We awoke at 11pm with the goal of riding between midnight and 10am,  while the temperature was below 90F.  This might have been possible, had we not gone down into the casino for breakfast and iced coffees at IHOP.  Afterwards, we returned to the room and watched The Late Show while packing up.

We started pedaling at 1am and crossed into CA immediately, with as much water as we could carry (we were told to bring extra for the Californians)!

The day was almost completely on the highway (110 of 115 miles) which is not ideal, but we decided it was better than the alternatives.

The first 15 miles were spent climbing from Primm Valley to a mountain pass called Mountain Pass- how creative!  Later, we had a big descent into Baker; it was hard not to out-ride our headlights!

While in Baker, we made a quick stop, because Rachel was falling asleep at the handlebars.  We hurried to get back on the road to take advantage of the early coolness (during the descents, it was even cold at times!). On the way out, we saw a few interesting sights in town.

 
Our pace fell off later in the morning, despite the route flattening out.  As a result, we endured some heat as we approached Barstow.

 It had become a pretty tough day for both of us, so it was a huge pick-me-up when a kind gentleman pulled off to the side of the highway to intercept us, with cold water and energy drinks in hand!  Joe was on his way back to San Diego from Boulder, CO, where he just finished an Ironman (his 13th!) and qualified for Kona (the Hawaii Ironman) for the first time.  Congrats, Joe, and good luck in Hawaii!  It was really nice to meet you and thanks again for the cold drinks; your timing couldn’t have been any better!

After pounding the water and energy drinks, we finished our ride to the motel in Barstow.

We were put in the smallest room I’ve ever had at a hotel, but it had all of the essentials, so we didn’t mind.

At this point, we are only 150 miles from the Pacific, but we still plan to ride 900 miles before making it there!  For the rest of the night, we relaxed in the AC, got takeout, and drank as much ice water as we could before getting to bed early again.

Trip stats, to date (Day 80)

Primm, NV to Barstow, CA

Daily mileage: 115 mi ;  Trip total to date: 4,697.2mi
Daily riding time: 9hr 38min;  Trip total time: 405hr 28min
Daily ascent: 5,214 ft;  Trip total ascent: 230,613 ft
Flat tires: Rachel – 3; Chris – 4