It ain't sunny in Southern California

I left Palm Springs yesterday, heading for Twentynine Palms. It's been raining a bit so the road I originally was going to take was closed due to flooding. I got help with an alternate route at a local bike shop. It was warm and drizzling for the first part of the day. I rode past the biggest wind farm I've ever seen.


It was quite a climb to Yucca Valley up a fairly steep, windy road.


It kept raining and the wind really picked up giving me a hefty tailwind. The gusts sped me up by a few miles an hour each time one hit. One more long hill with a heavy, driving rain got me to Yucca Valley. The road was flooded in numerous spots to four or five inches so I got completely soaked going through them. The cars and trucks passing me were really nice and slowed down to keep from spraying me.

It's supposed to keep raining through wednesday which is problematic for my trip because of all the flooding on the roads. Riding in the rain is rarely an issue for me but dealing with impassable roads is obviously a problem and being stuck free camping in the pouring rain with really strong winds because I can't get across a flooded wash like this one just isn't fun.


So, today I plan on riding the twenty or so miles to Twentynine Palms during a brief respite in the rain. The road after Twentynine Palms becomes pretty remote as I head north so I'll wait out wednesday because the road will probably be flooded. I'm going to have to skip Joshua Tree National Park because of lack of time. I really don't like having to sit around this much, waiting out the weather but such is life. The good news is that yesterday I had a fairly hefty climb of around 3000 feet and while I was tired by the end of the day, it really wasn't too bad. Pretty good for my first day of the tour!
-- Post From My iPhone

Location:29 Palms Hwy,Twentynine Palms-Morongo Valley,United States