Circling the U.S. Chapter 59: Heart Troubles in Southern California

Monday, December 9 - Thursday, December 12, 2019

With the Pacific Ocean at our backs, we began our journey home. But first we had mountains to cross. And a desert.

Monday, our first day out of San Diego, did not score high on the fun meter. We had lots of stop lights getting out of the city. Then rough roads. Add a steady hill climb. It took me 5 hours and 18 minutes in the saddle to ride 42 miles. I was looking forward to the private campground we'd be staying at that advertised a jacuzzi on their website. We arrived to find out that ithe jacuzzi was closed for the season. And the shower wasn't even hot.

After riding on busy roads all day my spirits lifted when we took this country road to the Ma-tar-awa RV Camper Park on an Indian reservation where a number of folks make their permanent home.

Tuesday, December 10, will always be one of the days of this trip that won't blend into all the rest. We'll remember it as the day Rob's a-fib returned. 

The day started out fine. We were on the road by 7:45 under a blue sky, warm enough for riding shorts.  After several miles the road got steep. I got off my bike and walked. I didn't have far to go before the road ended at the interstate exchange where we would get on the highway for 6 miles. I continued walking my bike over the highway while I waited for Rob to catch up. Tough guy that he is, he stayed on his bike for that last steep bit, but he does have a better hill-climbing gear selection on his bike. When he caught up, he said, "I feel dizzy."

I said, "Let's sit down." We laid our bikes down and sat in the sand next to the interstate off-ramp. I got out my tin whistle and played a couple tunes.

I said, "Check your pulse," but neither of us coud find it. After about half an hour, Rob said his pulse was about 170. We weighed our options. We had cell phone coverage so we could call an ambulance, but then what would we do with our bikes? I checked my phone for a hospital nearby. There was a children's hospital 5 miles downhill in Alpine. We could go there and maybe they could help us get to a place where Rob could get treated. Or we could ride two or three miles downhill to the casino and call an ambulance there; at least then we might be somewhere we could leave the bikes. 

We decided to try hitchhiking to a hospital in El Cajon. We rode back across the bridge to the entrance ramp for I-8 heading back to San Diego. I thought, there aren't many cars going on the highway here. It will take a while. It didn't. The first car stopped but didn't have room for us and our bikes. The next vehicle was a van. The driver said he was test driving it for a customer and wasn't sure he could put our bikes in but then said he would anyway. And while we were negotiating that, a pickup truck stopped. Tony, the driver, rescued us. He was so nice. He lives in the RV park where we'd spent the night. He works in the construction industry, said hadn't been feeling all that well and was late for work anyway so he'd take us to the hospital. But when we got to the one in El Cajon the sign said no emergency patients, so Tony took us on to the next hospital in La Mesa. Another pickup truck rescue for us.

As soon as Rob had an EKG done, which recorded a rate of 220, his heartrate went back to normal. He'd had another bout of tachycardia or atrial fibrillation or flutter or whatever, what we had hoped was fixed two years ago before our bicycle trip around New England and Quebec. He was able to see a cardiologist who prescribed a medication that he said shouldn't impact Rob's ability to ride and sent us on our way. But Rob was pretty wiped out and didn't feel like riding. We found a Motel 6 in the next town. We found a cheap dinner at a little Thai restaurant.

I was curious to find out the story of this truck parked in the Motel 6 parking lot, but a young couple got in and drove away even as the sun wwas still coming up.

Wednesday, December 11, we wanted to get back on the Adventure Cycling route, avoiding the steepest climbs. We'd have to hitch. 

After waiting only three minutes for a ride back in Ontario, and after yesterday getting a ride to the hospital so easily, Rob had a worried look on his face after 15 minutes of holding our sign up and thumbs out. It didn't help when a policeman honked and gave a sign that we should cut it out. But at least two other police cars had already driven by so we held our ground. And after less than an hour we got a ride. Not as far as we originally wanted, but it worked out great. 

Greg drove us as far as Pine Valley where we joined him and his son for breakfast. He and his sister had inherited his father's hardware store in a small town nearby and after running it for a number of years they'd had to close it. He still had business there to take care of.

We got in 28 perfect miles. We did some climbing and Rob felt fine. 

We crossed the Pacific Crest Trail and thought about our daughter and her boyfriend who have both successfully hiked the entire thing.

We crossed the Tecate Divide. You've probably never heard of it. Neither had we.

The Wall. It stretched as far as we could see into the mountains.

We stopped for the night at the Jacumba Spa & Resort that gives a 40% discount to cyclists. The room was rustic and comfortable, looking out onto a courtyard and swimming pool We soaked in their mineral spring hot tub. Afterwards Rob was convinced that it cured all his aches and pains.

Thursday morning, December 12, we took some time to explore Jacumba before hitting the road. The town is an interesting amalgamation of historical ruins and contemporary hope. According to the visitors resource guide, Jacumba once shined as a health resort favored by Hollywood stars. 

This old bath house ruin is the largest remnant of a health resort developed in the 1920s that included a hotel, apartments, pools, and a hydrotherapy clinic. A chimney left over from another luxury hotel was across the street.

Downtown Jacumba

Known as the Chinese Castle, this mansion was built in 1926 on a large boulder for a man whose Chinese wife was said to have suffered from asthma. It is still a private residence, a beautiful home that contrasts with the deserted buildings found throughout the town.

In addition to the Jacumba Spa and Resort, the town boasts a modern library.

As we travel around the country I am impressed with the extensive opening hours of small town libraries. 

After being married to Rob for over 35 years, I only found out recently that he is terrified of snakes. He was impressed with this sculpture outside the Jacumba library.

We still had some mountains to get through after leaving Jacumba. When I stopped to take a picture Rob realized he had a flat tire. Mostly we've been fortunate in getting flats in convenient places. Here we at least had time to savor the view while fixing the flat. Following this we had ten miles of downhill through beautiful rocky canyons on I-8 before hitting the Yuha Desert.

Check out the wind turbiines.

You can see from the way we dressed that this was confortable riding weather. I may complain about the short days and cold nights for camping, but really this was a good time to be riding across the desert.

We arrived in the border town of Calexico around 2:00 after 50 fast miles. We checked into a cheap local motel and set out to explore the town. I'm always hopeful for a coffee shop where we can sit down an enjoy tea and a pastry. Rob is always hopeful for a comfortable brew-pub. He'll also settle for an ice cream shop. We found none of the above. The downtown was mostly duty-free shops and discount supermarkets and clothing stores. Nobody spoke English. At the border crossing there was a long line of people waiting to go back home to Mexico.