The Oddventurers

Another 56 miles done. A lot of burnt trees today cycling through fantastic gravel trails in the morning having to reroute due to a river removing a large section of the road. A couple of river crossings later and Sam reached the road and cracked on to find a nice camp spot.

A ‘fantastic’ day! 56 miles in beautiful weather with some great climbs, smooth roads and nice gravel in the middle of nowhere. Sam rode through some beautiful country where the Dixie fire of 2021 hit.

A great decent to Truckee where Sam gorged in a supermarket. Some smooth roads and cycle paths led out of the city into pine forests. A huge decent led back into farmland.

Sam’s off again! A nice morning with David and Lindsey seeing Sam off and then dropping the kids off at school led to Sam heading for Truckee along a great road and cycle paths. The new hub being enjoyed.

The bike is fixed! A chilled morning cycling the first few miles with the Stanford group and exploring South Lakes led to picking up my bike! A very short ride from the bike shop to David’s house made for the shortest day yet.

Another rest day but no spare part! A day of jobs and meeting a group of cycling student who are teaching as they cycle across the country.

After some urban camping Sam’s back in a house! David and Lindsey kindly take Sam in and help him avoid a freezing night outside. Not wanting a relaxing day Sam joined David on a trail run.

Waking up to dust wind and a hangover Sam concentrated on getting to a bike shop to sort out his wheel. Tragedy strikes though - tune in to find out.

A cold but nice night sleep. A fantastic decent down a gorge next to a river and into a huge arid valley. It wasn’t long before another climb appeared and Sam climbed back up to 2000m to some stunning views. Sam met some friends and had quite an eventful evening.

Back on the road and Sams front hub isn’t happy and is creaking and moaning. Ethan joined for the first 6 miles to send Sam onwards. A big climb and descent into farmland sent Sam scrambling for a camp spot in some trees.

Another rest day with Ethan where they had a fantastic breakfast and went for a trail run up a mountain in the snow. A lovely follow up pint, some awesome home cooked food and tea at some of Ethan friends finished an awesome day off.

A rest day! Sam cycled up to the lakes (yeah still managed to ride 15 miles on a rest day so maybe it doesn’t count as a rest) where he cycled and hiked through snow and ice to find some beautiful views.

Another night in a house! A short day took Sam up to Mammoth Lakes where he took his noisy hub apart. Ethan and Jeff kindly took Sam in and saved him from a cold night in the snow.

Some off road in the morning which ended with just about managing to lift his bike over a gate Sam cycled up to Bishop. After chilling in town and chatting to PCT hiker Sam cycled up a huge hill narrowing avoiding a huge thunderstorm. The day ended in a nice warm bed!

Whilst playing hide and seek with thunderstorms, Sam bashed out 55 miles. A chilled morning having a great breakfast with his new friends and slowly packing up lead to a great initial few miles off road. The rest of the day was much faster riding on the road north.

A short ride up to Lone Pine, Sam then took a left into the Alabama hills and explored the rocks. He ended up chatting to Ryan and Garon which led to him camping and chilling with them for the rest of the day.

A fast ride up highway 395 dodging thunderstorms took Sam further north. During a food stop he received a fist bump from The Righteous Ones motorcycle club.

Back on the bivvy, looking at the stars Sam reflects on his day. After sorting a leak in his rear tire he rode towards Ridgecrest along a beautiful road with some fantastic downhills. Stopping for food he meets another bikepacker.

Rain in the night! A rare moment, which luckily wasn’t very heavy. An old Highway led Sam through some dying towns along he did cycle along Route 66 for about 200m. Some fast miles along the road took up the rest of the day as the scenery improved.

Whilst Sam was having breakfast a man did some target practice across the valley. A lovely downhill led to a supermarket and a library stop for wifi and then Sam headed into the desert once again along some busy roads. Tragedy strikes in the evening though!

We part ways! :( A productive morning of sorting and swapping kit lead to Tom leaving at about 3 to cycle south and Sam heading north back into the desert. Very strange setting up alone. Tom meaning had 50 miles to do and left at 3pm. Did he make it?

A fter being rudely awakened by the sun shining in our faces we packed up before breakfast for once and left not before Tom got stabbed by a Joshua tree. We made it up to Big bear and found a lovely place to stay! Also find out who the Great Game and also what on earth the Great Game is?!

A great morning chilling with Aaron and a quick service on Sam’s bike (Great game points weren’t added) we headed down to the local farmers market and then up into the hills. A quick stop at Pioneertown before heading into the hills camp! A great day

A big climb in the morning led to descending feeling like Disney princesses. A fantastic day exploring and riding through Joshua Tree national park made us never want to leave. Luckily Aaron hosted us and we quickly forgot about this as he showed us around and took us to a open mic night. Great day!

After a fantastic nights sleep after a big day we popped into town, got a new SIM card, filled up a crazy amount of water in Maccies and the headed up through a very hot canyon towards Joshua tree national park narrowly avoiding a rattlesnake!