Once a gypsy, always a gypsy.

Way back in Pittsburgh, Jason was drying out our tent while I went food shopping.  A couple of young hippies walked by and asked him where he was heading.  As they left they told him "once a gypsy, always a gypsy".  It seemed to be a compliment.  Now that we're on bike tour, we really do seem to be gypsies.  We are on our third day of real riding, but it feels like we've been on the road for much longer.  It is HOT here in southern California.  Further, it's COLD at night.  The desert is like that I guess.

On our first day on the road it seemed to take forever to get out of San Diego.  We ate lunch at a golf course resort in the middle of the desert.  We thought we were going to get kicked out, but instead the employee just showed us to a bench near the snack bar.  After lunch we climbed and climbed and climbed...  in the heat of the day it was pretty rough.  Around 2:00 we couldn't take the heat anymore and just sat and read under a tree for two hours.  This came to be a habit!  I (Daisy) can't seem to handle much heat - I wilt when it hits 80. 

 

 We spent the first night in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park.  They had Hiker/Biker sites for only $5 per person, and we were happy to get showers.  Although they cost 25 cents for 2.5 minutes...  we only needed a quarter each!  That night the stars were amazing, and it got super cold.  When we woke up there was ice on the inside of our rainfly.  We had slept at around 4000', and as I write this we are above 5000' again. 

View of Anza-Borrego State Park

  

Yesterday was another scorcher - I'm not sure how hot it was but that rest in the heat of the day was absolutely necessary.  We rolled through a little Western-looking town around lunchtime and met a fellow that was dressed as an old-time sheriff.  The little towns here are pretty great, and geared towards the PCT hikers.  It has been easy to find gear and refill water.  People have been very friendly.  It's funny, actually, sometimes people in cars stop and ask us directions just because we're on the side of the road.  We obviously are not from the area, so it's ridiculous.  We've gotten requests for a casino and a liquor store.  Ha!

Last nights campsite... 15 meters from the road (but well hidden!)

We are now in Idyllwild, a little mountiain tourist town of about 3000 folks.  We had a big lunch of hamburgers.  For a couple of mostly vegetarians, it was quite a feat.  When bike touring though, it's easy to dream of hamburgers and fish and chips.  I'm still dreaming of the fish and chips.  Maybe next week...



We are riding lots of windy mountain roads, climbing in and out of the mountains.  The pass today is at just over 6000', and we'll finish the day at around 2000'.  We started out at 3000'.  It seems that all we do is go slooowly uphill and then fly downhill.  Most of the time... it's uphill.  I won't lie - more than a few times I've wondered if we've bitten off more than we can chew.  That's just because I'm wilting in the heat though.  The higher up and the farther north we go, the easier it will get.  The scenery is beautiful, and I can't wait to hit the national parks in just a few more days.  Ok, at least five...  But whenever I see the PCT hikers I realize how good we've got it.  They are walking on blisters that formed on top of blisters.  Their clothes are crusted in salt, and they still keep moving.  So... I guess we can keep pedaling!

Daisy doing her lovely 'we're taking a break!' dance.

We've seen several protests to folks speeding past on motorcycles.  A different one just said "This is not a crotchrocket raceway", but this one wins the prize.