Day 53: up the last mountain

After being coaxed out of bed by the sprinklers I got my stuff together to bike south toward El Central. The road was flat and full of cars. From there I turned west on a course that paralleled interstate 8. The road was rough, but traffic was low. I pedaled through Plaster City, it was just a drywall factory surrounded by empty desert. Finally the road ended. I ate lunch in a small diner then headed onto the interstate. The climb started immediately. It was steep, the sun was hot and it went continuously to 3000 feet. This is where bikes can exit the freeway and old highway 80 starts. The road dips south and runs close to the Mexican border. This is where I stopped, at the small community of Jacumba. They had a nice library in their big town park. This is where I pitched my tent. Just 200 yards from the border fence. I climbed most of this mountain but there will be more climbing tomorrow.