ERIC:

Day 4 - (4/25/03) Today was a shorter day.  We only rode 70 miles.  I never thought I would say that riding 70 miles and climbing 3800 ft. in elevation would be considered a shorter day.  We got off to a great fast start.  I was happy to get out of the valley.  I don't dislike the valley, but I was ready for some change in scenery.  We went up a great side road for the beginning of the climb up the mountains.  It was nice to see a different view of the foothills that I have missed on my trips to Vegas going up Highway 58.  I had a little excitement at the end of the valley when I got a 'bee in my bonnet'.  A bee flew into one of the cracks on my helmet and got stuck. I felt it flying around trying to get out.  I have never stopped and taken off a helmet so quickly.  The mountain climb was a lot easier than I expected.  After yesterday's 103 miles in the wind it was almost a breeze.  It is a lot harder to ride in the wind than it is to go up hill.  I decided that my dad's bike is better than mine since he is able to go 1-3 miles faster than me.  It must be the bike because it couldn't be that I have been out of shape (hee hee hee).  I hope I have not slowed him down too much.  Today we got to the motel around 4:15.  This was great since the last few nights were long.  We were able to go in the hot tub which revived body and mind.  It wasn't as nice as my new hot tub in my new house but what ever will?  Someone at the motel told me it snowed a few days ago.  It is cold, but I am glad there is no snow.  Since it is a little earlier writing in the journal, I can write a little more and do some proof checking of some of the web pages and fixing a few links.  We all get a kick out of reading everybody's entries in the guest book.  Hope everyone is having as much fun as we are without all the strenuous effort.

Many cows dotted the hills that were covered in different colored wildflowers.

Lucille:

April 25 - Friday - For me, the day started with practical stuff.  I noticed a laundromat a block from the motel, so it seemed a perfect day to take care of dirty clothes.  Before leaving Wasco, I walked around the shops in Wasco Plaza.  It was a cheerful place with the sound of Mexican music coming from radios in several of the shops.  I was pleased to be able to speak and understand Spanish well enough to get some directions I needed.  The town of Shafter was about 5 miles away, and I roamed around there also.  It's fun to shop in places other than department stores.  I left Highway 43 and got on Santa Fe Road to Bakersfield and then Highway 58 to Tehachapi.  As I got farther east, the scenery was spectacular.  I loved seeing the shadows of the clouds on the hills.  I'm glad that Tom and Eric, being on bikes, could get some pictures of these pretty places.  On the highway, it's impossible to find places to pull over when you see something you want to photograph.  We are staying at the Best Western Inn in Tehachapi.  It was a great day!  One of the really nice things was that Tom and Eric arrived at the motel a little after 4, which gave us all more time to relax, compare experiences, and get the journal done before midnight.  I will no longer make snide remarks about technology.  I am SO glad we have the laptop computer and cell phones with us.  We all agree that it is so much fun sharing this experience with all of you and reading your comments in the Guest Book. One chuckle for the day was at the restaurant where we had dinner.  At each booth there was a wooden container with a couple of booklets .  The booklet at our table was The Outhouse Book, a book of funny comments for reading.  I thought it was a most unusual thing to have at the dinner table.  I plan to look around Tehachapi tomorrow before heading for Barstow.

Day Four - 4/25/2003

Wasco,CA to Tehachapi, CA 70 miles. Starts first 35 miles at an elevation of 330 feet and slowing rising to 460 feet. Then climbing to about 4000 feet at Tehachapi over the next 35 miles.

The start of the climb had unusual rocks in the otherwise smooth hills

After we climbed 1700 ft we had a welcomed 2 miles of downhill.

TOM:

What a great day!!  We got off to an early start at 8:59:10 am (instead of 9 am).  We started south on Highway 43 and had little or no wind in the face. The first hour we covered 16.69 miles which was great compared to yesterday's 11.8 miles. We stopped and split a Power Bar thanks to Bill Mitchell. Along this road a long train passed us on the opposite side of the road from us but created a wind that pushed our speed up by 2 mph.  Eric found a quick and low traffic street to go through Bakersfield.  He also told me about the origin of Bakersfield.  A man named Baker had a field that was fenced-in that became a safe stopping place for travelers and grew into the town.  I also noticed a street named Buck Owens whom I had forgotten about and Eric had never heard about. We continued east on Edison Highway which changed names to Bena Road. Both followed the railroad tracks.  We saw a large potato processing plant and a potatoes field.  The road also had a waste disposal site.  After passing the waste disposal site we saw only 6 vehicles for the next 20 miles. Near the end of this road we started the climb. At this point we had an average speed of 15.3 mph. The climb to the summit was not too hard.  The elevation change was about 3800 feet.  My reference is from Edgewood Road up Crestview View in San Carlos, which is about 750 feet but is very steep compared to the climb we had today.  I am really enjoying my new bike that I got from Pat at the Broken Spoke in San Carlos. He did a great job adjusting the bike for me. We found the secret to climbing in elevation is to have a good rhythm with the legs and the breathing and not worry about speed.  It is a mental adjustment. We saw some spectacular scenery today. I hope that you enjoy our sample pictures. When we got to the Motel a little after 4 pm (as compared to 7 pm last night) there was a great jacuzzi where Eric and I soaked our tired bodies.  As discussed yesterday, there are many things that  keep us going and one of them is your comments in the guest book. Please keep giving us your comments

Lots of wildflowers and this lone tree on top of a hill 

At the top of the pass the colors and views were spectacular.

As we climbed we could see the snow on the top of the mountains.  Every time we stopped we could see how much of a climb we still had to do.