Oh,well!
No one was in yet and I didn’t want to offfload the truck with no one around to look after things so I headed out on the highway towards Fenner on my ‘sweep’ to make sure everyone had sufficient water/Gatorade to get them to camp. The wind was still howling so I knew everyone would be having a rough go of it. I first encountered Krista and when I parked my truck and stepped out as she approached, it took her a second to recognize me! Dave had not told anyone that I was going to be the ‘trail angel’, i.e. the guy helping them out today. We chatted for a minute and she assured me she had sufficient water but told me she was quite concerned about some of the slower riders. I assured her I was on my way to check on everyone. She headed for camp (another hour away) and I headed down the highway.
I was quite confident that the next people I would see would be my riding buddies, Kiwi John, Kate and Cathy. Throughout the trip, it almost always worked out the same, no matter what time people started or in what order, after a couple of hours, Krista was in the lead, my gang was next, the middle got mixed up a little and then at the end were always Ben, ‘Helo’ Bob (former chopper pilot) and Volker (German guy who currently lives in Italy). And today was to be no different. A few miles down the road I saw my buddies coming and pulled over and stepped out of my truck. They did a double take and then realized it was me. They stopped, came over to the truck and it was hugs and handshakes all around. It was good to see them and they were very happy to see me. We chatted for a while as they each downed a bottle of Powerade. I knew they were in good shape and they’d make it to camp OK so they headed one way and I headed the other.
I checked in with all of the riders and when I came across Ben, Helo Bob and Volker I was about 30 miles from camp. They told me that Volker needed a ride, which I expected (he’s 72 but has done remarkable on this trip!), because the wind was taking a toll and they were only making about 5 mph! I told them I would have to go back to camp to offload the truck and then I would be back. So, the good news was that everyone had water but we would soon be running out of daylight. I sped back to camp and Krista was there so I offloaded the truck and headed back to get Volker. By the time I got to them, they had only moved about 5 miles. I piled Volker, his bike, and gear into my truck and then we also loaded Bob’s trailer to lighten up his load. I told Ben and Bob that I would be back to get them after I dropped Volker off. They both knew that they’d never make it to camp before dark. Once again I turned around and sped back to camp.
Over the next couple of hours, I made three more round trips to pick up riders and bikes. The last trip was to get Dave, the tour leader. He was still about 8 miles from camp when I got him and it was pitch dark out. Even though everyone has lights and reflectors, it’s just not a good idea to be on the highway (2 – lane) after dark. In any case, after 5 round trips to various points on the highway between Amboy and Fenner (about 200 miles total!) , I got everyone safely back to camp just before 7 p.m.
Facilities at Roy’s Cafe are minimal so there was need to worry about showers! Everyone changed and we heated up the BBQ and ate dinner under headlamps and flashlights. Tents were pitched on a gravel area behind the hangar and everyone was in their tents by 9 p.m. It had been a long day for everyone.
Unfortunately, the wind continued to blow thoughout much of the night and the trains on a nearby train track blasted their whistles throughout the night as they crossed the highway nearby. No one got much sleep!
But, this morning, everyone was up and packed as usual.
We had breakfast, people packed their lunches, and then they set off down the road. I got many thanks for my work as the ‘trail angel’ and was glad I was able to help. Life would have been pretty ugly had they not had someone out there to help them over this stretch. After everyone but Dave left, he helped me load up the truck and I set out on the 230 mile trip back home.
They asked me to meet them for the last leg from Glendora to Santa Monica so I will have Linda take me out to Glendora Thursday afternoon and then I will ride in with my buddies on Friday. And then Dave asked me to join them on Friday for their celebratory dinner so Linda and I will join the gang for dinner Friday night. So, more to come!