Day 3 - 39.75 miles - Brawley, CA

To beat the heat, I have a new plan to try today. I woke up at 4am and was packed up and on the road before 5am. Yes, it was still dark and no I don't have lights on my bike. I do have many reflectors on my bike so I can be seen. Ocotillo, the town I left from only has a population of 296 people and my route took me on old highway 80 so traffic was not a problem. Only 2 cars passed me before sunrise, just after 6am. When the 2 cars passed me I saw them coming and pulled off the road just to play it safe. No reason to take any chances. I was treated with an almost full moon that shined just enough light for me to see the road. Old highway 80 is in horrible shape with non-stop potholes, cracks, and just a rough pavement. So it was hairy doing this in the dark. Other than the terrible road surface my plan worked well. At 5am it was a very cool 70 degrees, and felt great compared to yesterday afternoon at 105 degrees. I was able to get across the remaining Yuha Desert before sun broke the horizon. Today's high in Brawley, CA is 103 degrees. I had arrived in Brawley by late morning and made the decision the play it smart and stop here for the night. I made this choice after looking over my maps only to see that the next town is Palo Verde, which is 70 miles away with the Palo Verde mountain range in between and no services. That will be tomorrow's ride. Years ago I would went for it and rode it today. I did have the time and daylight but 100 degrees is just ridiculous to cycle towing 90 pounds of gear. Tomorrow is another day. Although at this rate I might be singing Christmas carols before finishing this trip.

Photos - The Yuha Desert near Ocotillo, CA