Tehachapi to Palmdale
67 miles
Psychologically my eco-conscious brain had a rough day. On the one hand, it was delighted to see all sorts of wind and solar energy, including large and small scale operations. But then I also saw sprinklers trying to irrigate a desert. One side of the road was dirt and shrubs while the other side of the road was some sort of leafy plant growing in neat rows. And then I was happy to see bike lanes, but then I was disappointed to have to drive through a gigantic stretch of urban sprawl that is Palmdale and Landcaster.
It's too hot to bike comfortably. That's been a recurring theme in southern California.
So not the greatest day of riding, but I did get to see some random interesting things.
The owner must be a Don Quixote fan.
Stupidly long and straight and hot road.
I call this kind of tree a Sasquatch tree.
Look at the crops on the left. Look at the conditions they are growing in on the right. Why are we irrigating the desert?
There was a big bike race and I happened to be going on the same route. I left so early I got to the turn around before anyone else. I was hoping the spectators would start cheering for me, but they mostly ignored me.
I saw this tortoise on someone's driveway.
Yay! Solar! Now if only California would stop stealing and wasting the water.
Now if only California could get its water situation right. Here's an aqueduct that is feeding at least one giant city that shouldn't exist where it is. I ranted a lot about water usage in my head.
I didn't even realize it until much later in the day, but the combination of downhill and tailwind during the morning pushed me to a new speed record: 52 miles per hour. Not bad!
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