Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2009, Spring: Mojave National Preserve / Day 9: Mojave National Preserve Mid Hills campground to Nipton by bicycle via Cima and Morning Star Mine Road 39
It's almost all downhill today on this route that I've ridden before. Whoooosh! If I didn't have to stop at the Cima post office to put my mortgage payment in the mail, I would consider taking a longer route that I don't know so well.
I almost change my mind and stay at Mid Hills campground another night, but I haven't had a shower in over a week, so Nipton's showers are calling me. I know it will be hot down there, but I hope not unbearably so: it is the beginning of June in the Mojave Desert.
42 bicycle miles and 2600 feet elevation drop today (almost 3600 feet elevation drop if you count the many little ups on the way down).
OK, I really am leaving Mid Hills campground this morning; to go to Nipton
Almost everything I brought with me ends up on the picnic table, and then squeezed into my saddlebags
It will be almost all downhill riding today in Mojave National Preserve
Next, I ride two miles down the washboarded Black Canyon Road, which ends at a T-intersection in Cedar Canyon
I follow Cedar Canyon Road westward for a few miles, which is also mostly downhill
The road rises out of Cedar Canyon to look out over Kelso Valley and I turn right here on Death Valley Mine Road
A mile up Death Valley Mine Road, I stop at Thomas Place for a Clif-bar-and-water break like I did yesterday
After my break at Thomas Place, I get back on Death Valley Mine Road and ride north through the joshua tree forest
I've ridden Death Valley Mine Road a couple of times on previous Mojave National Preserve trips, and I always enjoy this one
I make a mistake and turn down a well-travelled road that I think at first is Cima Road
After a pleasant five miles on Death Valley Road, it ends, and I turn west on Cima Road, with Cima Dome and Kessler Peak ahead
At the bottom of Cima Road, I cross the train tracks, arrive on pavement, and ride over to the Cima Store
Predictably unpredictable, the Cima store is closed, even though it should be open according to the posted hours
The heavily weathered board-and-batten exterior of the Cima store is in need of restoration work
Inside the lobby of the Cima post office
The real gem of the Cima post office is its set of antique postal boxes, apparently still in service
The interior mail slot taped shut, I follow the instructions and drop my mortgage payment in the mailbox outside
Behind the Cima store is an old house, presumably the residence of the store owner and postmistress
Two very crooked old sheds rest on the property behind the Cima store
The Cima Store property also serves as a graveyard for many expired motor vehicles
Faded paint on this old truck behind the Cima Store labels it as a possession of Providence Land and Cattle
More old motor vehicles, and another crooked shed, behind the Cima Store, Mojave National Preserve
I depart Cima and ride down Morning Star Mine Road, one of Mojave National Preserve's main, high-speed, paved roads
I reach the point on Morning Star Mine Road that I call "the big curve," after which the serious downhill begins
Downhill on Morning Star Mine Road is not steep, but it is long: about 11.5 miles on a 2 percent grade
It's down, down, down on Morning Star Mine Road, Mojave National Preserve
Still rolling quickly downward on Morning Star Mine Road, Ivanpah Valley comes clearer into view
The amazing 11.5-mile downhill on Morning Star Mine Road abruptly ends at a T-intersection and stop sign at Ivanpah Road
After three miles on Ivanpah Road, I head east on Nipton Road for the final seven miles across Ivanpah Valley
Crossing the floor of the Ivanpah Valley on Nipton Road, I stop for a very short break to take in the scenery
After the slow rise out of Ivanpah Valley, I pull up at the Nipton store at 3000 feet elevation, the end of today's bicycling
Next door to the Nipton store is the Whistle Stop Café, which is what I'm really looking forward to
While setting up my tent under the eucalyptus trees just south of the Nipton store, a train rushes past
In the heat of the late afternoon, I drink lots of cold beer, which goes down like water after a hot bicycle ride
Behind my tent at Nipton lays a series of old railroad ties concealing a stinky septic leach field, and a few tent cabins beyond
At Nipton's Whistle Stop Café, Bill cooks me a delicious New York steak, salad and fries
Bill's dog keeps me company while he prepares our meals
Bicycle route from Mid Hills campground to Nipton via Cima and Morning Star Mine Road (Day 9)
Elevation profile of bicycle ride from Mid Hills campground to Nipton via Cima and Morning Star Mine Road (Day 9)