March 25th, 2008 | categorizilation: all categories,USA (Arizona),USA (California)
Today’s distance / ???????: 62 miles / 101km
Average speed / ????: 10.2mph / 16.4km/h
Time on skateboard / ????: 6h 07m
Total skateboarding distance to date / ????????????: 3881mi plus 280mi (?) / 6247km plus 450km (?)
Ascent / ??: n/a
Descent / ??: n/a
End-of-day GPS coordinates: N33.06.14.1, W115.48.47.5
Downhill, smooth surface, slight tailwind. It makes all the difference. My first century in the US. 101km. Stoked. And some fantastic scenery to boot.
The first half of the day was skating through the ups and downs again of the hilly rocky area between Palo Verde and Glamis.
I passed through the incredible Glamis Sand Dune Wilderness area near Glamis.
On the south side of the road, the dunes are naked. Any attempt at plants growing there are thwarted by thousands of petrol-head dune buggy enthusiasts.
The north side is untouched dune wilderness with small bunches of wild flowers growing in the fragile valleys created by the sandy dunes.
Approaching Glamis is a desert tortoise area. Only authorised persons are allowed to harass the tortoises.
I pushed on through to Blythe. 43 miles by lunchtime. It is such a nice feeling to know that you only have to do another 7 miles after lunch in order to meet the average daily mileage deadline.
I pushed on further than those 7 miles however. The more I do today, I figured, the less I have to do the next couple of days. You never know when you’ll get a tough headwind or tough roads. Best to make hay while the sun shines, so to speak.
I camped out just out of sight from the highway behind what looked like a stop bank.
You are almost there!!!wow what you are doing is brilliant and it never ceases to amaze me when i read your posts. its springtime in florida now. aidan's "spring break" is in full swing and he's actually off with his Dad somewheres today. jamey's driving home from the east coast as i write this-he's been visiting Maya the last couple of days. how's your camera? was is fixable? hope the roads are smooth and desert traveling is bearable.
take care,
llisa
Great clouds in the third and fourth shots!
Wow! 101kms in a day! It must have been so great to have a smooth road to sail down the hills on.
