Day 3 – Cops, Border Wall, Snakes, Goatheads, and a Rocket

Miles completed: 49.9

Cumulative miles: 93.7

Miles to St. Augustine: 2,992

Did my title get your attention? Keep reading. But first, don’t worry if I don’t post everyday. We had no reliable internet or cellular service at our campground last night, so I’m catching up now.

Our ride on Day 3 was another uphill ride with 3,930 feet of elevation climbed. It was a good ride with a lot of scenery and mountain views and then flattened out along the Mexico border on our way to the campsite near Jacumba, CA.

The first section of the ride was scheduled to include about 10 miles on I-8. After 4 miles, a cop stopped the rider in front of me (Chris) and told him we could not go any further because of construction ahead. After a long discussion, we were instructed to exit the interstate and make a loop that added about 3 miles and some more hills. But all was good as it was a scenic detour that we enjoyed.

After the big climbs on this route, we went over Tecate Divide, and then rode down near the Mexico border to Jacumba which is right on the border across from Mexicali, Mexico. We rode within about 200 yards of the Border Wall.

Here’s the snake in Jacumba’s community park

What is a goathead? It’s a dried pod from a vine that has spikes that look like goat horns. They can easily cause a flat tire on a bike. After visiting the snake, I noticed a goathead in my bake tire. I pulled it out and air started coming out, but the sealant inside my tire worked and stopped the leak. Disaster avoided!

Finally, our tour group had an amazing view of a SpaceX rocket launched from Vanderburg Air Force base. Margaret and I have seen these rockets from Phoenix but no others in our group had seen this before. What a way to end a great day!