We had a truly amazing first day to kick off our bike tour. Great ride out of Bakersfield this morning – rolling hills, gorgeous scenery. Meet some cool bicyclist, and had a chat with some rail fans. Then we began our first big climb of the trip, and boy was it a doozy. Relentless, 6 mile slog with a bunch of switchbacks, but we made it up in true bums fashion, slow and steady (well, Andrew did beat me by 40 minutes, but who’s counting?)
After our descent, we watered up at really cool dude ranch, and then crossed the spectacular Walker basin. we were completely drained by the climb, and searching for a spot to camp. We must have looked pretty pathetic, because a pickup truck stopped to offer us water. Lucky for us, the truck was occupied by two of the nicest folks you’ll meet, Skip and Cis, who ended up inviting us back to their house to camp, and then offered us dinner. We had great conversations with them ranging from the abundant wildlife around their house (of which Cis takes award-winning photographs) to the various safety concerns of building a C-17 aircraft. Now I’m in my tent, well fed and well beered, and ready for a great night’s sleep. Tomorrow: lake Isabella.
PS: go Cavs!
