us wore riding goggles, strapped tightly to our faces. Folding the tent without losing it was a challenge. Once the bikes were safely lashed to the trailer, we pretty much threw everything else into the car. It was dark now, and cold. The blowing sand looked like fog. The desert's parting shot towards us was to suck in the wheels of the car. Regular 4WD wasn't going anywhere but fortunately we have Ultra-Hyper-Mega 4WD which got the car and trailer to the road. I guess the car liked that mode because it was very reluctant to go back to everyday driving mode.
The drive home was a thrill ride. Andy thought we were losing pressure in one of the tires, since the car was handling poorly. The computer told us that all our tires were OK and we realized that it was the wind. A large SUV passed us, pulled into the right and went way over to the shoulder and back. I felt for the big-rig drivers.
We got home around midnight, having smuggled at least half of the desert with us. Everything we owned was full of sand. These chairs were shaken before being folded.
Our car no longer looked like a poser Jeep. It looked like a real, off road, four wheel drive utility vehicle. I paid $35 this morning, for some nice people to make it clean, pretty and poser looking again.
We're almost done cleaning up sand. Just four more loads of laundry to do. Will we go back next weekend? Maybe. We did have fun.
Jill
The riding on Saturday morning was perfect. Although it was hot, we had hydration packs and no deadlines to meet so we took our ride easy with plenty of stops to catch our breath.
This is some of the terrain we were riding in. The firm packed sand is easy to ride on but often contrasted with the soft, loose stuff which scares the bejeebers out of me.
See this pristine, clean path? It didn't look quite as pretty as I'd gone through it with my back wheel sideways and both feet flailing. At no point do I pretend to be good at this. I'm an enthusiastic rookie, with a lot to learn. Fortunately, I didn't have to learn the gravity lesson again this trip.
Andy has stronger skills than I do, but he's a beginner too, so we are learning this new thing together. Neither of us rode in the dirt as kids so it's all new to us. The MSF dirt class gave us enough knowledge to be dangerous and now we're trying it out. This trip, we attempted to ride up some mountains and down some mountains. These were white knuckle excursions, with no guarantee that we would make it. Fortunately, there were no 8yr olds passing by, on their little bikes, to breeze up and down with ease, showing up how easy these little hills are to ride.
After one hill, approximately the same height as mount Everest, my legs were shaking with the effort of standing on the footpegs for hours on end (or perhaps five minutes). Right after the hill we found a series of hoop-de-hoos. No place to stop, no way to sit down, legs not going to support me for much longer. And then Andy stopped on the top of one of the larger hoops, and his back wheel went sideways. He'd buried the front wheel. We were both glad that he got free pretty quick because as usual, I was following too fast and too close. (Didn't I learn that lesson just a couple of weeks ago?)
Here's a picture of our humble abode. Not bad for someone who didn't camp at all just a few months back. Motel 6 was my idea of roughing it and now, we're out in the middle of nowhere, with a new store to help manage our disposable income. REI does a great job on that front!
After 2 1/2 hours in the saddle, or rather hovering above the saddle, we were both tired and sore. Previously, our rides have rarely been longer than an hour. To ease my weary, aching muscles I decided to go for a hike and see what was on the other side of the far, mountain range. Sometimes I have really smart ideas, and other times, my ideas aren't so great. This was probably one of the latter.
That being said, it was a beautiful hike, up a narrow mountain trail that got steeper and rougher as I got to the top. I've no idea how high I climbed but I do know that I did 2.40 miles and my heart rate averaged 121 and maxed at 147 (thank you Garmin). It was a pretty good work out.
Andy enjoyed my narration of the workout, via walkie talkie. He found a smarter way to relax between rides. This was the best part of the day, with the warm sun and light winds. We both enjoyed sitting and doing very little.
Later in the afternoon, we tried another ride but it wasn't nearly as good as the first one. We were both much more tired, mentally and physically than we had realized. When skill level is not high to begin with, there is a steep drop-off with fatigue. This ride lasted less than an hour, with a very conservative path back to base camp. It was with relief that we got home safe and injury free. By now, the wind was kicking up a bit. It got wilder as the afternoon went on.
We made a cup of coffee (because Bailey's Irish Cream just isn't the same drunk on its own). I was amazed to see white-caps running across my cup. The wind was actually blowing my coffee out of the cup. I had to drink it down fast, so as not to waste the Bailey's. The wind got so strong, that I resorted to sitting inside the tent to read my book. Even inside a three-season tent, I had to wear sunglasses to keep the swirling sand out of my eyes. All exposed skin was now thoroughly exfoliated.
In the hope that the wind would die down when the sun went down, we waited it out patiently. Our crazy schedules rarely allow an afternoon nap so that was a very pleasant interlude, except that the wind was whipping at the tent, trying to tear it away from the multiple points where is was secured. Andy had even added the ties used for the bikes on the trailer, from the tent to the roof rack on the Jeep. The wind got stronger and stronger. When it took Andy's sunglasses off, we agreed to bale out and go home. Neither of us was going to get any sleep during the night, if we stayed.
The packing up was exciting. Both of us wore riding goggles, strapped tightly to our faces. Folding the tent without losing it was a challenge. Once the bikes were safely lashed to the trailer, we pretty much threw everything else into the car. It was dark now, and cold. The blowing sand looked like fog. The desert's parting shot towards us was to suck in the wheels of the car. Regular 4WD wasn't going anywhere but fortunately we have Ultra-Hyper-Mega 4WD which got the car and trailer to the road. I guess the car liked that mode because it was very reluctant to go back to everyday driving mode.
The drive home was a thrill ride. Andy thought we were losing pressure in one of the tires, since the car was handling poorly. The computer told us that all our tires were OK and we realized that it was the wind. A large SUV passed us, pulled into the right and went way over to the shoulder and back. I felt for the big-rig drivers.
We got home around midnight, having smuggled at least half of the desert with us. Everything we owned was full of sand. These chairs were shaken before being folded.
Our car no longer looked like a poser Jeep. It looked like a real, off road, four wheel drive utility vehicle. I paid $35 this morning, for some nice people to make it clean, pretty and poser looking again.
We're almost done cleaning up sand. Just four more loads of laundry to do. Will we go back next weekend? Maybe. We did have fun.
Jill
