Our planned ride was canceled before it started because there was some sort of train track failure and two VERY long trains were stopped across the road we needed to take to get to the start of the ride. When we pulled up at the crossing the lady in front of us informed us she had been there waiting for two hours already! Instead, we drove back to camp and planned a different route.
Our ride was purely exploratory and we had NO idea what to expect. Modern day adventurers I tell ya. It ended up being longer and harder than we wanted but what can you do? This was an out and back on dirt/sand/rock roads of 35.1 miles with 2350’ of climbing.
We rode from camp back down Cima Road and turned left on Aiken Mine Road. The road starts as gravel and then turns to decomposed granite with long stretches of sand. Our goal was to reach a lava tube 17 miles out, explore it, and ride back. About seven miles in we started having our doubts about success. It was easy enough going there because it was largely a gentle downhill grade but this isn’t our first rodeo and we knew riding back uphill in soft, sometimes deep sand would suck. Literally. We kept at it though.
After a wrong turn that took us up to Aiken Mine, we redirected and found the lava tube. The parking area was empty and we actually rode right up to the tube. The runny basaltic lava that characterizes some of the lava flows in Mojave National Preserve spreads out like hot maple syrup. It slowly cooled and while the top of the flow would be cool, liquid lava would continue moving underneath, creating a tunnel. I am happy to report we made it to our destination. We climbed down the stairs into the collapsed hole in the tube’s roof and walked a short distance through the tube to where beams of light shine through. It was neat to view the river of rock from the lava’s perspective.
Back on our bikes, we slogged through the sand uphill and made it back to camp exhausted.
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