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Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2008: Mojave National Preserve Mountain-Bike Camping and Hike / Day 4: Globe Mine Road to North Coyote Springs, Mojave National Preserve /

Parts of the road to Coyote Springs are fairly smooth and well-graded

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08808-graded-800px.jpg Looking back at a wash crossing that the 10-ton bike and I just walked through on the road to Coyote SpringsThumbnails As the road gets closer to the mountains, it appears to be carved out of the land by a snow plowLooking back at a wash crossing that the 10-ton bike and I just walked through on the road to Coyote SpringsThumbnails As the road gets closer to the mountains, it appears to be carved out of the land by a snow plowLooking back at a wash crossing that the 10-ton bike and I just walked through on the road to Coyote SpringsThumbnails As the road gets closer to the mountains, it appears to be carved out of the land by a snow plowLooking back at a wash crossing that the 10-ton bike and I just walked through on the road to Coyote SpringsThumbnails As the road gets closer to the mountains, it appears to be carved out of the land by a snow plowLooking back at a wash crossing that the 10-ton bike and I just walked through on the road to Coyote SpringsThumbnails As the road gets closer to the mountains, it appears to be carved out of the land by a snow plow

To my surprise, I find myself walking the bike most of the way, even though the road is hardly uphill at all. The sand layer on the road is sometimes just thick enough to create loss of traction.

I rode my bike here during my Xmas 2007 Mojave National Preserve trip, and didn't have too much of a problem. I wrote in my travelogue that, "The sand on this road is well-packed and easy to ride, except in soft spots where drainages cross the road."

But that was on a day ride without the extra weight of all my gear, and that can make all the difference. That's not what I'd write today.