L7 - 50.295km - Ripley, CA to Quartzsite, AZ

Hot, dusty deserts keep life to a minimum in this area of the United States. From the news, I have read that the temperatures in this area are hovering in the upper 110+ degrees F! Could you imagine riding in those temperatures? The heat reflecting off of the aspault or concrete would probably be able to cook your bicycle tires, and your water bottle would turn into a hot water kettle that starts to whistle with boiling water at 9:30AM as you ride. From my web searches, numerous pictures show a desert landscape with lots of RVs. Who in their right mind these days would pay for gasoline to drive an RV around the southwest US? Sure, the Baby Boomers have some money, but paying for gas should not be on a priority as they enter retirement. But beyond that, this ride has a nice little climb over 1,000 feet around the California and Arizona border. Then again the climb takes about 15 km to complete, so I am not really worried about having a huge 10+ percent grade for 10+ km. From what I have been told, no major roads in the United States have road grades over 6 percent. Local roads on the other hand may have grades past 10 percent. I have ridden a few in Utah. Yawn. So, riding like this reminds me when I was in college and routinely rode about 2 hours every day. I am liking this. I feel tired when it is time to go to sleep. I feel better. Why not exercise?