Progress - 3/13/10 (Barstow, CA)

I'm in Barstow, CA and finally getting onto Route 15 South on my way into LA. I'm now 2,607 miles into my journey with only 129 miles left to go and 63 days to do it in--an average of just over 14 miles per week for the next 9 weeks. The good news about the need for the lower per-week mileage is that I can start to bike a bit without putting myself behind the 8 ball. Always good news!

The other good news from this week is that I'm finally off Route 40. I started on Route 40 just past Oklahoma City and had to stay on it for 1,200 miles. That's just less than half of my entire journey!

It reminds me of going to the Skydome to watch a Toronto Blue Jays game when I was a kid. We had absolute nose bleed seats--right at the very top of stadium. We got to the top level and showed our tickets to the usher. He told us to turn right and go up 37 rows. That's how I feel about Route 40. It's time for some new scenery.

Barstow is a city of more than 20,000. Barstow is of course mentioned in the song "Route 66" as well as in Sheryl Crow's "Leaving Las Vegas" and in the Black Eyed Peas "Like That". It's also mentioned in the first sentence of Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas".