Day 196: Morning, noon, night

How about that? 

7 am: I'm getting anxious about these last two days on the road. Apprehensive about going through the Cajon Pass, and weather could be a factor. At the same time I'm becoming nostalgic for the end of our trip. I asked Roger this morning when we were having a sip of coffee in the room what his thoughts were. He said, "I'm ready to be home." I agree! Even though we've only been riding for a couple of days, through some kind of magic I feel like we've picked up all the road wear of the six-month trip that brought us here. My face is puffy, I'm windburned and sunburned, my legs are aching, and I'm getting sore in the saddle. I just need to make it two more days!

The bottle tree place along the road

2.30 pm: We're just chilling out for a little bit, having a coffee and waiting for a text from our hostess before heading over to her home for the night. We made it in to Apple Valley without any problems. Although, the last stretch of the road coming into town was pretty dicey. There's really no shoulder. And for some reason, way more cars are on the road on this Friday than we expected. They did give us plenty of room though, and for that I am thankful. The portion of 66 that we traveled today is kind of gritty. That's a word we use for places that aren't particularly scenic, or have other attributes that make you shout out for joy!

We think these are the radioactive waste cars

For instance, this section of Route 66 has a concrete plant, an electric switching station, some run-down ranches, little houses off the road that barely look weather tight, and trains! Boy, are there trains! We even saw some that we recognized from yesterday by the graffiti on them. They didn't travel any faster than we did for the last 24 hours!

The last bike shop?

Roger made a comment as we approached Victorville. He said, "you know, we could get home today." Given the time of day, I'd say that was technically possible, although it would have required riding through the Cajon Pass in the teeth of the rush hour. No way I'd have done that! Besides, there's a certain symmetry associated with staying tonight with the woman who had agreed to host us when we were headed home two years ago. Our first night out on our journey we stayed with a Warmshowers host, and I was anticipating doing that on our last night also. It's really, really cool to be with people who understand why we have done what we have done. They understand it, because they enjoy this pursuit themselves. I wasn't willing to give that up, and I'm so glad that Anita was available to host us this time around.

We stopped in a bike shop to get a spare tube and master link, just in case we have trouble tomorrow.  Last bike shop visit for this trip? Let's hope so! Kathleen of Apple Valley Bikes was very helpful.

I gave my mom and dad a call, and let them know we were okay. They're pretty excited for us also. I'm starting to get a little bit emotional about the prospect of actually finishing this trip.

Looks cold over there. Where we're headed.

8:30 pm:  We are headed to bed after a nice supper and a bottle of wine, sharing stories with our host, Anita. Clean laundry for the final day, with a spare set for changing out in case we're wet when we arrive at the brewery. At this time, only one of our friends has indicated he'll be at the McDonald's to ride us in, and he's kind of crazy! Forecast is for rain and temps around 40. Shades of Oregon! Should be epic.  I may fall apart before we get there. Coming in to Anita's house, I was starting to feel like I might cry. I hope I can hold it together tomorrow.

Barstow to Apple Valley, 44 miles.