Crazy winds

52km and just above 1000m climb: sounded like an easy day when we planned it. However, things turn out differently sometimes when you travel. First of all, we didn't have a quiet night as it was really windy all night long. In the morning, we had to get our tent to the toilet room in order to get it back into the bag as the wind outside was so strong. We then had to cycle about 20km straight against the winds (gusts up to 55mph). As a lot of dust and sand was whirled through the air, we got sandblasted and had to wear our smoke masks to avoid grinding teeth.
But the highway we were going to take was closed, so we had to take a long detour (thanks again Google for this stupid route suggestion). Luckily, the winds in the valley on the other side of the hills were less strong. And just after we had started our long climb for the day (1300m from this side), Theresa - our host for the night - drove passed and took all our luggage in her car. This way, we could climb up to Idyllwild relatively quickly and enjoy dinner with Theresa and Bill.Read more