Stopping in Brawley was pretty much required as a tee-up to getting through the next section, which had virtually no accommodation options. I’d been trying to decide whether to do this in one or two days - at the same time trying to convince myself that it wasn’t my ego that wouldn’t allow me a gentle 40 mile day. The route meant that those 40 miles were virtually all downhill and by the time I flew past the turning to the RV park about 11am I’d already made up my mind that I would push the whole way through. 

 

Once down into the desert it was hot and windy, sometimes favourable but sometimes feeling like a headwind in every direction. One particularly unpleasant stretch with strong cross-winds, a busy road and no shoulder. Some of the roads here are far worse than anything in the UK. I tried to get out of the worst of the sun so I picked up some food and found shade in a park. Had a lie on a bench whilst virtually nothing happened around me. Final push into Brawley to a very average motel - will really try to avoid paying for these if I don’t have to. Walked into town to get some dinner - nothing much to write home about in Brawley.

 

The highlight of the day was probably meeting my first cycle tourers. A lovely couple from Maine who had done the Southern Tier in the opposite direction, so were very nearly finished. Up until then everyone had been fairly nonplussed by me turning up somewhere with the bike, so it was nice to have a brief chat with some people in the same position.