A king can stand people fighting but he can't last long if people start thinking. -Will Rogers, humorist (4 Nov 1879-1935)
Up at just before 5:00 am. I guess my bio-clock was still on Costa Rican time. Anyway, I decided I leave Lady Dar to continue her gentle snoring, matched quite nicely from Ayn's similar efforts upstairs. Was interesting to note that being back in Tinsel Town the cries of the Howler monkeys were replaced by police or ambulance sirens and the crash of the surf by the waves of traffic on the nearbye freeways. Cannot complain as there are still gorgeous palm trees outside our bedroom window. As soon as The Sisterhood stirred, around 7:00 am, I started to load the car as we were off to Palm Desert to stay with Lynne and Peter for a couple of nights.
When Ayn was up she very kindly did a load of laundry for us and then took Winston for his morning constitutional while it was being machine washed as opposed to being rinsed in the bathroom sinks and showers of Costa Rica. While she was away we reorganized our mounds of possessions, [Hadn't remembered we had left so much baggage in Tinsel Town!], as we didn't really want to take anything we wouldn't need for the next few weeks on the road, other than plenty of hootch, that is. Made the first trip to the garage using Ayn's large, collapsible, metal grocery cart. For the rest of trips I used the back stairs as it was far closer to the garage. When I'd put everything we wouldn't need for the next few days, in the very back, I was able to put my bike on the rack. Although I had it covered with a tarp, on Ayn's small patio, I could see that the chain and gears were both coated with a fine layer of grit. Ayn had dusted off our car the day before as she said they had had quite strong winds earlier that week, swirling clouds of fine sand everywhere.
When Ayn was back with Winston she made a lovely breakfast, scrambled eggs and bacon, and after we finished eating she went to collect the laundry. About 10:30 am, we'd taken final bits and pieces to the car and were ready to roll. We thanked her for everything and made our fond farewells, having made tentative plans to be back around the 16th, for the weekend. This works for both her and Los Horridos as Alex is off and Pierre will not be in class. After stopping to fill up, on the corner of Victory and Woodman, we set off, a few minutes before 11:00 am. Traffic was moving well everywhere and Garmin Girl helped us negotiate between various freeways. We've made this drive a number of times so reasonably familiar with the route, inasmuch as I recognize various landmarks along the way, through Pasadena, in particular. Still quite taken with the huge windmill farms one encounters as I-10 crosses the San Gorgonio Pass, not far from Palm Springs. Unfortunately, and very sadly so, this "green power" wreaks a terrible toll on birds and bats so one wonders why solar farms are not the choice, given the ideal conditions here for such technology.
Just after 1:00 pm we were on Shadow Lake Drive and as we approached the house where we would be staying, we noticed Lynne was walking towards the gate. I honked at her and she complemented us on our perfect timing! She had been out doing a bit of shopping while Peter was working on one of his reports. Once we'd said our hellos Peter helped me unload what we wanted inside. That done, I took my bike into the front garden to hose it off. Temperature was about 86º F, (30º C), so I didn't need to wipe it down as it was almost bone dry by the time I was ready to put some oil on the chain. Lady Dar was already lolling on a deck chair beside the pool by the time I was suited up and ready to go for a ride. Pumped up my tires before oiling the gears and chain and I left the house at about 2:40 pm.
Had a pretty good idea about where I wanted to go although I had to do a little bit of circling until my odometre picked up a satellite. Once I was connected, I followed Shadow Lake Drive, east, crossing Portola Ave, [A good, fairly gradual but extended for uphill climb, for about four or five km, which I'd done a number of times on last visit.], to follow the bike/golf cart dedicated lane, (One of the delights of being in such a golf oriented community!), until it ended at Indian Wells Lane. Dipsy-doodled through some of the side streets here, back to Eldorado Drive, taking it to Hwy 111 and then headed east on it. Terrific bath path here so I sailed along, almost always in the shade as the tall palms to my right blocked out most of the late afternoon sun. Almost perfect cycling weather as the slight breeze I was riding into was refreshing and not strong enough to have to struggle against.
Quite a magical time, enjoying the manicured gardens and shrubbery along both sides of the double-lane highway. There was a reasonable amount of traffic but I never felt uncomfortable at any time. Not very many stop lights but whenever I came across one, not in my favour, I could easily, and safely, nip right towards the entrance-way of the gated community beyond and loop back to the bike lane. Shortly after crossing Manitou Drive, I could see the stadium of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, off to my left. Continuing on, I made my way as far as Plaza La Quinta where the dedicated lane came to an end. There was much more traffic here and I considered following Washington Street to see what I could see but decided against it once I discovered there wasn't a bike lane at that point.
Turned around in the parking lot and made my way back along 111 thought this time I rode on the wide sidewalk which runs parallel to the highway. I had seen other bikers using it when I was on the road so decided I might as well do the same and not have to touch the Dreaded Burning Ground waiting to cross the highway. Had even more shade on return leg as I was closer to the tall walls and fences, palms and other shrubbery, which encircle the huge golf course and housing developments thereabouts. Met a number of golf carts but each time the drivers pulled over on to the lush grass to allow me to pass. Soon found myself back on El Dorado and as I wanted to log at least half of my basic distance, 51 km. Although I felt fine, not having ridden for almost two months now, I didn't want to overtax my legs, planning to ride further in the days to come. Back home at just after 4:00 pm. Map and Stats for ride:
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2480740259#.Wnj-VidR1qk.email
After stowing my bike back in the garage I walked into the kitchen to find that Happy Hour was just about to start! Had a large glass of water before we clinked glasses, filled with wonderful G&T's by Mixologist Extraordinaire, Jugos Dom Pedro! What a wonderful reward for a most enjoyable first ride since leaving Tinsel Town for Costa Rica. Quick shower and another G&T before dinner. Lynne had made two salads, potatoe and coleslaw, earlier and put the ribs and sausages we were having for dinner, on to biol, for a few minutes, before Jugos grilled them on the bbq. Delicious dinner with a couple of bottles of Coffaro, both from 2016, an Escuro, 15.4%, and a Petite Sirah, 15.5%, and extremely, extremely well received by our hosts, not as familiar with their product as we happen to be, of course.
Couple of snorts of Ron Centenario for dessert as we watched two episodes of Manhunt: Unabomber. Quite a fascinating story, in itself, and I found the use of flashbacks made it even more interesting. By 10:00 pm I was more than ready for bed so thanked our gracious hosts and toddled off to brush and floss and then fall into bed leaving Lady Dar to turn off the lights as she was still reading. Quite a way to end one holiday and begin another.
Patrick, Just re-read your email and realized it was from January 15th. I am a little slow replying! We have been in Hawaii since January 13th and are enjoying it as usual. We often think of you as there are lots of serious bikers here especially on the highway from Kona north. Life here has been relaxed. We have been going for a good walk every morning and having a couple of swims usually in the ocean in the afternoon and reading. We have discovered some new beaches that are beautiful and fairly easy to get to. We were at one last week where we watched a Hawaiian Monk Seal in the water for quite awhile and then she came up on the beach to sun tan. She weighed 900# and was about 9 years old according to a lady that put up signs to stay back from the seal. Also watched turtles in the water there.
We went to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Waimea on Saturday which was lots of fun. It celebrates the Japanese contributions to the Island. It was very busy with local people and had lots of events to see. They had 3 shows of Japanese drummers which were excellent, cooking demos, lion dances and lots of craft and food booths. I am sure 1/2 the Island’s population had a craft booth.
We went to see the volcano one day as we haven’t been for a few years and met up with a torrential downpour that just wouldn’t stop so ended up coming home after seeing nothing. A 5 hour drive for naught. We are going to try to go on a night walk as apparently you can see the lava flowing right by your feet.
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| Palm Desert Dove on a Wire! |
We are here for another 8 days and then head home with a couple of days in Vancouver en route. Terrace has had snow almost everyday for the last two weeks so we certainly have picked the right time to be away. We hope to take up skiing again when we get back. It has been about 10 years since we have been so I am a little nervous. We watched the Super Bowl yesterday and were disappointed that the Patriots lost. The ads, which usually are very entertaining seemed, on the whole, to be rather blah but maybe they appealed to a younger crowd. Are you back from Costa Rica and basking in the US sun - seems to me you were going to be in Palm Springs when you got back? I will send a few photos in a separate email. That’s about it for the Martins. Cheers, Dawn
Hello Patrick & Corinne, What an adventure you are having! We are paying careful attention, following along from home and taking notes for our next trip to Costa Rica! St Teresa Mal Pais sounds LOVELY and well worth the effort to get there and your pictures are awfully fun. It was a tough re-entry here-- I think it was Wednesday before I could see an end to the backlog of emails! It's been crazy in Minneapolis. The Superbowl shut down streets, re-routed public transport and generally disrupted normal life west of the river. Ian's neighborhood is near the airport and it's been inundated with Ubers, Lyfts, taxis and shuttles taking football fans back and forth to the MANY #BOLDNORTH activities happening. It will be good to get back to normalcy soon.
In the meantime, we've begun Spanish lessons and continue to cook up big bathes of Gallo Pinto to have with our eggs and are watching flights for good deals to Liberia or San Jose. I've attached a photo which sums things up pretty well. Wishing you safe travels! -- Amy
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