Day 2: Jacumba Springs, CA

Day 2

May 18, 2015

Miles: 47

Alpine to Jacumba Springs

Di and I got up around 6:45.  Normally, it would be tough to get up at that time, but we were both asleep by 9:30 last night, so that made it easier.  We had a quick breakfast at the restaurant at the hotel and we were on the road around 8.  We wanted to get an early start because there was going to be a lot of climbing today.

Di ready to ride up those hills on a cool and cloudy day

We stopped at a small grocery store for a quick snack and a chat with the owner.  We told him we were bound for Jacumba Springs and he told us about a cyclist he met a short while ago.  The cyclist stopped in his store and offered him fifty dollars to drive him and his bicycle to Jacumba Springs.  Seems he had ridden there from San Diego and was too tired to go on.  The shop owner felt sorry for the cyclist and drove him to Jacumba for free.  The cyclist, who hailed from Florida, told the owner he was on his first day of his ride back to his home in Florida.  He gave the owner the link to his blog and encouraged him to check it out.  When the owner looked at the blog the next day, the cyclist wrote that he had ridden to Jacumba Springs and made no mention at all about the ride he got.  I was shocked.  I guess the lesson here is you can't trust Floridians.  Or maybe bicyclists.  Or bicyclists from Florida.

Di at the store where the owner gives uncredited rides to Jacumba.

This is just some random scene.  Oh wait, there are horses over there on the right.

We made it to Pine Valley after 3.5 hours and an average speed of 6 mph.  I'm really glad we didn't try to get here yesterday when we were already tired from the ride to Alpine.  We probably would have gone much slower.  We went searching for a place to eat and couldn't resist the name of the restaurant we chose: Major's Coffee Shop.

I have no idea what free chipping is - a golf thing?

Pine Valley, sadly, is appropriately named, because it is in a valley.  That meant we had to climb out of there.

Di happily climbing out of Pine Valley.

We took a break on the road after about 10 miles and Di, despite riding up a whole bunch of hills and mountains, decided she had to ditch her bike and climb up another one by foot.

Di climbs up a (little) mountain (very little).

Here is the same picture as above but with a very little Di.

A shot of the road.  And valley below.  You need to stay on the road.

Di reaches the top!

We had about 6 miles before Jacumba Springs and we met a fellow walking along the road.  His name is Leroy Bailey and he is walking the perimeter of the country.  He started in Virginia Beach and has walked over 4,200 miles so far.  He is doing this walk to raise awareness for the homeless and the hungry.  He seemed like a kind and thoughtful man and he is doing a great thing, so it made it difficult for me to dislike him for one-upping us so badly.

Leroy is one good walker.

At this point, it was all downhill for Di (geographically speaking). 

Coming in to Jacumba Springs, I saw a brown line in the distance.  It looked man-made and I wondered if it was the border fence the U.S. built on its Mexican border.  I'm fascinated by the border fence because it just seems so incredible, not to mention futile, for us to have built this thing.  I mean, c'mon, people know how to get over or under fences, don't they?

The fence in the distance.

Closer view of the fence.

 We finally arrived in Jacumba Springs around 5pm and checked into the Jacumba Springs Spa.  The spa's claim to fame is its natural sulfur springs, which are naturally heated to 98 degrees.  I was excited to check out the springs, but was surprised to learn the springs were actually a pool and a jacuzzi.  It seems nobody really wants natural springs, or if they do, they want them to look like a built-in pool and a jacuzzi.  So, the spring water is piped into the pool and jacuzzi at the hotel and nobody has to suffer the indignity and dirt involved in real natural springs.

Di enjoying the faux natural sulfur springs

After a dip in the pool natural sulfur spring, Di and I decided to check out the jacuzzi.  The first thing you notice when you enter the jacuzzi room is the smell of rotten eggs.  The second thing you notice is the green color of the water.  Well, that is to be expected when the water is from natural sulfur springs.  However, when I remarked upon the color of the water a woman that was in the jacuzzi told me it wasn't from the sulfur content.  I asked her what gave the water that greenish hue.  "Its the people", she replied.  "If you come in the morning you will see that the water is clear, but by the end of the day, after people, it becomes green."  What do they do, put soylent green in the water (ITS PEOPLE!).  Anyway, for some reason Di said she didn't want to be in the jacuzzi anymore so we left to get ready for dinner.

Post riding gluttony.

We ride to Brawley (hopefully) tomorrow and then we will take a day off.  I hope that when you read this post you correctly pronounced Jacumba as Hacumba.  That's how they do things here.  If you didn't pronounce it correctly you will have to re-read the post using the correct pronounciation for Jacumba (Hacumba).