We settled in for the night right at the Lake del Valle after a dinner of pumpkin roasted over an open fire. The feeling of adventure lasted until the next morning when our spot turned into a romantic playground - for its native inhabitants, not us. There were lots of animals like prairie dogs, birds of all kinds, a dear, and a turkey around our camp site that did not mind us nor our electric bikes.
As usual, breakfast but most of all packing took its time and at exactly the moment when we were ready to go, thunder and lightning started. Literally out of the blue, we found ourselves in pouring rain.
When finally, the sky broke up, we started the next leg of the journey that should lead us to Turtle Beach.
The scenery very much reminded me of Scotland, where I started the E-Bike Africa tour. Dark clouds over green hills, occasional rain, and constant wind were our companions of the day. Only the wine yards served as my reminder that it was California I was riding through.
Most of our route was on Tesla road, a two-lane country road with hardly any traffic and beautiful views over the hilly landscapes populated by cows and a few houses. The wind rippled the meadows so the grass looked like smooth waves breaking over the land.
Strong tail winds pushed us to 40 kph easily. For the rest of the way, the Yamaha system of our Haibikes lend us its assistance at speeds of up to 32 km/h (20 mph), which is actually a very comfortable traveling speed. Plus, Michael and me chose “High” as our riding mode for the 81 km trip and thus arrived after a little more than three hours at the camp ground were sandwiches already waited for us.
We settled in before sunset - unusually early for us - and repaired two flats, while also managing social media and pictures, the route, and also checked our remaining supplies.
Travel tip of the day: Go with the wind whenever you can.