Day 46: Barstow to Redlands CA (80 mi)

Opted to ride from Barstow to Hesperia. However I totally forgot an important route note: Cajon Pass, my last climb of the trip, is closed to bicycles until 2016 due to a massive construction project. No shoulder with heavy traffic, definitely a cyclist's nightmare. So my would-be-host Theresa actually drove me and the bike the extra 40 miles into Redlands.

Remember how there had been no flat tires since Oklahoma? Yeah, pinch flat today. It was a bad one too and I saw it coming - some massive crack in the shoulder but I couldn't avoid it because of traffic behind me. Thankfully there happened to be a nearby grassy area where I sat and changed tires and tubes in 10 minutes.

So, I'm here in Redlands,  and the coast is beckoning me. But... I think I may take one day here in my old hometown. It's an awkward situation, but there is no rush. The ocean will still be there in two days.

Tonight and tomorrow I am staying with another old friend, Joey. He's going to college but just hasn't left yet (UC schools are on a quarter system and start really late compared to others nationwide). I'll take tomorrow to hang out with him, and bike around to visit old neighbors, old teachers, etc.

I can almost smell the coast!
(not really, it's kind of smoggy here in the valley)

"It's all well and good, this trip of yours. But you ain't done yet son, know that! No, not the ride. You'll be fittin' to reach the coast soon enough I reckon. But this journey, far from over..."

-Jebidiah "Jeb", random guy at an Arco. Or maybe not so random, depends how you look at it