June 2, 2011 49.20km, 4.14hrs, 11.6km/h Ojai to Cuyama
Richard, Daniel and I have breakfast together. I pack my stuff and look for the ranger station to get some maps of the area I am going to. Not much there. The whole family is in the studio working, when I get there. I admire their work, get a little tour, fill up my water bags and finally go on my way.
It's 1pm, when I am finally ready. I stand on the road, checking the map and considering the amount of water I intend to carry up 5250feet. A man stops in his car. Scott is a cyclist too and has cycled this stetch many times and he can tell me exactly what to expect. It's an 11 mile climb, after 4 miles there is a camp site with water, after 7 miles there is a spring that comes out right beside the road. He offers me to take my waterbags, get a map he has at home and meet me on top of the pass in 2 hours time.
It`s a great sunny day, it goes uphill right away and I reach the 2000 ft mark one hour later. Another hour later I make the 3000ft. How in the world should I be able to meet Scott at 6000ft or even at 4000ft at 3pm?! He passes me at 2:45pm, asks me if I need anything, passes me some cherries. Not far anymore, he assures me! Though as soon as he leaves I come around the corner and see another steep switchback climb, I still have 6 km to do. There is no end, but it is very beautiful scenery. Scott comes back to check on me, tells me I'm almost there. He tells me how the road levels out and I think I'm on top keep going uphill. He will wait there. I had told him to just leave the bags on top so that he doesn't have to wait so long for me. But he is fine, happy to help. I had carried all my luggage, but it is good to have that moral support. Even cyclists on the road call out to me, not far anymore!
As promised he waits at a great viewpoint with my water, apples, nuts, more cherries and powerbars ( that are by the way delicious!). He tells me about the rest of the way, it goes down, then up to 6500ft. My guess is we are at 4000 ft right now. He gives me a good detailed map which is very helpful!
The problem is that even though on the map are little towns or campsites marked, they actually often don't exist anymore. So you have to bring enough food and water for at least 1 night, 2 days.
I keep cycling, it is 4pm now, it's getting late. About an hour later the wind has picked up so much, that I'm not sure I can make it to the campsite, 6 miles after the pass, I'm still a long way away from the pass. I keep looking for an ideal place to set up camp, but can't find anything, too open land. There is some traffic on this road, so I rather try and hide, if I have to camp wild.
Eventually a car stops coming towards me. He had passed me earlier and noticed, that there was no one else with me. He wants to make sure I'm alright. This is always a matter of trust, luck and knowledge of the human nature. We start talking for a while, then he offers me to take me over the pass. We fix the bike on top of the cheep, his 2 dogs are in the back, though one manages to join us in the front. Can't be left out! I have a few choices now, either I can go to New Cuyama on 166 west, where there are hopefully some motels. Michael calls a friend to find out if they still offer rooms for rent, but they are renovating. Or I get dropped off at the campsite about 4 miles into Lockwood Trail just after the pass. Michael also offers me carefully, that I can pitch my tent in his yard. I chose the latter.
Michael runs a water truck business, which are used on new building sites to keep down the dust. He buys cement trucks and converts them to water trucks. This is heavy work! He also runs a business, where he washes down fire trucks after they have been used in an area with weeds, so that they don`t contaminate the next area. In his free time in the winter he goes surfing.
I set up my tent and go to sleep pretty quickly. It is dead quite, very peaceful.
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| this is where I came from! |
June 3, 2011 58.78km, 2.53hrs, 20.5km/h Bakersfield HWY 5/119 to Kern River Park Campsite NE of Bakersfield
All around us is farming land, it`s flat with the exception of a mountain range on 2 sides, where we drive over to get to Bakersfield. Michael has some business to do in Bakersfield and gives me a ride. I say good bye to him and start riding on Hwy 119 over the Hwy 5 going east to Lemont. It`s not pretty, there is a lot of traffic, not enjoyable at all! Every town I pass is pretty ugly, well it is the outskirts of Bakersfield. I feel like in Mexico, there are pretty much only Mexicans working on the fields. I turn north on 184, I`m looking for a camp site. It`s till very early, since we started at 7am to drive the hour to Bakersfield. I ask a lady infront of her house for a camp site. She gets her son to check his Cell phone for camping and the road, he says it`s 33 miles to Isabella Lake from here. She tells me about a pretty camp site just 3 miles off the Highway at the Korn River. On the junction I ask a fireman, who`s sitting in his truck for directions and he confirms that there is a camp site and a little store just before.
It is such a pretty site! One side is full with mexican families. I stay close by but far enough away so I have my peace and quiet. The ranger comes by to collect the money, it`s usually 22$, I get the seniors rate of 20$. The toilets are pretty dirty, people don`t seem to flush here! But the shower has hot water to my surprise!
It`s weekend and the site fills up quickly. Soon I talk to a neighbour, who has an electric car at home. He believes, if there is an emergency or a fire, don`t take your electric car to get away. You might not make it! We get to talk about his heart attack, his 5 children and grandchildren, nice to connect with your neighbours. My direct neighbour is here with his 84 year old mother. She is camping in her tent, he put up a cot for her, so she doesn`t have to sleep so close to the ground. She`s amazing, very sweet woman! And doing very well camping in her age! He is going to do a 100 mile race on Sunday. They bring me back some milk and a very delicious mexican meal for breakfast. So thoughtful of them! We play a little guitar, then it`s bedtime. I have to get up early in the morning to try and avoid the busy traffic on the highway through the gorge.
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| My camp site at Kern River Park |
June 4, 2011 91.55km, 6.25hrs, 14.2km/h Bakersfield to Kernville by Isabella Lake
I get up at 5am, ready at 6am after having eaten the Burrito for breakfast.
Except of maybe 20 km this whole trip is basically uphill! Once I get into the gorge, I realize how right people were to say it is dangerous. There is so much traffic, I can`t believe it, at 6am already! The corners especially to the right are a killer, I try and stay in the middle of the road as long as possible, so cars and trucks can see me from far away. If they pay attention that is! At some point a Transit bus is overtaking me. What!? If I would have known, I would have taken the bus! I can't really appreciate the beauty of my surrounding because I have to pay so much attention to the traffic!
I get to lake Isabella. I don't see any cosy stores or cafes, no nice camp site, only a free campsite at the lake with heavy motor traffic on the lake!
I ask some cyclists who tell me that I would like Kernville more. It's only another 10 miles and it's still only midday, since I have started so early. That's the problem with starting early, you don't really want to finish yet, but I am pretty exhausted.
The traffic there is still pretty bad, one car peeps the horn at me from behind, as if saying, get off the road. Though I can't get off the road, because the side is often soft gravel, where I will get stuck!
From Woffords Heights on it gets better, more scenic, some hills and as soon as I get into Kernville I know, this is where I want to stay. It's weekend, very busy and there are hundreds of people doing white water rafting and river kayaking. I find the camp site and despite having cycled a lot already today I cycle back into town to get supplies and to use the internet in a cafe.
Pretty quiet night.
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| The Kern River Gorge |
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| Not much of a shoulder here! |
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| Looking back at Isabella Lake |
June 5, 2011 Kernville
It rained a little last night, but it's sunny in the morning. I would like to get a motel room. I find one for 60$, Dan gives me deal! I have a kitchen and river view, absolutely beautiful and very quiet! I enjoy the day, cycling to town and walking around.
In the evening I use the laptop in front of the office. Dan tells me I can use one of the rooms to get away from the mosquitoes. I already started feeling queasy a few hours ago, bloated, as if I've eaten too much. I go back to my room at 9pm and get the shakes. I am throwing up every hour until about 3am. I barely sleep, my whole body aches.
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| Kern River |
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| The view from my Motel room onto Kern River |
June 6, 2011 Kernville
A day of sleeping. My body aches everywhere like when you have a fever. But I think it is just the convulsion of throwing up that makes me sore, sorry for being so picturesque! I sleep until 2 pm, when I finally make my way to the supermarket, which is blessedly just across the road. I know what to get, since Micky had to do the same things. He had called a doctor friend to find out, what he can eat and drink. I buy the smartwater ( distilled water with electrolytes) , cranberry juice, bananas, Saline crackers. I barely can stand up at the cashier. Partly it`s just the weakness after the ordeal of last night, but I`m also hungry. I start drinking some juice and water, eating some crackers and wait and see what happens. Over the afternoon I get a bit stronger, but my belly is still funny.
I was so lucky to have changed to a motel room yesterday! I had a nice clean toilet to use... which would have been horrendous on the camp site!
Dan asks me a few times in the day, how I`m feeling. In the evening he tells me I can stay tomorrow night for free, so that I can get stronger before the ride. Also, today arrived some motorcyclists who came over the pass, that I intended to tackle tomorrow. They had 43 Degrees Fahrenheit at 1pm. Dan says it`s getting warmer every day now, so it might be good for me to wait a day. He`s even offering me to take me up the hill, so that I can ride in one day back down to Porterville. That way I don`t have to sleep in freezing temperatures and I get to see the beauty of the landscape.
June 7, 2011 Kernville
Dan is very kind, he lets me stay a night for free in this beautiful room with the great view and my big kitchen. I have a day of rest, go for a leisurely bike ride to a hiking trail along the river.
