After some needed traveling to Dallas and a nice California beachtown called Carpinteria, I came back to my home in Joshua Tree to put nearly all of my household goods on a moving truck and bid it farewell for the next few months. As my belongings clattered their way towards storage limbo, hammered into nondescript plywood boxes, I turned and faced the things I had deemed necessary for a cross-country road trip (and 3 more months of trying to maximize life). I was about to completely uproot my life I’d had for the past half decade in California and move from Joshua Tree to Dallas, TX, a 1,400 mile trek on highways and interstate systems… but for my planned journey back, I had the atypical asset of time on my side, with no looming obligations on the immediate horizon. I had oft read and heard about the old stagecoach routes of the nineteenth century, traversing the nation over barren wastelands of deserts, fending off hostile bands of Native Americans, and basing everything on trustworthy sources of water. It wasn’t until noticing some writing on an off-road map that I had considered the idea that maybe these old stagecoach routes still exist. The more and more I researched, I found that not only do they exist, but they are mostly passable, and even marked in certain areas… what better way to get a living perspective of the original artery of our nations infrastructure, the original trans-American route, the wild West in its purest form…. The Butterfield Overland Stage Route. (But first…. bike repairs.)
I believe George Strait was also headed towards Amarillo when he penned the words, “everything that I got, is just what I got on,” words that have come to be significant when I laid my next few months ahead of me. I’d planned for certain contingencies, events, and happenstances… and certainly neglected a few. But it is the unknown of the road ahead that drives us all, isn’t it?
As I started itemizing the things I had, where they would be stored, and how to prioritize packing in order to emphasize access to frequently used gear, I began to notice things; extra space here, a better fit for item X there. One of the things I also was able to do was pay attention to the quality, preparedness, and overall suitability of each piece of my gear.
Upon this inspection I was reminded how long I’ve been neglecting mountain bike maintenance; first and foremost, I’m also bringing my old Specialized Hardrock 29er with me on this trip, and aim to stop at a few iconic Mountain Biking sites across the Southwest.
I took my bike over to Jimma (sp?) at the local Joshua Tree Bicycle Shop. As he told me all about their manicured network of ‘Section 6’ trails, and the solid riding they had within, I was instantly filled with regret of putting off 3-5 years of good riding here due to constantly making the excuse of being either too busy, or having focused elsewhere. So with an estimated repair time of Tuesday, 24 April, at 2:00pm, we will begin the journey.
After picking the bike back up from JTBS, we’ll ride straight to Section 6 and get in a good session to kick off the trip. Depending on the hours of sunlight remaining, we will push to Anza-Borrego, or simply stay at the starting location one more night and enjoy the picturesque sunsets and desert livin’.
