Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / Spring 2012: Mojave National Preserve Bicycle-Camping and Hiking / Day 15: Twin Buttes / Woods Mountains to Nipton by bicycle 34
Another hot one for the final day of the trip, with a high of 96F at Cima, and 103F down at Nipton. I'm glad that much of this is downhill today! 50.9 bicycle miles, about 30 of which are downhill riding, almost 4000 feet of downhill elevation loss: fun!
I've been at this great campsite by the Woods Mountains for a week now; this morning I pack up and leave
Everything is nicely packed up into my saddlebags and attached to the 10-ton bike
I've ridden Woods Wash Road quite a few times while camping here this past week; this is my final commute out of the area
My first stop is the Hole-in-the-Wall Visitor Centre (again) to fill up on water; it's over 80F in the shade already
The 10-ton bike enjoys the rocky backdrop at Hole-in-the-Wall one last time while my cell phone recharges
I stop to watch a cow and her calf as I ride up Black Canyon Road
Also noteworthy on upper Black Canyon Road is the Gold Valley Ranch that I'm passing right now
Upper Black Canyon Road narrows somewhat before it crosses through the pass ahead at just under 5350 feet elevation
The rough washboard of upper Black Canyon Road prevents me from gaining any speed as I decend to the Cedar Canyon Road
A jet flies overhead while I ride Cedar Canyon Road; the passengers note in unison that 'there's nothing down there'
This stretch of Cedar Canyon Road is always slow and rough (but scenic) on a bicycle
Once Cedar Canyon Road rises out of the canyon, I can see across to the Cima Dome area
I have a 700-foot elevation drop ahead of me here on the west end of Cedar Canyon Road
After a nice, fast downhill on Cedar Canyon Road, I arrive at the famous stop sign at Kelso-Cima Road
I have almost five miles to ride up the gently rising Kelso-Cima Road until I reach Cima and the possibly open Cima store
Oh, there's Cima just up ahead past that Joshua tree
The Cima store is closed today, or at least right now; the hours posted are basically meaningless
Well, the Cima store might be closed right now, but it's an interesting place to take a break nonetheless
The board-and-batten structure of the old Cima store hasn't been whitewashed in a very long time
A residence and and old truck sit behind the Cima store, lost in time
An old railway box car also sits next to the Cima store, with nowhere to go
My break finished at the Cima store, it's time to hit the road again and ride on down the hill to Nipton: 25 miles ahead
As I ride down Morning Star Mine Road away from Cima, I take in the views of the New York Mountains
On upper Morning Star Mine Road, I'm heading toward the Ivanpah Mountains, with Kessler Peak at the left
Just around the corner here, I've got 10 miles of downhill, and about 1300 feet of elevation loss!
35 minutes later: after 10 miles of gliding downhill (and pedaling too), I arrive at the stop sign and turn left on Ivanpah Road
I exit Mojave National Preserve here, and am now headed over to Nipton, the village over there at the bottom of the mountains
Riding Nipton Road, just a few more miles until I reach Nipton village over there
I haven't had a flat tire yet on this trip, so I celebrate upon arriving at the Nipton store with a bottle of Fat Tire beer
I decide to stay in one of the Nipton tent cabins tonight; I'll get up early tomorrow and ride to Primm to catch the Amtrak bus
Just beyond my tent cabin at Nipton are a few others, but it's mostly quiet tonight
I park the 10-ton bike inside my tent cabin at Nipton, titled the Surveyor, and settle in for the night
Bicycle route from Twin Buttes campsite to Nipton via Cima: Day 15
Elevation profile of bicycle route from Twin Buttes campsite to Nipton via Cima: Day 15