The air conditioning was not working at the hotel, which made it difficult to sleep before 10PM. That did not bode well for us, since we had to wake up at midnight. In addition, I awoke to a flat rear tire which I had to patch before we could leave.

I struggled to keep my eyes open for the first hour, until we started climbing.  Soon after, the sun started shining, which helped wake us up.

  

With a steady headwind, we climbed through Joshua tree groves up to Walker Pass.  The grade was only 7% at worst, but the wind made it feel steeper. 

   
 We paused for some pictures and snacks at the top.

  
We descended from Walker Pass into Lake Isabella. Before reaching our destination, I had to stop to pump up my back tire again; apparently this mornings patch job was not my best work. When I reinflated it this time, though, the pump broke the valve core, so it immediately went flat, and I was forced to swap in a fresh tube.

When the lake came into view, we were shocked by how low the water level was. We assumed it was because of the drought, but, upon investigation, we found that it’s a combination of that and an issue with the dam.  For the past few years, they haven’t let it fill above 40% while research is being done on how to remedy the issue.  

   
 We also found out while at the post office that there is a manhunt taking place in the area after a shooting and kidnapping last week. Hopefully he doesn’t try to commandeer our bikes! 

After eating some Subway sandwiches and ice cream, we settled into another motel room, this time with exceptionally powerful AC!

Trip stats, to date (Day 82)

Mojave, CA to Lake Isabella, CA

Daily mileage: 85.9 mi ;  Trip total to date: 4,856.2 mi
Daily riding time: 7hr 39min;  Trip total time: 419hr 04min
Daily ascent: 4,326 ft;  Trip total ascent: 236,173 ft
Flat tires: Rachel – 3; Chris – 5