Day 4: Ludlow to Needles -- 108 miles
A rare shot of Anurang "Ringtail" Revri drafting a tandem. Actually, he's probably just about to pass them. I thought about flipping this photo to disguise the fact that they're riding on the wrong side of the road -- the only place with smooth pavement.
The famous Roy's sign in Amboy dwarfs the Pac Tour rest stop across the street.
The desert is in bloom.
I had to park in the handicapped space at the Essex Post Office because it was the only one there.
The desert in bloom Part 2. Brian and Anurang kept going on and on about these fuchisa flowers but no matter how much they pointed in the general direction of fifty square miles of sage brush, I couldn't pick them out. Most likely because I'm slightly color blind. Anurang finally insisted on stopping our bikes and practically shoving my nose in the prickly pear. So I took a picture of it.
Lon, Kirsten and I went off-road to scout out a possible remant of the old road just shy of Needles, with Lon making notes into his dictaphone ("mile 4.7: traces of asphalt, old Coke can circa 1975"). I was hoping we'd find an abandoned gas station. In the end, we found little of note, but I greatly improved my sand and gravel riding skills, which should come in handy later.