The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

Yet Another Sunny Week in Palm Springs

January 21st to January 29th

Ride Director: Albert Meerscheidt
Ride Co-Director: Bernice Tannenbaum
Report by: Nancy Thomas

BAC TRIPPER REPORT - ANOTHER SUNNY WEEK IN PALM SPRINGS JANUARY 21-29, 2022 
Ride Leaders: Albert Meerscheidt and Bernice Tannenbaum 
Submitted by: Nancy Thomas 
BAC members arrived for the first happy hour on Friday, January 21 at the Hilton Palm  Springs hotel. We gathered outside of the leader’s patio room lawn. Albert and Bernice  provided an array of chairs for the group of 25, along with plenty of beverages and tasty  snacks. Amongst the backdrop of the San Jacinto mountains, the Hilton pool and palm  trees made for a pleasant meeting place every evening to discuss the next day’s ride/attractions.  
On Saturday January 22, a staggered start to the ride began at 8:30am. A few riders  debated if the winds would slow to below 10mph, and the temps would rise in the  Coachella Valley, home to Palm Springs. We meandered our way through the citywide  bike trail, with a quick look ‘behind the scenes’ of downtown Palm Springs (PS), passing  the PS Art Museum, the gigantic Marilyn Monroe statue (dress lifted pose from “Seven  Year Itch” movie), to enter the mid-century modern neighborhoods on Chino Canyon  Road, thru Little Tuscany. Many of the estates of the great artists from ‘yesteryear”  took all of us back in time to Elvis, Liberace, and Frank Sinatra. We made our way to  Indian Canyon, the ancestral, sacred home of the Cahuilla Indians; the reservation was  established in 1876. A 2.5 mile climb to the Trading Post and hiking trailheads was our  turnaround point; maybe a hike another day. As we made our way back, riders finished  through the Deepwell neighborhood, also with many mid-century modern architectural  styled homes and an orthodox Jewish enclave. All in all, it was a sunny day in the  valley, 75º, and a little offshore wind; Mileage 26. 
Up north from Palm Springs into Desert Hot Springs, we rode a relatively urban street Sunday morning past hundreds of windmills. It seemed as if we had a head wind most  of the ride with typical desert/arid landscape. A gradual climb out to Cabot’s Pueblo  Museum was the highlight for the day – a Hopi inspired building, from reclaimed  materials from the Coachella Valley. Reservations were required in advance with  limited tourists each hour. The ride back to “camp Hilton” was somewhat downhill, with  a tailwind. The sun and pool waited for the remainder of afternoon, to once again watch  the sun disappear behind the mountains. A group dinner was held on the patio at the  Hilton hotel. Not to disappoint, it was another sunny day, 73 º, with more off shore wind;  Mileage 28.9. 
The anticipation for Joshua Tree National Park was over. Bikes and people were  loaded at the hotel at 8:30am, bound for the park on Monday, January 24th. Joshua  Tree was declared a national monument in 1936 by then President Franklin Roosevelt,  spanning 792,510 acres. The Park spreads across the Colorado Desert on the Eastern  half, and the Mojave Desert on the Western half. You could not have asked for a more  perfect day to ride through the Mojave desert. Undulating terrain through the Joshua  trees (a species of yucca) and rock formations (passing places like “Skull Rock”, and  “Jumbo Rocks”) were some of the roadside attractions. Maybe you were lucky to take  in a rattle snake, a desert lizard, a red-tailed hawk, a woodpecker or quail? The cyclists  carried on to the lunch place and enjoyed more sunshine and a box lunch from Sherman’s deli in Palm Springs. After lunch, riders headed back to the start point, for  and ‘out and back’ route taking in the last bits of the Joshua trees, scrub oaks, and  cactus. Another sunny day, 76º; Mileage 40. 
For the day off, Tuesday, January 25, local attractions were plenty. The Palm Springs  Tram whisking tourists up to 8500 feet and St. Jacinto State Park for a hike in the snow, a day at the expansive Hilton Pool and cabanas, hiking Indian Canyon or hiking Palm  Springs local trails, or a day exploring Palm Springs art museums, shops and casino may have been on your list. Another sunny day, 75 º, started to feel like a ‘broken  record’! 
On Wednesday, January 26, bikes and people were once again loaded into bus to  starting point of Chiriaco Summit. For those who are WWII aficionados, the General  Patton Museum was the starting point. We carried on down the road for a 20-mile downhill ride through Box Canyon, passing through the San Andreas fault. Enormous  rock formations blanketed the roadside, with a blue sky and plenty of sunshine.  Towards the end of the downhill, we entered in an agricultural area (the city of Mecca),  with the Salton Sea in the distance. Fresh red and green lettuce, scents of celery,  peppers and parsley filled the air. Riders were then bused from Mecca city library (end  point) to the Civic Center in Palm Desert. After a box lunch from the now famous  Sherman’s Deli, riders continued with 20 miles back to the hotel. For the evening, a  second group dinner was held at Mirasol Mexican restaurant, under twinkling multi colored lights and heat lamps; fishbowl sized margaritas, guacamole and lots of  Mexican delights were served. Another sunny day, 73 º; Mileage 20 miles downhill  20.6 miles after lunch to hotel. 
The prescribed cycling option on Thursday was to Thousand Palms Oasis, an 880 acre  wildlife preserve with hiking trails. Some of the other routes available on “Ride with  GPS” files included Tour of Sunnylands, Tour of Air Museum and LaQuinta Loop Ride.  Our group chose the “Aerial Tram Road”, for a 3 mile uphill route with maximum grade  of 14%, to be rewarded with a screaming downhill. On Thursday evenings in downtown  Palm Springs, VillageFest, a 6 plus block street fair is held with crafts, food and  entertainment. Some of the group chose to dine on the streets and check in with the  local vibe. Once again, it was another sunny day in Palm Springs, 73 º; Mileage range  15- 35. 
The week was winding down with our last scheduled ride on Friday, January 28th to the  Living Desert Zoo and Garden in Palm Desert. Ride with GPS took cyclists through  bike trails and the streets of Rancho Mirage and Palm Desert in a south westwardly  direction, with many golf courses and golfcarts that also shared the roads/paths. The  Living Desert was a busy destination for families and the animal/botanic lovers of the  group. A return on dedicated ‘bike lanes’ awaited. The morning started off a bit cloudy,  but once again, it was another sunny day in Palm Springs. One last splash at the pool,  bikes packed and returned to rental shops, farewell was in store. A pizza party and  discussion about water conservation in the desert ended our tour. Sue Bunten, BAC  Board Member and resident of Coachella Valley (city of Indio) joined our group and presented the challenges, past and present. Big thanks to our leaders for making  Another Sunny Week in Palm Springs a “reality”.