Mountain-bike ride from Twin Buttes to Fenner and Essex on historic Route 66 via Woods Wash Valley dirt roads: Day 10
My bud calls this the 73-mile beer run (I'll buy beer at the Fenner store). I explore some of the expansive cattle-grazing country in the Woods Wash Valley. High of 102F in the Essex area. 73 bicycle miles and about 3500 feet of elevation gain.
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Date: May 29, 2012, 10h04
Size: 56 items
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My Fenner Hills Road route crosses the (gas) pipeline road, both roads lightly traveled
I stop to take a look down the pipeline road toward Foshay Pass, that dent in the Providence Mountains over there. The pipeline road and the powerline road almost meet each other in that area.
Date: May 29, 2012, 16h21
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Fenner Hills Road crosses a wide gravelly area thst was apparently once cleared of vegetation
Perhaps this was once a mining spot, or a landing pad? My maps don't offer any additional information.
Date: May 29, 2012, 16h36
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Ugh, Fenner Hills Road passes through a couple of sandy stretches where I can barely ride my bike.
I have to get off and walk the bike for a few minutes, nothing too serious, yet.
Date: May 29, 2012, 16h41
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Out of the last sand-trap on Fenner Hills Road, the road briefly crosses a gravelly area, then returns to a soft earth surface
Date: May 29, 2012, 16h51
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Occasionally, Fenner Hills Road almost fades away, in the gravelly stretches
Date: May 29, 2012, 16h52
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It seems that riding down Fenner Hills Road is getting slower and slower, even though I'm riding mostly slightly downhill
...or maybe I'm just getting impatient. It's a great ride, regardless, but I've decided that it's definitely best in the downhill direction.
Date: May 29, 2012, 17h08
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Aha, I can now see trains down there rolling past Fenner by old Route 66, with the Piute Mountains Wilderness in the background
I'm getting close to my next waypoint!
Date: May 29, 2012, 17h09
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I'll be at Fenner shortly; I definitely need a break and I want some COLD water
I'm staring at those palm trees down there where there's a store selling food and cold drinks!
Date: May 29, 2012, 17h33
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34 miles into today's ride, just before arriving at Fenner, I exit Mojave National Preserve for a while
I take a look back at where I came from. I'm having so much fun that it's easy to forget that I have a long ride to get back home to my tent.
Date: May 29, 2012, 17h38
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I arrive at the store at Fenner, CA and the outdoor thermometer reads 89F in the shade; no wonder I'm hot and thirsty!
I'll learn later that it hit 102F at nearby Essex, which I'll ride through shortly on the long ride back to my campsite in Mojave National Preserve.
Date: May 29, 2012, 18h09
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Gotta love this weird sign in the door at the Fenner store just off I-40 and on old Route 66
Should I choose to not become a customer as suggested? I step into the store to buy cold water for the ride home, other refreshments, and two bags of potato chips for a carbo boost. I was hoping to order a falafel sandwich, but the kitchen just closed.
Date: May 29, 2012, 18h09
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I take a good half-hour break in the shade of the Fenner store, drinking a couple of bottles of Sobe orange-carrot drink
Best of all, they carry tall bottles of Sierra Nevada pale ale, so I buy a couple of those for later consumption. I'd love to drink one of those now while it's cold, but with almost 40 more bicycle miles ahead of me, that wouldn't be a great idea.
Date: May 29, 2012, 18h22
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After my refreshment break at the Fenner store, I'm ready to ride on; I ride under the I-40 freeway and down old Route 66
I haven't ridden my bike on this part of Route 66 in 10 years, so it's nice to be here again, however briefly. The freight trains along the road make me feel like I'm on old Route 66.
Date: May 29, 2012, 18h36
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A few Desert milkweeds pick up the sun along old Route 66 as I get close to Essex, CA
Almost there...
Date: May 29, 2012, 18h53
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On the outskirts of Essex, CA, I stop to check out an old abandoned gas station and its empty sign
Date: May 29, 2012, 18h59
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