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Bought Eastern Sierra Transit tickets, made motel reservations for remaining 3 weeks in Reno, night in Bishop, night in Ridgecrest.
Eastern Sierra Transit bus to Bishop ($47). $96 at Motel6.
Starting odometer 28104. Eastern Sierra Transit bus to Inyokern ($25). $64 through booking.com at A Night's Inn. 2 bladders leaking slowly, 2 okay, 1 spare. Order new bladders in Blythe.
Sunny and mild. Camped south of Red Mountain, west of Hwy 395.
Thanksgiving holiday. Continued beautiful weather.
Noise from motorcycles and dune buggies all day.
Much less noise from motorcycles.
$55 at Motel6 in Barstow.
Started day with 22L in bladders, 6 loaves bread and cheese, 3 lbs peanuts, 7 bars dark chocolate. Beautiful weather. Moderate east headwind in morning, turned to moderate northwest tailwind in afternoon. Camped along Boron mine road, just east of Hector road.
Picked up a mess of goathead thorns on both tires in Barstow, maybe blown into road from weedy lot. Some air leakage from front tire upin removing a particularly large thorn, but sealant sealed the leak and so was able to continue without even needing to pump tire back up to full pressure.
Skipped morning exercises, other than pushups and rowing. Added pressure to front tire, since it was under inflated from goathead thorn leak of yesterday. Bought 5L water in Ludlow. Route 66 closed between Ludlow and Amboy due to road work. Ignored signs and walked bicycle off road to get past road work. Camped a few miles west of Chambless.
Skipped morning exercises again, other than pushups and rowing. Moderate northwest tailwind. Camped just before Milligan Mine.
Camped along Midland-Rice road, first wash with trees.
While speeding downhill towards Midland, front tire slammed into rocks, and resulting extreme air pressure inside tire burst open old patch, opening hole too large to be sealed by sealant. Upon dismounting tire, inside was covered with spilled sealant. Washed off sealant with water then carefully inspected tire for damage. Removed numerous thorn fragments plus one short piece of wire. Otherwise, tire and rim liner both in good condition. Hole in tube was close beside old patch, so new patch would have to overlap old patch to work, which is formula for problems. Decided to replace tube with one of two spare tubes in repair kit. Filled new tube with sealant, remounted tire, pumped both front and rear tires up to paved road pressure (50psi).
Speeding downhill is exhilarating but foolishly dangerous. Need to remember that I only have one bicycle with a limited supply of spare parts in my repair kit. I also only have one body and the same recklessness that could result in damage to the bicycle could also lead to bodily injury. Worst comes to worst, bicycle and all gear can be replaced for under $10K. Whereas a trip to the emergency room to deal with bodily injury could cost $100K.
After finishing with tires, cleaned and lubed chain. One of two brand new bottles of sealant, still inside factory plastic wrapper, was half empty. Same problem as several years ago. Namely, top was not screwed on properly at factory, so lube leaked out into saddle bag. (Silicone lube, so not much mess.) Next time, remove factory plastic wrapper immediately after purchase and confirm top screwed on tightly. Fortunately, another lube bottle is 100% full, so should have enough lube for remainder of tour.
Camped at my favorite spot from last year.
$123 for 2 nights at Motel6 in Blythe. Had to take handicapped room as other non-smoking rooms sold out.
Ordered new bladders to replace the 2 that are leaking, to be delivered to motel next Monday. Reserved motel room as well.
(Bicycle computer didn't activate initially, actual distance/time same as Sunday.)
Mild weather, so decided to fast, starting today and lasting for 5 days until Sunday morning. Only carrying water, no food.
50 instead of 100 jump squats, otherwise morning exercises as usual. Feeling lazy, with occasional thighs of food.
Morning exercises as usual. Felt weak afterwards. Moved campsite about 3/4 mile north, to get away from sound of diesel engine near date palms, perhaps powering water pump.
REI shipment delivered today, versus originally scheduled Monday delivery.
Same as Wednesday, only 50 squat jumps, otherwise morning exercises as usual. Felt tired afterwards.
Disrupted sleep, occasional stomach pangs and constant thoughts of food. But able to perform morning exercises as normal. Did a 6 day fast this past July in Argentina, 7 day fast in Serbia in June 2024 and other 7 day fasts before that, but don't remember as much hunger on day 5 of these previous fasts. (There was similar hunger on day 7 in Serbia, according to my notes from then.) Maybe my body was still building leg muscles after long ride from Ridgecrest, so already slightly protein deficient before starting fast. No bowel movement since Monday. Urine is light colored, because drinking whenever thirsty. Henceforth, one 5 day fast per year each winter should be sufficient to rejuvenate body without risk of muscle loss and without too much unpleasantness.
Felt less tired in morning than previous mornings. Again, only 50 squat jumps, otherwise morning exercises as usual. No difficulty with 12 pullups and 25 hanging bent knee raises at park in town. Big feast immediately afterwards. Felt much more energetic as food digested and filled my bloodstream with glucose and protein. Big bowel movement at motel, first since Monday. Body didn't hold onto waste like that during fast this past summer or the summer before, though it did during initial fast 10 or so years ago.
$157 for 3 nights at Motel6 in Blythe. Picked up 2 new bladders ordered from REI.
12 chinups, so still strong after regaining 10lbs of water/glycogen and other temporary weight loss.
12 pullups but last rep weaker than before fast.
12 pullups but last rep weaker than before fast.
Camped at usual spot.
12 chinups without difficulty. $205 for 4 nights at Motel6 in Blythe.
12 pullups, difficulty on last rep.
13 chinups, with difficulty on last rep.
12 pullups without difficulty. Bought food for next 4 days.
Christmas holiday. Clear and sunny but ground very damp from yesterday's rain.
$255 for 4 nights at Motel6 in Blythe.
Final odometer tbc.
tbc miles (tbc km) total, tbc hours pedaling/pushing, average of tbc miles/hour.
tbc nights camping, tbc nights in motels. Total motel expense of $tbc including tax, for average of $tbc/night.
Flat in front tire. Rear tire tread worn: needs replacement. Spare tube needs replacement. Replenish lube, chain cleaner. New chain.
Total tbc nights camping for 2025.
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