Southern Tier Part 3

Southern Tier Part 3 - Day #11 June 4, 2023 Quartzite, AZ - Orita, CA 100 Miles Start 6:13 AM Finish 9:03 PM Total Duration 14:50 Moving Time 9:09 Stopped Time 5:42 Ascent 2405'  Descent 3490' Tour Total 896 Miles Details at: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/123593060 I slept fairly well last night wild camping outside of Quartzite and up towards the hills off of Dome Rock Road. It never did cool down and I slept with both tent flaps open. I laid inside on my Thermarest sweating. I dozed off but woke again at 1 AM. I could no longer take the heat so I got up, pulled up the stakes, wadded up my fly, and stuck it under a large rock. Back inside my tent, the bare mesh interior was much cooler. Later in the night I pulled out my silk liner. I had slept on a rocky surface and it was a slow pack-up in the morning. The gravel road was replete with baby head sized rocks and was tough to ride with my narrow tires. I finally made it back to the road and took a left heading west. I noticed t...

Southern Tier Part 3 - Day #12 June 5, 2023 Orita, CA - Ocotillo, CA 62 Miles Start 5:35 AM Finish 1:53 PM Total Duration 8:18 Moving Time 5:27 Stopped Time 2:50 Ascent 1143'  Descent 744' Tour Total 958 Miles Details at: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/123670688 I slept so-so stealth camping in back of the farmhouse near the alfalfa fields alongside California State Highway 78. I was about a quarter-mile off the side of the highway but it was loud. Trucks felt like they were barreling through my tent. It was great to be horizontal and to be cool. I woke up before sunrise and noticed a tractor out in the fields. I quickly got up and started packing. I had leaned my bike against a stack of cut up two inch pipe segments that were organized like firewood. It was a pretty quick pack-up, and I got out of there before anyone noticed. Soon I was pedaling west on the highway. Now that it was daylight, I could see the immense fields of alfalfa and all of the irrigation canals. Further dow...

Southern Tier Part 3 - Day #13 June 6, 2023 Ocotillo, CA - San Diego, CA 101 Miles Start 6:47 AM Finish 8:39 PM Total Duration 13:52 Moving Time 11:12 Stopped Time 2:40 Ascent 7708'  Descent 8092' Tour Total 1059 Miles Details at: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/123788665 I slept ok on the cement slab behind the Red Feather Off-Road Market & Cafe in Ocotillo. The nearby Great Escape Food & Spirits had been open until 9 PM but I was too tired, and went to bed while the sun was still up. I had climbed into my tent at 5:30 PM. I was exhausted and the wind was turbulent. The mesh of the tent protected me from the blowing dust and fine sand. There was a nearby RV trailer park and people opened and closed the gate several times during the night. It was extremely windy all night long. Occasionally it would settle down for a moment, and I could hear the motor vehicles on Interstate 8. I woke up before the sunrise, and it was still windy. My Windy app forecast wasn’t working, and ...