Julian Pie or Bus!

From 200 feet below sea level at the Salton Sea, the next two days of riding would take us to an elevation of around 4000 feet with much beautiful and ever changing scenery along the way.  Approaching Anza-Borego Desert State Park the natural desert landscape takes over.  This state park takes up 1/5th of San Diego County and is named after Juan Bautista de Anza, the first Spanish explorer to create an overland route from Mexico to Alta California, and the “borrego” or bighorn sheep, an endangered species in the area.

  Our campground at Anza Borego was nestled in at the base of a large mountain range that we would be climbing up the following day on our way to Julian.  As the sunset to the West, the full moon moved up into the sky and shed it's light on our hiker/biker campsite.

Thursday morning saw the departure of four of our friends, sent off with a beautiful sprawling double rainbow backdropped by the mountain.  The rest of the crew hopped on their saddles and began to forge up Montezuma Valley Road.  The first 11 miles were a grueling climb of about 3000 feet, but that would have been too easy so mother nature sent us 20-30 mph winds in our face.  But we braved the winds and continued our way on up the mountain.

Our cycling adventures came to a close in Julian, CA where we were hosted by Camp Stevens and enjoyed the comfortable accommodations of a cozy lodge.  In exchange for our lodging we spent some time in the morning helping with some garden projects planting crocus and tulip bulbs.  Check out their website to learn more about the garden and other programs at Camp Stevens.  http://www.campstevens.org/  

 

So that closes out another successful Sustainable Living Bike Tour.  There is rumor of a fall bike tour around LA to visit some schools in the area before volunteer riders return to the education program on Catalina Island.

Until Then...Happy Cycling!

I thought of that while riding my bicycle.
~ Einstein on the Theory of Relativity 

From Tree to Sea

Joshua Tree is abound with great views and leisurely days of riding through the transition between the Mojave and Colorado Deserts ecosystems, accented by the change in elevation.

It is hard to describe the beauty of this area so let the pictures do the talking...

Cooling of magma beneath the earth's surface caused the rock formations in Joshua Tree to form 100 million years ago. Groundwater caused erosion which created the prominent land features called inselbergs or monadnock.

Today, we dropped down in elevation to the Salton Sea located directly on the San Andreas Fault in the Cochella Valley at about 200 fee below sea level. Created by a flood in 1905 from the Colorado River, the Salton Sea is the largest lake in California. Crowned as a "jewel of avian biodiversity", over 400 species have been documented at the Saltan Sea.

Plugged In to Fire

Landed safely at Black Rock Campground in Joshua Tree National Park!

Charging Julie's phone with a mini wood burning stove!

Check it out

http://biolitestove.com/

Desert Tour

Over the past few years, the Sustainable Living Bike Tour (SLBT) has continued to grow as an exciting outreach opportunity to visit communities around California and spread the lessons of sustainability inspired by the Catalina Environmental Leadership Program (CELP).

The 2012 bike tour brings together volunteer riders to explore some of Southern California's beautiful desert communities.  A 127 mile caravan will bring us to Joshua Tree National Park where we will start our one week tour through the desert over the mountains and concluding in Carlsbad.

The change in route will bring new sights, ecosystems and inspiration to the 15 riders as we peddle through the desert landscape.  

The Catalina Ecology Project (CEP) recently received it's 501c3 status to begin raising funds to expand the future scope and reach of outreach education programs such as the Sustainable Living Bike Tour.  

Stay tuned for pictures and stories of our travels!

Check out our route!  

 

Find more Bike Ride in Joshua Tree, CA

Sustainable Living Bike Tour from Sustainable Living Bike Tour on Vimeo.