What a difference a week makes!

Was it only less than a week ago that we were so cold going into Julian?  Well...... Summer has arrived!

We had a truly restful rest day in Tehachapi yesterday.  A leisurely breakfast, a bit of bike cleaning, a trip to KMart, and lots of lying about.  Even made a trip to a chiropractor.  Never been to one before so it was a bit of an experience listening to my body be realigned.  Not sure yet if it will make a difference, but worth a try.   

The scenery for the entire day today was spectacular.  I really enjoyed the views all day.  Today was the day to leave the Tehachapi Mountains behind and head for the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  Lots of winding roads to start out, mostly downhill.  Great vistas back towards Tehachapi.

At 8.5 miles we stopped at a "National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark".  Built by Chinese labour (3000 people), 28 miles @ 2.2 percent grade, 18 tunnels - it is one of the seven wonders of the railroad world.  It was built in under 2 years (1874 to 1876).  At 8.51 miles I had my first flat tire of the trip.  Thanks to Ann & Kat for helping out to get me underway again.

Then about 5 miles on the SR 58 freeway.  Gentle grades, wide shoulders and lots of trucks.

First SAG stop @ 16.8 miles and then still more downhill until we started climbing at about 22 miles.  We had descended over 3100 feet before we even thought about doing any serious uphill.  And serious climbing it was!  6.7 miles of twisting, turning elevation gain with gnats in our faces (not to mention mouths & noses as we tried to breathe!) all the way up - ughhh!!  Beautiful, beautiful scenery, though.  And - good pavement and almost no traffic - heaven!

A great descent down the other side.  Again - winding road, good pavement and hardly any traffic.

Then on the flats towards hills # 2 & 3 of the day.  I stopped in to a Sequoia National Forest fire station between hills 2 & 3.  They were very kind - restroom and bottled water.  Lots of young men there all trained up and waiting for forest fire deployment.  I wish I had taken their picture.  It was also home to the Brekenridge HotShot fire brigade.  I hope they stay safe this summer.

For the first time we heard quite a few Air Force planes overhead.  We passed Edwards Air Force Base a few days ago but this is the first day we've really heard them.  Speaking of military, tomorrow we will be heading towards China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS).  It is the US Navy's largest single landholding, covering more than 1.1 million acres.

Over the "last" hill and on towards Lake Isabella, which is at a very low level from the drought in recent years.  I say "last" because there was no mention of any more hills in the last 10 miles towards Kernville.  Turns out we still had to climb about 800 feet in that last 10 miles in temps hovering around 40C.  Lots of water breaks!

It was a beautiful but tough day - elevation & heat.  Early breakfast tomorrow to try to beat some of the heat.

Stats for the day:
101.1 km / 62.8 miles from Tehachapi CA to Kernville CA
6130 feet up
7141 feet down
Weather:  gloriously sunny.  Warm, though.  Started in the high teens and quickly rose into the 20's.  It was low 30s for the first climb, high 30s for the subsequent climbs right through to the end of the day.  At one point on the last 10 mile section I saw 42.1C on my GPS.  Yikes!