Day #3 - Riverside to Indio, CA

Jodie
May 6, 2024
3 min read

Updated: May 7, 2024

Riverside, CA to Indio, CA

90 mi, 2,100ft gain, 55-90 / full sun with headwind

Today felt odd to me. Maybe it was the 2 flats I got, maybe it was being escorted through the Morongo Reservation, maybe it was the rough frontage roads.. I can’t really put my finger on it. Today had a little of everything. I even had a tarantula hawk land near me while I was changing one of my flats?!

The day started with bike lanes out of Riverside on a school day. I’ve never seen so many people parked to let kids out in the bike lanes. That was challenging, and the only time a driver reacted negatively. Then we headed out of town to find so many, I believe I counted 6, road kill king snakes. It seems the temps in Riverside are causing the snakes to come to the road to get warm like the do in spring in Phoenix. Some where 3-4 feet. I’ve been seeing them and rattlers around the roads in Phoenix lately, so it makes sense. I just didn’t anticipate it so quickly out of LA.

We had one larger climb of about 1,400 ft that brings you within 10 miles of all the wind turbines outside of Palm Springs. This is where I had my first thorn caused flat. With all the things on the shoulder I was surprised I made it that far. I was within 5 miles of our regroup/sag point.

Morongo Reservation

This is where we met up with the police from the Morongo Reservation for escort through the area. Without this arranged, it would mean riding on the busy highway, so we were all happy to have the experience. More on their history and economic impact on the region. With over 150 years of establishing farming, cattle ranching, irrigation, and now many businesses along the I-10 portion of their reservation to create jobs and financial benefit for the tribe.

After that we rode on the frontage roads to Palm Springs, which is where I got a large staple in my tire. Instant flat. That really set me back of the pack for a while. I managed to catch up with a small bunch and ride into the hotel. I ran out of water as we reached the last 5 miles, temps around 88-90F. Tomorrow I’ll bring my extra water bottle. The headwind really too the joy out of the downhill today. Paula mentioned she’s never seen it like that. Yep, it’s that kind of day.

We ended in Indio, 30 miles from Palm Springs. The hotel is nice, seriously so thankful I’m able to do a trip like this with a comfort so amazing as a bed, shower, and AC! I seriously considered bike packing but this has been so nice to be able to rest before the next day’s ride. tonight I ordered Grubhub chipotle to the hotel!

Local Bike Infrastructure

Lots and lots of painted bike lanes in the near city areas but very little done along the frontage roads. The shoulders are heavily covered with heat expansion gaps which are challenging when dealing with for 40+ miles. Rumble strips are great for alerting cars, but when I have to ride over them I cringe. Day 2 of riding and something on my bike is creaking already. Going to continue trouble shooting that if my cleaning tonight doesn’t work.

Anyway, got off topic. Within Palm Springs there are lots of “bike routes” that included streets I found uncomfortable to ride the shoulder on with no bike lane. I rode onto a bike sidewalk area a few times, but the sidewalk lines feel like the expansion gaps. So they attempted to make a safer path, but as a cyclist I don’t want to ride on it unless I absolutely have to. The one way streets in Palm Springs have the bike lanes in the left lane. It feels SO wrong when you do it. It’s odd.

As we rode out of town the bike lanes got much better. The area towards Indio had recent improvements done that are smooth, and while not barrier separated, they added a lined buffer section between the traffic and bike lane. I’ll take it!

The local area Riverside Country Transportation Commission has a 2024 traffic relieve plan. Although funding has not be secured for this plan yet, it has many great ideas to implement. More on that tomorrow. Small take away from looking over it, 4% goes to “active travel” enhancements, ie bike paths. It does mention filling in the gaps I talked about above! Here’s the link if you’re interested.