15. Fenner to Needles, CA

True to its name, the Needles Highway gave me a flat. So I labored on the side of the road for almost an hour in 100-degree heat, big trucks rumbling past, changing my rear tube and then trying to get the tire bead to seat properly, which it never did.

Back in my hotel room, I spent another couple of hours wrassling my wheel. I learned that manipulating Tubolito tubes, which are made of plastic, is like trying to put pantyhose on a rooster. And so I wound up just patching my butyl tube, ditching the Tubie, and then cajoling my Schwalbe Marathon Green's bead into its proper place with a combination of soapy water, bouncing, and muttered obscenities.

Prior to this inconvenience, I was merrily pedaling through deserts popping with tenacious wildflowers, Dr. Seuss shrubs, and trains like Christmas morning. I was on the lookout for Joshua Trees, which I had spotted back in Hesperia but was moving too fast to photograph on account of the tailwind. No JTs yet, but so many unlikely blooms met me that I couldn't stop smiling to myself.

Pro tip: Needles' Taste of India has the best mattar paneer I've ever tasted.

Distance: 38.91 mi / 62.62 km

Climbing: 515 ft /157 m

Totals: 804 mi / 1,294 km; 28,547 ft / 8,701 m

Sleep Spot: Rio del Sol Hotel

Song: "Hotel California" by the Eagles

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