Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / Fall 2010: Route 66 and Kelso Dunes Wilderness Bicycle Camping / Day 2: Ludlow to Bristol Mountains foothills by bicycle 38
I don't get as far as planned due to the sandy road, but I have a nice campsite in the Bristol Mountains foothills and catch a soothing sunset. The temperature only reaches the mid 50s. 10.6 bicycle miles and 600 feet of elevation gain, some of it walked.
I'm up early (for me) and walk over to the Ludlow Café next door to the motel for breakfast
I'm not disappointed by my leisurely breakfast at the Ludlow Café
After I shower and repack my saddlebags, I quit the Ludlow Motel
Before leaving Ludlow, I go for a short ride around the old Ludlow ghost town just south of the freeway
This old car is parked permanently in old Ludlow, California
I stop at the corner of Elliot and Main in old Ludlow to take in views of what's left of this town
This old house along Ludlow's Route 66 still stands, but for how much longer?
Almost all of the buildings on old Route 66 east of the Ludlow Café are abandoned
Old Ludlow's commercial strip consists of three buildings today, all abandoned
This old house in old Ludlow on Route 66 is almost hidden by the surrounding athel trees, presumably planted as a wind break
After my brief tour around old Ludlow, I stop at the gas station store to pick up a couple more bottles of water
After riding under the freeway at Ludlow, I pass "the other gas station," which also houses the Dairy Queen
No more pavement for me today, nor tomorrow!
I pass a "Limited Use Area" sign on Crucero Road shortly after leaving pavement
After a mile or so on Crucero Road, I notice a turn-out and decide to check it out
After two miles on the unpaved Crucero Road, I arrive at a billboard advertising the Kelso Dunes Wilderness Area
Something doesn't feel quite right on the 10-ton bike, so I pull over on the sandy power-line road for a moment
I plow ahead on the powerline-pipeline road that separates the Kelso Dunes Wilderness from the Bristol Mountains Wilderness
I look behind me to check my progress as I slowly ride up the Bristol Mountains powerline road into the foothills
Ugh, the Bristol Mountains powerline road is getting rather sandy!
The Bristol Mountains powerline road splits here into a high road and low road, which rejoin each other beyond the hill
I knew I'd find a happy-birthday balloon sooner or later out here in the wilderness...
The Bristol Mountains low road has a nice coating of kitty litter on the surface in many places
A wave of optimism strikes when I reach this rather smooth, and very ridable, stretch of the Bristol Mountains powerline road
As I enter the Bristol Mountains foothills, I've been noticing swaths of a small brick-red plant
It's time for an energy-bar break to power up for whatever might be ahead of me
The Bristol Mounatins powerline road is looking good again, with a just bit of kitty litter on its surface
Uh oh, another sandy area on the Bristol Mountains powerline road, and the sand looks deeper than anything I've seen today
Well, it looks like almost a mile of this sand lies ahead of me, and it would take some time to push the bike through it all
I start backtracking a little, looking for a good campsite here in the Bristol Mountains foothills
I choose a spot about 150 feet in from the road; I don't like to be too close to the road in case visitors should pass by
I go for a short walk around my campsite in the Bristol Mountains foothills to enjoy the glowing end-of-day light
The end of sunset in the Bristol Mountains makes the creosote bushes appear in a darker, lusher green than usual
The sun is setting here in the Bristol Mountains foothills, quickly
After dark, the moon rises in the background and I boil water for tonight's add-water-to-bag meal
While walking around, I notice a lot of these small animal burrows around my campsite
Bicycle route from Ludlow to Bristol Mountains campsite
Elevation profile of bicycle route from Ludlow to Bristol Mountains campsite