Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / Spring 2012: Mojave National Preserve Bicycle-Camping and Hiking / Day 4: Mail Spring to Mid Hills Campground by bicycle via New York Mountains Road, Mojave National Preserve 17
I wasn't planning on visiting Mid Hills Campground, but the hot weather is changing my plans. It's a few degrees cooler than yesterday, but still *hot*: (92F at Lanfair and 99F down at Nipton). 27.4 bicycle miles and about 1800 feet of elevation gain.
I make a last-minute decision to leave Mail Spring and ride to Mid Hills campground today (I was going to stay here another day)
1.5 downhill miles on the old Mail Spring Road, then 3.5 miles down Ivanpah Rd into the Lanfair Valley
I make a quick stop along Ivanpah Road to climb up onto an old railway grade that is marked as a road on some maps
The 10-ton bicycle leaves Ivanpah Road for the Sagamore Cut-off Road
Video snippet of riding the 10-ton bike through the Joshua tree forest on the Sagamore Cut-Off Road
Way off in the distance, I can see flat-topped Table Mountain, which I'll pass later on the way to Mid Hills campground
Riding (and walking the 10-ton bike) up the Sagamore Cut-off Road, looking for shade under a Joshua tree
An hour goes by, and I'm still riding, and pushing, the bike up the Sagamore Cut-off Road
I arrive at the junction of New York Mountains Road and Carruthers Canyon, the first of two summits today
Postcard view of the New York Mountains while mountain-biking through the Carruthers Canyon area
A gentle downhill begins as I start crossing the Watson Wash area on New York Mountains Road, Mojave National Preserve
The 10-ton bicycle rides down New York Mountains Road alongside Watson Wash toward Cedar Canyon Road
Dead coyote on Cedar Canyon Road, Mojave National Preserve
Riding (and walking the 10-ton bike) up the Black Canyon Cut-off Road as the sun goes down
Nice sunset (belt of Venus) on the way up the Black Canyon Cut-off Road: my final 5 uphill miles of the day will be in the dark
Bicycle route: Mail Spring to Mid Hills Campground via New York Mountains Road
Bicycle route: Mail Spring to Mid Hills Campground via New York Mountains Road